School-Based Professional Development Details

ACSI's School-Based Professional Development (SBPD) program is available to serve as fulfillment of the K-12 administrator/faculty qualification and continuing education requirements for ACSI accreditation (Inspire Indicator 12.2). The goal of this program is to provide qualified schools, with well-developed professional development programs, the flexibility of managing their school leadership and faculty qualification and continuing education requirements through displaying a commitment to providing a quality professional development program that is intentionally aligned to schoolwide goals and measured for effectiveness. 

The school would still be expected to meet the requirement for all administrators and all faculty to hold bachelor's degrees (with no more than 10% FTE of non-degreed faculty being an exception); however, the school would be expected to self-monitor this requirement and would not need to apply for waivers with the Divisional Office. 

There are two separate steps for the school:

Step 1 – Complete the School-Based Professional Development (SBPD) Application Inquiry form on your school's Fabric Dashboard under the "Updates & Sub Changes" dropdown:

This brief inquiry contains several Yes/No questions, with various follow-up questions, and will allow ACSI to determine if the school has the necessary elements in place in order to successfully operate an approved SBPD plan. 

The school will need to affirm or provide the following:

• The school has a policy in place to hire only degreed administrators and faculty 
• The school has a dedicated team overseeing the professional development program
• The school has designated funding for professional development (whether a specific budget line item and/or Title funds)
• The school has clear expectations and/or policies regarding professional development for school leadership and faculty
• The school's accreditation status in good standing
• Any other information as applicable

Please note: the school's answer to any given question will not necessarily automatically disqualify the school from participation in the SBPD program - various questions allow the school an opportunity provide an explanation. 

Once we receive the inquiry form, the ACSI Office of Education Standards will review the school's answers and applicable documentation and reach out to the appropriate divisional accreditation director to obtain a recommendation for the school's participation in the SBPD program.   ACSI will schedule the Application Instrument for the school in Fabric at this time.

Step 2 – Complete the full SBPD Application when ACSI Staff schedules the instrument for you in Fabric. 

The application consists of three (3) separate sections:

Section 1: Eligibility Requirements

It is expected that the school has clear, written expectations or policies regarding professional development for school faculty, while differentiating offerings for new faculty, returning faculty, and leadership. The school will provide an overview of the needs assessment process and articulate how the school’s needs assessment process informs professional development goals, as well as details of how school leadership is active in professional development.

Section 2: Program Requirements

In addition to professional development designed to improve classroom instruction and overall teacher effectiveness, ACSI expects administrators and teachers in accredited schools to engage in study of the Bible and training in the Christian philosophy of education as well as biblical integration training. The school will describe how teachers and administrators complete biblical studies, the Christian philosophy of education requirement, and provide annual biblical integration training to all staff.

Section 3:  Program Monitoring

Detail on each of the 4 required areas will be asked for in the Annual Report each year.  While a monitoring tool will not be required annually, it is the school's responsibility to maintain records of annual training for each staff member. ACSI strongly recommends utilizing the ACSI Monitoring Tool.  If your school chooses to use another method of documentation, please review the ACSI Monitoring Tool and assure that the program you are using includes the same information.  

At the time of your Accreditation Self-Study, the school will need to provide documentation of your Monitoring Tool, schedules for professional development, and other documentation items related to your professional development program.   Continuation in the School-Based Professional Development Program will be determined at each accreditation self-study cycle.

ACSI has created resources to assist you with this tracking and schedule planning should you elect to use them:
Schedule of Planned PD events (sample available HERE)
Monitoring tool (sample available HERE)

Costs

There is a one-time application fee of $250 (to be billed once a school is accepted into the program).

A $350 annual fee for the program will be billed annually in conjunction with ACSI membership.

Recommended Timeline

To have a plan approved and in place for the following fall semester:

• Submit full application instrument by July 1

To have a plan approved and in place for the following spring semester

• Submit full application instrument by December 1

SBPD Relationship to Certification

Please note: Schools in this program will not be required to maintain individual certification for their teachers or administrators while maintaining a positive status in the SBPD program. However, if the school, or an individual teacher within the school, desires to maintain certification in addition to the school-based professional development program, there will be a REDUCED FEE for individual teachers to obtain that certification. There is a separate certification application link for those teachers/administrators.

Initial applicants would still need to submit the application, fee, and any transcripts or related documents so that the certification team can complete an initial evaluation. Any teacher/administrator who currently holds a Standard or Professional Level certificate will be able to use their participation in the school’s approved SBPD as evidence of completed renewal requirements, in whole or in part. Please contact SchoolBasedPD@acsi.org for additional information.