July 27, 2021: Texas Educator Preparation Programs Newsletter

Texas Education Agency

July 27, 2021

Texas Educator Preparation Programs Newsletter

student at computer, remote learning

Introduction

“Before we create agendas and facilitate meetings, we need to explore our identities as leaders.” - Elena Aguilar 

Identity is so important especially for a leader; however it is difficult at times to stay reflective on who you are and what makes you a great leader. It is easy to get caught up in meetings, presentations, teaching, or training and not take time to center yourself in the things that make you you. Take some time to develop and reflect upon your leadership identity frequently.  

Our hope is that this newsletter serves as a support by compiling the most up-to-date information concerning what you need to know that impacts your candidates in the coming weeks. Please thoroughly read all the sections for reminders, upcoming events, to dos, and FAQs.   

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Educator Preparation Program Listserv Registration  


Table of Contents


Upcoming Events


Topic Description Event Date Event Time
ResultsAnalyzer® 
Webinar 
Pearson is hosting three upcoming webinars focused on ResultsAnalyzer® and recently launched exams in the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program. 

9:00-10:30 a.m.

ASEP Webinar 
TEA will provide information and guidance about reporting 2020-2021 data. 

10:00-11:00 a.m. 

Continuing Approval Review 
Webinar
(for EPPs
reviewed in 21-22 academic year
)
 
TEA will provide 
guidance to educator preparation program staff that are preparing for 
a 5-year continuing approval review in 2021-2022.
 

Wednesday, August 25, 2021 
(link will be
provided in
review notification
packet)
  

 2:00-3:00 p.m. 

 


Upcoming Deadlines

Topic Action Item Due Date

IMPORTANT:  
Waiver Probationary (WPRO) or Waiver Intern (WINT) 
Certificate
 

Provide test approval, as appropriate, to WPRO and WINT candidates.

Actively communicate with WPRO/WINT candidates and LEA partners about 
requirements and next steps. 
 

Before the WPRO or WINT certificate expires 

 


Educator Preparation Program Support

Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management 

New: Countdown to ASEP Reporting: ASEP Action of the Week   

Week 2: Complete Admission Reporting 
Verify that each candidate admitted from 9/1/2020-8/31/2021 has an accurate admission record. Verify all required admission data has been included in the record. If you need to update a record, you can do so manually or by bulk upload (see the Technical Manual for more information). Remember: admission records for candidates admitted in 2020-2021 cannot be created after 8/31/2021, except for candidates admitted in the last week of August. 

Previous ASEP Action of the Week: 
Week 1: Know your assigned Education Specialist. 

New: Internship TExES Exam(s) Requirement Reminder 
Candidates, including late hire candidates, working in an internship are required to pass the required TExES certification exams for the internship placement and certificate category sought. EPPs are required to ensure candidates meet all requirements for an internship, including intern and probationary certificate requirements. Though candidates were able to bypass the testing requirement last summer under WINT certificates, 
candidates are now required to pass the certification exams for the internship placement and certificate category sought.
 

New: ECOS Update: File Transfer for Certification Information 
ECOS has a tool that allows for authorized users to download certification information for educators. This function is available under the File Transfer menu in ECOS. TEA has scheduled updates to this system, which will do the following: 

  • Increase the processing limit from 5,000 records to 20,000 records 
  • Add teacher designation information to the download (related to the Teacher Incentive Allotment) 

These updates are planned to live on 8/24/2021. We wanted to give EPPs notice in case you have technology systems that interact with the files that get downloaded. Full information, including links to downloadable sample files containing the new columns, are available here. 

ASEP webinar 
Make plans to attend the Reporting Data for 2020-2021 webinar on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, to find out details about annual data to be reported to TEA on September 15th. You can find the registration link in the Upcoming Events section in the Event Date column. 

2021-2022 Continuing Approval Review webinar 
EPPs scheduled to participate in the 2021-2022 5-year continuing approval review process are invited to attend the 2021-2022 Continuing Approval Review webinar on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Those attending will receive guidance on the review process, what to expect, and how to prepare for your upcoming review. The registration link will be provided in the EPP’s continuing approval notification packet. The notification packets will be sent to EPPs who are scheduled for a 2021-2022 continuing approval review during the week of August 9th 


Educator Standards and Testing

Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing

New: School Counselor (252) and PPR for Trade and Industrial Education (370) Test Approval  
The new School Counselor and PPR for Trade and Industrial Education TExES exams launch on September 6, 2021. For candidates that already have approval to take the previous versions of the exams, the PPR for T&I (370) and School Counselor (252) the exam will auto populate for you to approve for one attempt. Candidates can begin registering for the redesigned exams on July 27, 2021. Please remind your candidates to register for the appropriate exam. They can confirm their registration with Pearson online or by calling 1-800-877-4599.  

Additional information about the launch of each new exam can be found in the FAQ Documents linked in the sections below.  

Reminder: Complete Reading Academies Modules 
For those of EPP faculty and staff enrolled in the Texas Reading Academies EPP cohort, please remember the following deadlines are approaching related to course completion:  

8/11/21  

2nd artifact due (located at the end of module 10)  

9/8/21 

All assignments in the course must be completed  

9/15/21 

Final deadline for full Reading Academies course completion  

 

New: PPR for Trade and Industrial Education Exam Transition FAQ Document 
The new PPR for Trade and Industrial Exam (370) TExES exam will launch on September 6, 2021. Please see the PPR for T&I (370) Exam FAQ document that addresses timelines and other frequently asked questions related to the exam launch, program requirements, and candidate preparation resources.   

School Counselor (252): Exam Transition FAQ Document  
The new School Counselor (252) TExES exam will launch on September 6, 2021. Please see the School Counselor (252) Exam FAQ document that addresses timelines and other frequently asked questions related to the exam launch, program requirements, and candidate preparation resources.   

DID YOU KNOW? 
Exam registration opens the afternoon of 07/27/2021 for the following two new exams. Work closely with your candidates to ensure they have the correct exam approval in their ECOS Educator accounts.  


Educator Certification

Updates related to Educator Certification

Updated: Important Reminder to Candidates Currently on a WPRO or WINT Certificate to Complete Testing Requirements 
Candidates who were issued a waiver probationary (WPRO) or waiver intern (WINT) certificate, under the Governor’s waiver of certification exam requirements in Spring and Summer 2020, will need to complete all testing requirements before the certificate expires.  

Since the validity of the WINT and WPRO certificates cannot be extended, TEA encourages all programs to actively communicate with WINT and WPRO candidates to remind them of these requirements well in advance of their certificate’s expiration date. In addition, TEA encourages all programs to be responsive in providing test approval, as appropriate, to WPRO and WINT candidates. 

As a reminder, WPRO candidates must meet requirements for standard certification. In addition, candidates are allowed one 12-month intern certificate (which the WINT certificate takes place of) and two 12-month probationary certificates for a total of 3 years to work on preliminary certificates.   

The attached communication was directly emailed to candidates on a WPRO certificate on March 5, 2021. District-level leadership were also notified of and received the candidate communication at that time. TEA encourages all programs to continue to actively communicate with candidates and LEA partners to ensure all parties understand their respective requirements and next steps.  


Updates About SBEC, Rules, and Legislation

Updates related to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification, the State Board of Education, and the Legislature. 

New: SBEC Meeting on Friday, July 23, 2021  
The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) met on July 23, 2021. The agenda for this meeting has been posted on the agenda webpage. 

During the meeting, the SBEC adopted the formal rule reviews for Chapter 227 and Chapter 228. They also approved of a proposal to update Chapter 229 to provide for a status of “Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster” for the 2020-2021 academic year. The proposed updates to Chapter 229 will be considered for adoption at the October meeting of the SBEC. Additionally, the SBEC discussed components of EPP quality and the edTPA pilot.  


FAQ 

Every newsletter we take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.  

Q: My EPP has a mandatory meeting on the same date and time of the ASEP Reporting Webinar. Will the webinar be recorded for later viewing by my EPP staff? 
A: Yes, the ASEP Reporting Webinar on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at 10 AM CST will be recorded for future viewing. An ASEP reporting FAQ, along with a recording of the webinar, will be posted to the Program Provider Resources page. Please note that, due to video processing and accessibility conversion, it may take some time for the video to be posted. 

Q: My EPP wants to place a candidate for internship in a private school accredited by TEPSAC. I did not find the school in my dropdown menu to make the recommendation. What do I need to do to add the school? 
A: If you need to add a school to your dropdown menu, please submit a Help Desk (HD) ticket to Preparation Programs. Include the name of the accredited private school and the link to the accrediting information on the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) website. It will list the county-district number (CDN) for the school so that TEA can add the placement to the internship dropdown menu in ASEP.  


EPP Points of Contact

Your best source for information and support at the TEA.

As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.   

  • To view a list of EPPs and their associated Education Specialist, please click here.  
  • For easiest assistance, file a HelpDesk Ticket.   

TEA Updates

Additional updates on initiatives and opportunities from the TEA.  

TEA is Hiring! 

The TEA’s Department of Educator Preparation, Certification, and Enforcement (EPCE) is seeking to hire an experienced and highly effective staff members for the following roles:  


For More Information

Information regarding educator certification testing can be accessed at the Texas Educator Certification Exam website.   

Information regarding the Science of Teaching Reading Exam can be accessed at tea.texas.gov/str.   

Information regarding edTPA 2020-2021 information opportunities can be accessed here.   

Information and updates regarding the Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) can be accessed at the Important Updates link.   

Updated information related to the COVID-19 response can be accessed here.   

To view previous editions of the weekly newsletter, please see the Texas Educator Preparation Program Weekly Newsletter webpage.  

Resources at a Glance...  

Practice based preparation resources for virtual field-based experience: Provides model lessons and video of instructional delivery. 

Practice based preparation resources for virtual field-based experience: Provides content neutral pedagogical skill building through observing model of and practicing the same high leverage skill 

Texas TLAC One Pager for EPPs    

Full scope and sequence of upcoming edTPA training opportunities.  


Help Desk Link