SEI+Information

 Colleague:  At the Worcester County Roundtable earlier this week there were several questions about RETELL and licensure.  Below is a series of Q and A from the roundtable and the later responses from DESE, kindness of Maureen LaCroix.  Since some of these issues may well be on the minds of others, I am forwarding this to all through the list serve.  Tom   Thomas Scott Ed.D.  Executive Director  Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents  756 Marrett Road  Lexington, MA 02421  781-541-5098  Thanks so much for inviting me to yesterday’s gathering. I wanted to provide some general responses I received from DESE staff to the questions/comments I captured. **General comments from participants:** ** 1. ** One superintendent’s observation: The teacher courses are not aligned to the administrator courses. Administrators are trained to focus on key concepts that teachers suggest have not been included in their coursework**. The courses have gone through extensive revision this year and alignment was part of the focus for that work. We will continue to revise course materials throughout this year. If specific examples of the issues mentioned above can be provided to OELAAA, it would be very helpful. ** 2. The SEI courses have not met the need in terms of the demand in central MA. We are adding classes this year wherever there is a need based on waitlists and SIMS data. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 3. Districts that accept Foreign Exchange students feel that they are now disadvantaged with teachers now being required to take the SEI course. The U.S. Dept of Ed has recently determined that foreign exchange students who are not proficient in English should be identified as ELLs, reported to the state as ELLs, provided with the same supports as other ELLs, and be assessed for English proficiency using the state’s ELP assessment each year. Districts have the discretion to stipulate that entering exchange students be proficient in English before arriving. If they do not, then they are obligated to comply with all rules regarding the education of those students. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 4. Teachers are frantic that they will not be able to take the course in time to meet the needs of their positions or the licensure regulations. The Department is making enough courses available to accommodate the needs in the field. Any educators who are not able to take a course before July, 2016 either because the course was cancelled or because they were on a waitlist and a seat never opened up will not have restrictions placed on their licenses. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 5. Both administrators and teachers are confused about the 15 PDP requirement that takes effect in 2016. The regulations approved in June of 2012 for license renewal creates two new “buckets” of area in which PD can be earned, like what has been in place since 1994, educators renewing a license must earn PD in specific area such as content, pedagogy or elective areas. The June 2012 regulation reduced the amount of content PD that was required and required 15 PDPs in the content area of ESL/SEI and 15 PDPs in special education/different learning styles. A special license renewal addendum is posted on our site about the regulatory change and the short addendum focuses largely on RETELL and the new requirements. . <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 6. The new “ticketing system ” that requires administrators to submit a written question rather than talk with a staff member is problematic. The RETELL staff in OELAAA cannot accommodate phone inquiries. There are only three specialists and 1 Registrar running the system of registration for 400 courses and 11,000 participants. The ticketing system is the only efficient and fair way to make sure that everyone who has an inquiry gets a response as soon as possible. If administrators have questions that require a conversation, then someone from the team will contact them. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 7. Business Managers have been confused by a recent Department directive that indicates they need the SEI endorsement. The Department has not directed anyone that school business administrators need the SEI Endorsement– they do not need it for licensure but ALL educators need the new distribution of PDPs to renew a primary professional license on/after 7/1/16. I also had several email exchanges with John Crafton. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some questions: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. Do we have guidance for administrators and core academic teachers who have been unable to take the SEI course? Will they be penalized when they apply for a license after 2016? There is a whole slew of scenarios and tons of information available online so it really depends on the situation. For example, someone getting their first initial license in a core academic area needs the endorsement to get that initial license. All approved programs in MA have adjusted their coursework to meet the needs of SEI within their program, his change went into effect on 7/1/14.Only those register for the course or are assigned to a cohort will need the SEI endorsement to advance, extend or renew their license (unless they are getting their first initial license). All educators renewing a primary professional license with an expiration date of 7/1/16 needs to satisfy the requirements, which includes some PD in ESL/SEI and 15 in special education/different learning styles. The renewal addendum can be found at : @http://www.mass.gov/edu/docs/ese/educator-effectiveness/licensing/renewal-professional-license-2015-addendum-guidelines.pdf. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Does completion of the SEI course meet the 15 PDP SEI requirement? yes. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Are local districts able to offer the 15 PDPs in SEI? yes. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 4. What is the licensing requirement for Business Managers? like many other areas such as Guidance, school nurse, physical education, foreign language, music, Superintendent, etc., non-core academic fields **do not need** to obtain the SEI Endorsement. Like ALL educators with an academic license (this does not impact vocational educators), renewing a primary professional license with an expiration date of 7/1/16 or later requires that they satisfy the required number of PDPs, which includes 15 in SEI/ESL and 15 in special education/different learning styles.