The micro-credential-based program from KEDC and BloomBoard offers rank change and career advancement through job-embedded learning
The Kentucky Educational Development Corporation (KEDC) offers a new professional rank change program that now enjoys teacher participation from nearly half of all state counties. Developed in partnership with BloomBoard, the leading provider for educator advancement via micro-credentials, KEDC’s “Foundations in Teaching and Learning” is open to Kentucky teachers to earn Rank I or Rank II through job-embedded learning experiences in their own classrooms. KEDC is accepting summer enrollment for its new Continuing Education Option (CEO) Plan II program for career advancement until June 15.
Roxanne Mullins, a kindergarten math teacher at Crab Orchard Elementary, explained the value she finds in the job-embedded approach. “Through this rank change program, I’m working on skills that I’m already practicing in the classroom to complete course material,” she said. “I’ve most enjoyed the micro-credentials focused on assessment, which have given me new ways to think about measurement and have helped me shape a classroom environment where my students feel comfortable speaking up for themselves.”
Foundations in Teaching and Learning is a cost-effective program approved by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and praised among the nearly 200 teachers already enrolled. The micro-credential-based rank change program eliminates required seat-time and exams, and instead motivates teachers through self-paced learning and coached training while demonstrating capabilities in the classroom.
“Teachers who didn’t think rank change was an option for them are loving the flexible nature of our program,” said Nancy Hutchinson, executive director of KEDC. “The structure and practicality speak to an entirely new group of teachers who want to accelerate their careers and fine-tune their existing instructional practices.”
The EPSB’s approval of the Foundations in Teaching and Learning Program qualifies it as a rank change vehicle for teachers to achieve Rank II or Rank I and to receive associated recognition and salary advancement in all public school districts in Kentucky.
KEDC and BloomBoard welcome enrollment in future cohorts as Kentucky teachers prepare for the 2021-22 school year. Additional program and enrollment information is available at bloomboard.com/program/kedc-continuing-education/.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.
