The Vermont Department of Education issues and maintains teachers’ educational licensures and endorsements for licensed teachers. This post is a summary of how Vermont residents (or residents of other states) can easily keep up with the required continuing education to maintain their state licence to be a Vermont Educator. I am also documenting this because this is a process that I will repeat every three years to maintain my educational licensure.
Note my licence is officially referred to as: 3-40 (Multilingual Learner, Grades PK-12)
In a nutshell, you need to have evidence that you have completed 3 credits of professional development. One credit equals 15 hours so in terms of hours, 45 hours of professional development is required with the caveat that, “one credit of new learning must apply directly to the knowledge and performance standards of the endorsement to be renewed.” or in my case this means the area of English As an Additional Language. The rest of the PD hours can be mixed and matched to the other teaching standards.
There are few options about how and when you can complete your PD.
Workshops/Seminars/Professional – Category from Vermont Ed.
Fortunately, there are many, self-paced, online courses that Vermont State recognizes at professional development. I chose the following course from the Bureau of Professional Development for 159.00 USD. I did not know there was a time-limit to the course, but Ber.org was nice enough to give me a one month extension to start and complete the course.
Course: Practical Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Making the Most of Student Choice and Small Instructional Groups, Grades 3-6
Bureau of Professional Development
WIDA Multilingual Research Center (MLRC)
If your school is using WIDA then you are probably a member of the MLRC and have access to the free WIDA admin training course via the member hub. This can also be used as part of the PD requirements for a VT licensure renewal and counts for 15 instructional hours or one credit.
You do receive a certificate after completing the quizzes and course modules. See below.
Multilingual Research Center (MLRC)
Update: Now that Pearson had bought WIDA this may have changed.
International Baccalaureate Workshops (IB)
IB workshops also count for PD. As part of my school’s internal PD, I attend a IB DP Language B Cat. 1 at the Saitama Municipal Omiya International Secondary School in Tokyo. This also counted for 15 or another credit.
Educational Research and Publication
Tamagawa Gakuen also has an internal research journal that is faculty can publish to. This also counts as profesisonal devleopment so I stated the hours to reserach and write the report at 9 hours ( I think it was more) which top off all the hours or credits that I needed. Then, I just had to complete the online registration and submit all my evidence. That was all the hours or credits I needed. Done. 
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