• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

January 13, 2014 Featured

Keeping Your Teaching Credentials Fresh and Current

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Lauren Norris

I've been a reading specialist for the last ten years and most recently a literacy coach for Pre-K to grade 5 in an elementary school. I began my career teaching honors British and World Literature to high school juniors and seniors. Developed elective course curricula for Shakespeare and Women In Literature courses. Next, I moved on to middle school, teaching grade 8 English Language Arts for 7 years. English department chair for 6 years. I worked as a literacy resource teacher for grades 6-8 and wrote, coordinated, and led professional development to teachers on a weekly basis for four years. I often joke that I went from teaching Shakespeare to teaching Pete the Cat, and I would have it no other way!
  • Keeping Your Teaching Credentials Fresh and Current - January 13, 2014
  • Leaving the Classroom? You Can Still Make a Difference! - November 5, 2013
  • Why I Resigned From My Teaching Job: It's Not What You Think - October 21, 2013
  • Fluency Fix-Up Strategies Part II - October 17, 2013
  • Fluency Fix-Up: Teaching Sight Word Phrases - October 8, 2013
  • Working Together to Break the Silence: October is Selective Mutism Awareness Month - October 2, 2013
  • Stressed Out! Helping the Child With Selective Mutism Cope With Anxiety - September 26, 2013
  • Using Booktalks to Create a Community of Readers - September 17, 2013
  • Beyond the Jitters: Selective Mutism and Social Phobia - September 13, 2013
  • Say No to Boredom! Dynamic Incorporation of Nonfiction Into the Classroom - September 12, 2013

Have you left the teaching or education world, either by resigning or by taking a leave of absence? Are you looking for flexible and creative ways to grow as an educator? As a professional in the field of education, I have taken a leave of absence three times and resigned from two positions over the course of my twenty-five year tenure in education.  Whether the impetus to leave was for medical or family reasons, or to go from a public to private school, I was resolved to keep my teaching credentials current and renewed. 

This is so important, as you never know when you may need or want to return to teaching, and it is much easier to earn renewal credits than it is to start all over with your certification process.  In some states like Maryland, you do not have to be actively employed to maintain your teaching certificates.  I just make sure that I earn my six renewal credits every five years.

However, the tricky part is finding professional development opportunities when you are not part of a school or school system.  Although I would enjoy taking college classes and perhaps start work on my Ph.D., that is just not feasible for me right now for many reasons.  Instead, I take online courses for a nominal fee (as compared to college classes) that offer professional development renewal credits through Thinkport.  I love the flexibility of the online classes in that I can complete course work around my family’s schedule.  Plus, the content is top-notch and includes current journal articles, research, and an opportunity for me to network and collaborate with my peers.  Check into your state department of education to see if they offer something similar.

As well, your local school district may offer after school or summer courses for renewal credits that you can take for a small fee.  In my county, they welcome teachers that are not part of the school system to take these classes, although they do accept applications from currently employed teachers first.  Contact your local central office in your county or district for information.

 Although I am not currently employed, my teaching certificates are up to date and renewed. My own personal professional development consists of various activities that I initiate based on how much time I have and on my interests.  Not only do I have an intense desire to keep my finger on the pulse of education, but I enjoy and crave learning about new theories, practices, curricula, and the latest picture and chapter books and young adult literature for children. 

What is included in my repertoire of professional development?

  •        Maintaining my membership in the  International Reading Association.  This includes regularly reading professional journals such as The Reading Teacher.  You may be interested in joining the IRA or ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) or the National Education Association (NEA). See here for a list of professional organizations and associations by content area.
  •       Using social media:  Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are not just for social interaction; they are opportunities for learning as well.  There are numerous professional organizations on Facebook where you can post questions and collaborate with other professionals to keep current in your field.  And Pinterest?  It’s not just a pretty picture site of recipes and crafts.  Major corporations, authors, theorists, and professional development facilitators utilize Pinterest for marketing and for sharing their resources and websites.  For example, if you have an interest in learning about lap books, do a search on Pinterest and hundreds if not thousands of results will appear for you to peruse.
  • Online communities- ProTeacher Community is a very thorough website organized by grade level, content area, and more.  It is free to join.  If you post a question (e.g. What picture books are good to use when teaching predicting?) you will get many responses and get them fast.
  • Professional book reading- I find excellent book recommendations from my social media contacts, blogs, and from Pinterest.  While reading my favorite blogs, a year or so ago, I kept seeing many posts about The Book Whisperer.  I checked it out and love the book, as it has been a great resource of information and of inspiration.
  • Blogs-I read many, many blogs written by teachers, authors, presenters, therapists, and others through my bloglovin’ feed.  Not only can you learn an incredible amount of information from the text of the post, but also from the photos that many bloggers include.  You get a sneak peek into their classroom to see how a concept or lesson works.  Some even include short videos and free lessons or printables.  Sometimes bloggers will conduct book clubs that they host on their blog.  Last summer there was one on The Daily 5 and on Whole Brain Teaching for example.
  • Webinars- You can find free live and archived webinars on the internet.  I attended a webinar hosted by Laura Candler on literacy two years ago that was very helpful and taught me a lot.  Plus, she had an exclusive packet in PDF form with many of the resources she discussed for participants to download.  If you follow authors and organizations on Facebook or Twitter, they will let you know of webinars in advance.

 

Of course this isn’t a definitive list, but it is what works for me to quench my thirst for learning current and cutting-edge educational topics and theories. And, just in case I do want to return to teaching someday, hopefully I will still be somewhat “in the loop.”

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailTeachers on Trial: Vergara v. CA Default Thumbnail{Strategies From A Veteran Teacher} 7 Strategies Parents Should Do Daily To Help Their Kids Be Successful in School! Default ThumbnailThe Traveling Teacher: Lewis and Clark in Missoula, Montana Using Open Classes in OUR Classrooms
« The Tough Kid
Must Reads For The Ed Reform Advocate #1: Test and Punish - A Book Review »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.