Educator Support Pathway for
Tenure Eligible Positions - Library Media Specialist
Projected Tenure of June 30, 2025
What is the Educator Support Pathway?
PowerSchool: This website is where you register for courses and the district records your clock hours. Search courses by title or the course number provided to register. VIDEO: Course registration | Schoology: This website is where you will find your asynchronous courses. After registering for a course in PowerSchool, go to Schoology and click courses. You should see an icon with the course name. Upon completion of work and any necessary grading by a facilitator, Schoology will tell PowerSchool to assign you credit automatically. |
Year 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
Mentor Mentee Program MENTOR MENTEE/ESP: Mentor Mentee Program - Mentees Mentoring is individualized, differentiated, and flexible to meet professional growth goals for educators just entering the field of education and those coming to SPPS with previous experience. New educators typically participate in the Mentor Mentee Program in their first year of employment. Most mid-year hires will work with a mentor during the year they are hired, and support will carry over into the next school year.
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Collaborative Content Cohort Year 1 for Library Media Specialists ESP: Collaborative Cohort Year 1/AT - Library Media Specialist
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Foundational Equity Course: 19282 EQUITY/MLR (P1, P2): Foundational Equity for Educator Support Pathway
This course is completed outside of contracted time and educators are awarded 10 clock hours for relicensure along with 1.0 in-service credit to go towards a lane change. This is a PowerSchool-Schoology integrated course and clock hours will be marked as complete the day following all course requirements are met. In-service credits are reviewed quarterly for completion and posted to PowerSchool.
Please contact Len Jordan (len.jordan@spps.org) with questions. | |||||||||||||||||||
Digital Learning - iLearn Sampler Course Course: 19779 PL: iLearn Sampler Educators get to personalize their learning with a session of their choosing around creativity and instructional tools available for students and staff on SPPS issued iPads. Educators pick a 2-hour iLearn Sampler course to complete. Educators will be compensated at the PD rate of pay for the 2-hour session that meets the requirement for Educator Support Pathway. If desired, check out optional Schoology and Seesaw support courses. Please contact Amanda Madsen (amanda.madsen@spps.org) with questions.
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Formal Observations A formal observation cycle is one in which there is a self-assessment, pre-conference (optional), observation, and post conference. By MN Statute, non-tenured educators are required to have a minimum of three formal evaluations throughout the year by administration. | Complete | ||||||||||||||||||
Year 2 | |||||||||||
Collaborative Content Cohort Year 2 for Library Media Specialists
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Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) Course SPFE offers a variety of professional development courses for members. Courses are research-based, created and delivered by educators, and provide opportunities for self-reflection, application and implementation. Probationary educators select an SPFE course (30 hours) based on their professional goals as part of achievement of tenure. Courses are most often taken during the second year of probation but can be started during year one if an educator chooses or during the third year. Detailed course descriptions. Teachers coming to SPPS with 0-3 years of contracted experience (based on initial hire date) must take Foundations of Effective Teaching or email tlc@spfe28.org to discuss options. Courses are offered year round. Educators who are coming to SPPS with 4 or more years of contracted educator experience choose one of the following courses:
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Formal Observations A formal observation cycle is one in which there is a self-assessment, pre-conference (optional), observation, and post conference. By MN Statute, non-tenured educators are required to have a minimum of three formal evaluations throughout the year by administration. | Complete | ||||||||||
Year 3 | |||||||||||
Collaborative Content Cohort Year 3 for Library Media Specialists ESP: Collaborative Cohort Year 3/AT - Library Media Specialists
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Academic Language/Language Considerations and Demands (Multilingual Learners) ESP: Academic Language Year 3/AT Course: 20855 This asynchronous course is self-paced with three hours worth of content. This course is completed outside of contracted time and educators are awarded 3 clock hours for relicensure along with 0.3 in-service credit to go towards a lane change. Please contact Kris Melgar (kristine.melgar@spps.org) with questions.
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Formal Observations A formal observation cycle is one in which there is a self-assessment, pre-conference (optional), observation, and post conference. By MN Statute, non-tenured educators are required to have a minimum of three formal evaluations throughout the year by administration. | Complete | ||||||||||
Course Descriptions
Optional Courses and Resources
Educator Support Pathway
The SPPS Educator Support Pathway is designed to support and provide feedback for educators as they undertake the important work of public education. The Educator Support Pathway provides professional learning opportunities that deepen educators’ abilities to personalize learning and create safe, equitable learning environments for all.
Designed by SPPS and Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE), the Educator Support Pathway leads to achievement of tenure for eligible positions under the teacher bargaining unit. Educators can access the Educator Support Pathway Schoology group for details and resources.
Various forms of mentoring assist educators throughout their probationary years. Educators participate in the Mentor Mentee Program during their first year of probation unless they are participating in mentoring/coaching from a department-specific program (e.g., school social workers or nurses). Related service teams, content areas, and departments may also have mentoring and coaching that occurs during probation for differentiated support.
Tenure-track educators who are governed by the SPFE contract complete professional development through a cohort model that meets each year of probation. Foundational professional development areas include: academic language, content specific, equity, personalized learning, positive culture and climate, and universal access.
SPFE offers a variety of professional development courses for members. As part of achieving tenure and based on their professional goals, probationary educators select an SPFE course (20 - 30 hours) to take during the second year of probation. Educators may start a course during year one.
Registration is required on PowerSchool to participate in professional development courses. Courses that meet an achievement of tenure requirement will be marked with AT in the title in PowerSchool. The educator’s PowerSchool transcript is evidence of professional development completion.
Summer 2023 Update: According to MN Statute 122A.41, the probationary period for tenure-track educators is three years, unless they have three consecutive years of teaching/ professional service in a Minnesota district or charter school. A probationary educator must complete at least 90 days of teaching/professional service during each year of the probationary period. Days devoted to parent-teacher conferences, educator workshops, other professional development opportunities, and days of absence do not count as days of service.
Feedback, Observations, and Evaluation
Probationary educators receive at least three evaluations in each of the three years prior to earning tenure. Each of these evaluations is summative up to that point of the school year and is based on more than a single observation. Probationary employees will complete a self-assessment and can be asked to provide lesson/instructional plans. See details for Probationary Feedback Cycles for SY22-23.
The conference following the observation is completed within 10 school days of the observation but preferably sooner. According to MN Statute, the first evaluation must be within 90 days of the start of employment; Human Resources recommends within 45 days. The first evaluation for an employee beginning at the start of the school year must be completed prior to December 15, with the second evaluation by February 28 and the third by April 15.
Access the Educator Support Pathway Schoology group for details and resources.