FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

�

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

F. PHILIP H ANDY,

Chairman

€

T. WILLARD FAIR ,

Vice Chairman

€

Members

SALLY B RADSHAW

LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.

€

CHARLES PATRICK G ARCÍA

€

JULIA L. JOHNSON

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WILLIAM L. PROCTOR , PH.D.

€

May 5, 2003

M E M O R A N D U M

Name:

Phone:

Suncom:

Fax:

E-mail:

TO

:

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District School Superintendents

Excellent Teaching Program District Contacts

FROM

:

Betty Coxe

SUBJECT

:

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Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program

Technical Assistance Document-2003-2004

JIM HORNE

Commissioner of Education

Contact Person

Beatrice H. Monroe

€

850-413-6073

€

293-6073

€

850-488-3352

€

Beatrice.Monroe@fldoe.org

€

The Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program (ETP) is entering its sixth year of implementation and the

level of interest is still very high. During the

2002-2003

application cycle, the Department of Education

(DOE) received over 3,200 applications for which a

$2,070

fee subsidy was paid for each applicant. As

expected, there have been some applicants who have made a decision to withdraw. It does appear that we

will have over 2,700 participants that will complete the program.

BETTY COXE

Deputy Chancellor

325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 501 • TALLAHASSEE, FL32399-0400 • (850) 413-0555 • www.fldoe.org

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Memorandum

May 5, 2003

Beginning with the

2002-2003

application cycle, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

(NBPTS) began a

three-year

transition to an assessment operations redesign and technology

advancements to the National Board process. The rationale behind the change is to accommodate the

expected

50,000

new applicants, nation-wide, by the

2004-2005

cycle. Part of this transition includes a

year-round application process. While the NBPTS offers year-round processing, the Dale Hickam

Excellent Teaching Program will process applications in much the same way as in the past, except the

processing period will be extended from

June 1, 2003, through November 1, 2003

. The portfolio due

dates will be

February 16, March 16, and April 16, 2004

. Portfolio scoring will occur during the

summer; scores for first-time candidates and retake candidates will be announced in mid-November 2004;

and the fee payment deadline is still

January 31, 2004.

The following advantages are available to applicants:

•

online application for National Board Certification;

•

portfolio instructions via CD-Rom and Website;

•

view and update application data at any time;

•

update address and other demographic information;

•

online receipt of applicants’ score reports; and

•

assessment center testing all year long in 6-month windows.

Full fee payment and receipt of all eligibility forms trigger the portfolio due date

. Assessment center

appointments are one-half (1/2) day and each written assessment series is 30 minutes long and measures

content-related questions rather than pedagogical questions.

The NBPTS has under development three new areas of certification-

Early and Middle

Childhood

/Literacy: Reading Language Arts, Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Health

Education, and Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/School Counseling

. Availability of these

areas is contingent upon the NBPTS Board of Director’s approval. The National Board application fee

remains $2,300. Bonuses and incentives provided by the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program

contained herein are contingent upon funding by the Flor ida Legislature. The Department shall pay

$2,070 of the application fee for all eligible applicants submitted to the Department by school districts

and developmental research schools by the

state application deadline, which is November 1, 2003

. The

eligibility criteria, application requirements, deadlines, and other program timelines for the 2003-2004

cycle are further explained in this document.

Page 2

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Memorandum

May 5, 2003

Applicants seeking National Board Certification through the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program

must be officially classified as

full-time classroom teachers

providing instruction to students all day

every day during the entire school your to go through the process, and must maintain

full-time classroom

teacher status to receive both the salary and mentoring bonuses

The intent of the Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program is to keep excellent teachers in the

classroom.

For the 2003-2004 cycle, application for National Board Certification may be made online or on

paper

. While applicants may apply on paper, we strongly encourage applying

online

. The many

advantages to online application are as follows:

•

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reduced time for application to reach the National Board, thereby allowing portfolio materials to

be received faster;

•

drop down menus allowing applicants to make easy and accurate selections within application;

•

“at finger tips” information relative to state subsidy funding;

•

immediate printing of application with assigned ID number;

•

elimination of errors which may delay processing;

•

fee payment history readily available for review, allowing faster receipt of materials

•

immediate access to personal information with ability to access/edit at any time; and

•

faster rate of processing by Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program staff.

If an applicant applies online , he/she MUST complete the DOE Fee Subsidy Information form

(green), the Letter of Intent/Promissory Note (blue), write a $230 personal check/money order

payable to the NBPTS.

The original documents, including payment, and one photo copy of each

document must be submitted to the district Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program contact.

These documents will be submitted to the DOE in the same manner as the paper application

package.

If an applicant applies on paper, the original NBPTS application, Fee Subsidy Information form

(green), the Letter of Intent/Promissory Note (blue), a $230 personal check/money order payable to

the NBPTS , and a copy of each of the preceding MUST be submitted to the district Dale Hickam

Excellent Program contact. Additional documents such as teaching certificates and performance

evaluations ARE NOT required but should be kept on file in the district office. Applications should

be alphabetically batched with an alphabetical listing of applicants and sent to the DOE

REGULARLY. The holding of applications may result in much delayed delivery of portfolio

materials to applicants

.

Page 3

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Memorandum

May 5, 2002

It is very important that applicants be advised of the sincere commitment of

time

and

work

that

completion of the NBPTS certification process requires. It is estimated that the portfolio component,

which includes videotaping of the applicant’s teaching, requires a minimum of

200

hours outside of the

regular work schedule. Depending on the applicant’s schedule and other responsibilities, portfolio

preparation may require up to

300 or more hours

. Assessment consists of one-half (1/2) day of testing at

Prometric Testing Centers. Some Prometric Testing Centers are located inside Sylvan Technology

Centers. Other centers are located at some colleges and universities and Education Testing Service (ETS)

field offices. (See list of testing centers in this document, pages 9-11.

This document, the Fee Subsidy Information form (green), the Letter of Intent/Promissory Note (blue),

the Salary Bonus Request Form (pink), and the Mentoring Bonus Request Form (yellow) will be sent by

e-mail and you may open and reproduce them at your convenience. Please color-code each form as

specified.

BC/bhm

Enclosures:

1. Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program Technical Assistance Document (Pages 1-11)

2. Dale Hickam Excellent Teaching Program Application Information:

a. Fee Subsidy Information Form (green)

b. Letter of Intent/Promissory Note (blue)

c. Salary Bonus Request Form (pink)

d. Mentoring Bonus Request Form (yellow)

cc: District School Board Chairpersons

NOTE:

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Please discard any of the above forms you may have on hand from

previous years.