March 22, 2022: Texas Educator Preparation Programs Newsletter

Texas Education Agency sent this bulletin at 03/22/2022 11:26 AM CDT

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Texas Education Agency

March 22, 2022

Texas Educator Preparation Programs Newsletter
Three young students on the floor, sharing a book called Ovals, from Donna ISD

Welcome

“The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important” - Bob Knight 

If you need some inspiration, just google March Madness inspirational quotes and you will find sparks of inspiration all around. It was difficult to settle on just this one quote; however, as we enter the season of certification exams, semester exams, final papers and presentations for the spring semester, the quote serves as a great reminder about the importance of preparation. At times as a society, we focus on the final result. We want to be successful; we want to pass that exam; we want to be promoted; we want our students to be successful, and we hyper focus on the wants. However, we should stop and reflect on our ability to prepare and train, turning our wants into accomplishments. Although preparation may not always be fun, in the end, the work of preparation is worth it! 

Our goal is for this newsletter to serve 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.   

If you are not currently subscribed to the newsletter, please sign up at the link below.   
Educator Preparation Program Listserv Registration  

Upcoming Events

Topic: Equity Features of edTPA
Description: In this webinar, a member of the edTPA National Academy (affiliated with a Texas educator preparation program) and/or representative(s) from a Texas educator preparation program will provide opportunities for participants to examine the equitable instructional practices embedded in the edTPA tasks and rubrics. Furthermore, the session facilitator(s) will provide examples of best practices to help prepare equity-minded candidates.  
Event Date: March 24, 2022 
Event Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: Understanding Academic Language in edTPA: Supporting Learning and Language Development
Description: In this webinar, a member of the edTPA National Academy and/or representative(s) from a Texas educator preparation program will provide participants with an overview of academic language and demonstrate how academic language is an integral construct in edTPA through the lens of equitable instructional practices. 
Event Date: April 4, 2022
Event Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: Tools for edTPA Data Analysis: edReports and Results Analyzer 101
Description: This webinar is intended for edTPA Coordinators and edTPA Score Reporting Contacts. In this webinar, a Pearson representative will provide an overview and demonstration of Education Reports (edReports) and ResultsAnalyzer®(RA). Note: RA is an interactive reporting tool to review and analyze performance-assessment data.
Event Date: April 5, 2022
Event Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: Task 4 Deep Dive (Elementary Education Only)
Description: In this workshop, a member of the edTPA National Academy (affiliated with a Texas Educator Preparation Program) will guide participants through a close examination of the Elementary Education: Task 4 Mathematics and its rubrics, providing a deeper dive into what candidates are asked to think about, do, and write as well as how candidate portfolios will be evaluated.
Event Date: April 15, 2022
Event Time: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: edTPA 101
Description: This webinar is for faculty, instructors, supervisors, and P-12 partners who support teacher candidates and are new to edTPA. In this edTPA 101 webinar, participants will be provided with an overview of the purpose, development, and design of edTPA. Additionally, participants will examine what candidates provide as evidence for each of the edTPA tasks, engage in a review of the scoring process, and learn how to access key resources.
Event Date: April 20, 2022
Event Time: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: Part 4 of Implementation Series: Learning from edTPA Evidence
Description: In this webinar series, an edTPA National Academy Member (affiliated with a Texas Educator Preparation Program) will orient participants to the subject-specific, performance-based assessment edTPA; provide examples of best practices to effectively implement edTPA; identify strategies when supporting candidates during instruction and implementation; and describe methods for using and learning from edTPA evidence. This series will be offered three times between January and July 2022.
Event Date: April 21, 2022
Event Time: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: edTPA Handbook and Rubric Deep Dive
Description: In this workshop, a member of the edTPA National Academy (affiliated with a Texas Educator Preparation Program) will guide participants through a close examination of the edTPA tasks and rubrics, providing a deeper dive into what candidates are asked to think about, do, and write for each task as well as how candidate portfolios will be evaluated. Additionally, several instrumental resources will be shared along with best practices from successful implementation.
Event Date: April 25, 2022
Event Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (Register here) 

New Topic: P-12 Partner Engagement & Support
Description: In this webinar, Texas EPPs and their school partners will share their purposeful, collaborative work to support teacher candidates. Session facilitators will also share how edTPA supports a rigorous and meaningful experience for teacher candidates and P-12 students.
Event Date: April 28, 2022
Event Time: 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. (Register here) 

Upcoming Deadlines

Topic: Vetted Teacher Residency Program Application
Action: Open Application, not required.
Due Date: March 22, 2022- April 12, 2022

Topic: PASL
Action: Spring Registration Closes 
Due Date: April 5, 2022

Topic: Vetted Principal Residency Program Application
Action: Open Application, not required.
Due Date: April 12, 2022- May 9, 2022

Topic: PASL
Action: Task Submission Deadline
Due Date: April 19, 2022 2 pm ET

Topic: School Counselor Certification
Action: Last day to apply and recommend for certification using #152.
Due Date: September 6, 2022

Topic: Trade & Industrial Education 6-12 Certification
Action: Last day to apply and recommend for certification using #270.
Due Date: September 6, 2022

Topic: ELAR 4-8 Certification
Action: Last day to apply and recommend for certification using #117.
Due Date: October 30, 2022

Table Of Contents

EPP Points of Contact

Your best source for information and support at the TEA.   

As an EPP, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.   

Educator Preparation Program Support

New: EPP Opportunity: 2022 Vetted Teacher Residency Program List Application [Application Due 4/12/22]  
TEA has opened the next cycle of the Vetted Teacher Residency Program application for EPPs that are actively implementing high-quality teacher residency models with existing district partnerships. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants will receive communication about their application status accordingly.  

Currently, 15 approved programs are supporting over 90 districts across Texas in the Texas Covid Learning Acceleration Support (TCLAS) Grant Decision 5: Residency Program Support. These programs and their partner districts are working together to build sustainable residency programs throughout the three-year grant cycle (Fall 2021-Spring 2024). EPPs designated as vetted teacher residency programs during the Spring 2022 application cycle are eligible to partner with TCLAS Decision 5 awarded districts who may be looking for additional EPP partnerships to leverage current grant funds during Years 2-3 of the grant cycle. Please note: Currently, there are no plans to open additional competitive grant applications for teacher residency funds.  

Key Application Information: 

New: Title II Reporting Update 
With spring on the way, Title II reporting for EPPs is coming. This annual reporting is due April 30 of each year. This reporting is completed on the website at title2.ed.gov. Per the announcement on the website, data collection will begin in April, and the vendor will send an email to users.  

New: Principal and Teacher Surveys 
Every year, TEA collects surveys from the principals of first-year teachers (the Principal Survey) and from teachers completing their first year of teaching under a standard certificate (the Teacher Survey). The Principal Survey is distributed via ECOS, and the Teacher Survey is distributed via direct email to eligible teachers. Both the surveys will open on April 4. 

No action is required from EPPs for the collection of these surveys, but if you have principals or candidates reach out to you, please feel free to direct them to the dedicated webpages:  

New: ASEP Mid-Year Data Sets  
In order to provide data updates to EPPs, TEA will be distributing mid-year data sets to EPP data contacts. We are targeting this data distribution for Thursday, March 31st. As in years past, these data sets will include updated observation data, pass rate data, and data to enable you to update your finisher records list.  

New: Effective Preparation Framework Development Underway 
Work is currently underway in Texas to develop the Effective Preparation Framework – a framework that distinguishes effective preparation practices that yield improved outcomes for school children, future educators, local school districts, and EPPs.  

In July 2021, the SBEC directed TEA staff to begin the process of developing an Effective Preparation Framework and engage a diverse set of stakeholders in the development processes. Since that time, the Educator Preparation Advisory Committee (EPAC), the SBEC’s standing advisory committee, has provided input on the components of an Effective Preparation Framework. In January 2022, members of the EPAC were asked to bring these draft components to their professional organizations and colleagues to solicit additional specificity and input. The goal of this process is to ensure that the diverse set of educator preparation stakeholders are able to provide meaningful feedback on the content of the framework early in the development process.  

TEA staff has asked EPAC members to provide feedback collected from their professional organizations and colleagues by April 21, 2022. Please see the February 2022 SBEC item for additional information on the development process and the list of EPAC members. There will be additional opportunities to weigh in on the Effective Preparation Framework content over the course of spring and fall 2022, which will be shared via the newsletter.

 

Educator Standards and Testing

Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing   

ETS PASL Fall 2022/Spring 2023 Submission Dates available 
Upcoming important dates are now available for PASL. Please note the date when scores arrive to EPPs and TEA in ECOS. 

PASL Assessment 

Important Dates 

FALL 2022 ORIGINAL 

  

PASL Registration Open 

Mon 7/18/2022 

PASL Submission System Open 

Thu 9/1/2022 

PASL Registration/Reschedule/Cancellation Deadline 

Tue 11/15/2022 

PASL Task Deadline 2 pm ET 

Tue 11/29/2022 

PASL Scores to Candidates 

Thu 12/29/2022 

PASL Scores to EPPs & TEA 

Wed 1/4/2023 

  

  

FALL 2022 RESUBMISSION 

  

PASL Resubmission Opens 

Thu 12/29/2022 

PASL Resubmission Registration Close 

Thu 1/12/2023 

PASL Resubmission Task Deadline 2 pm ET 

Thu 1/19/2023 

PASL Resubmission Scores to Candidates 

Fri 2/10/2023 

PASL Resubmission Scores to EPPs & TEA 

Mon 2/13/2023 

  

  

SPRING 2023 ORIGINAL 

  

PASL Registration Open 

Mon 7/18/2022 

PASL Submission System Open 

Tue 1/3/2023 

PASL Registration/Reschedule/Cancellation Deadline 

Tue 3/28/2023 

PASL Task Deadline 2 pm ET 

Tue 4/11/2023 

PASL Scores to Candidates 

Tue 5/9/2023 

PASL Scores to EPPs & TEA 

Wed 5/10/2023 

  

  

SPRING 2023 RESUBMISSION 

  

PASL Resubmission Opens 

Tue 5/9/2023 

PASL Resubmission Registration Close 

Tue 5/23/2023 

PASL Resubmission Task Deadline 2 pm ET 

Wed 5/31/2023 

PASL Resubmission Scores to Candidates 

Thu 6/22/2023 

PASL Resubmission Scores to EPPs & TEA 

Mon 6/26/2023 

 

2022 edTPA Virtual Workshops and Webinars 
Are you looking to learn more about edTPA and edTPA implementation? We invite you to join the virtual learning opportunities that have been scheduled in partnership with Texas’ edTPA National Academy members. These learning opportunities range from workshops, to edTPA 101s, to implementation support. Please see the Upcoming Events section of this newsletter for more information.  

  • Additional workshops and webinars have been scheduled for spring and summer 2022. Information about the workshops and webinars (e.g., date, time, how to join) can be found in the flyer Spring and Summer 2022 edTPA Virtual Workshops and Webinars. Please note that when you access the flyer, you will want to save the flyer locally (rather than open in Google docs) in order to select the registration links.

PASL resources videos  
ETS and TEA have worked together to create instructional videos to orient faculty, staff, and candidates to the requirements of the PASL test. Video one provides a general overview of PASL, its content, and scoring/reporting procedures. Video two provides a more in-depth overview of the tasks associated with the assessment. Full requirements, descriptions, and resources may be found in the PASL Candidate and Educator handbook.   

NOTE: If you have trouble accessing the videos linked above, please copy and paste the links (see below) in your web browser.  

ETS Seeking Scorers for PASL  
ETS invites school leaders and preparation faculty to participate in the online scoring of the ETS® Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL). This is an excellent opportunity for school leaders and preparation program faculty to become more familiar with this certification exam. Professionals who meet the criteria listed on PASL Scoring Job Opportunities are eligible to be scoring professionals (raters) for the assessment.   

DID YOU KNOW? 
In the Pearson system, registering for an exam is separate from scheduling a test appointment.  

  • Before registering for an exam, educators can use the seat availability tool to confirm that there are available appointments at locations and on dates and times convenient to them.   
  • They may schedule their testing appointment when they register or at a later time.  
  • They may reschedule or cancel a testing appointment, without any fees, up to 48 hours before their scheduled appointment date.  
  • They must schedule an appointment and test within 170 days of registering for an exam.  
  • If they withdraw their registration, they will be refunded their exam registration payment, minus $25. The Texas.gov funds are not refundable. 

 

Program Spotlight

In each newsletter, we aim to celebrate the great work from EPPs around Texas.

New: In this week’s newsletter, we would like to honor and applaud the EPPs who were recently recognized for the 2020-2021 Educator Preparation Program Commendations for Category 2, Preparing the Educators Texas Needs. These EPPs who were recognized for Commendations in Category 2 demonstrated commendable efforts for preparing and supporting teachers who identify as teachers of color or are employed in rural schools. Please join us in celebrating each of these EPPs! 

Category 2 Commendations 3.22

 

The full list of EPPs who were recognized for each category can be found on 2020-21 Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Commendations | Texas Education Agency.  

Program Spotlight Nomination Form TEA has created a process to gather information about the wonderful practices, partnerships, and initiatives conducted by EPPs. If you would like to nominate your EPP or another EPP you’ve worked with, please complete and submit the Program Spotlight Nomination Form. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Education Specialist. 

 

FAQs

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

Q: My EPP has a candidate that is currently in our undergraduate (UG) program. The candidate will graduate non-certified because all requirements have not been met. The candidate will have completed all pre-service coursework in the UG program. We will then contingently admit the candidate to our post-bac program and want to place the candidate on an intern certificate. How does that work if the bachelor’s degree will not confer until August 2022? 
A: The applicant may be contingently admitted in the semester in which the degree will confer per 19 TAC §227.15. The candidate cannot be placed on an intern certificate until the bachelor’s degree is conferred per 19 TAC §230.36(b)(1) and the required content pedagogy exams are passed per 19 TAC §230.36(d)(1).  

Q: Our EPP has a candidate who will be placed in a private school for clinical teaching. I cannot tell if the private school is listed in the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) database, and I do not see it in my Green Screen (ECOS) as an option for a placement. How can I verify the school is approved for clinical teaching, and how does the school get added to the Green Screen so I can place the candidate there? 
A: The EPP can check the TEPSAC website and “Search Schools” to determine if the particular school is accredited. When you find the school, you will see the accreditation, the county-district number (CDN), and can even go to the website to determine if it is an appropriate school for the clinical teaching/internship assignment. If the school is accredited and an appropriate school for placement but not listed in your dropdown menu as a placement option, you can send the screenshot of the school and CDN to the Preparation Programs Help Desk to request that TEA add the school to your dropdown menu.   

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 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.  

Lesson Study Gateway Resources  

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

Texas Teach Like a Champion (TLAC)

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

Texas TLAC One Pager for EPPs   

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