Teacher Certification
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      1. LENA Library
      2. LENA Grow Sequence
      3. Teacher Certification

      LENA Grow Teacher Certification

      A teacher is eligible for LENA Grow Teacher Certification after completing all required activities in a sequence (LENA Grow 1 Essentials and/or LENA Grow 2 Insights). The Coach certifies the eligible teacher at Session 5.

      Contents

      Click below to jump to a topic, or use Ctrl+F to search this page.

      Teacher Certification Requirements
      How to Certify a Teacher in LENA Online
      Teacher Surveys
      Accessing Teacher Certificates
      LENA Teacher Certification and State Professional Development Credits
      Certification Troubleshooting

      Teacher Certification Requirements

      Teacher certification requirements are outlined in the LENA Certified Teacher Tracker in the Teacher Guide. Teachers and Coaches use this form to keep track of participation throughout the sequence.

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      How to Certify a Teacher in LENA Online

      As part of Session Preparation for Coaching Session 5, a group's Coach certifies each teacher who met the requirements during the sequence.

      LO_GrowTeacherCertificationQs

      1. Open the Group Staffing tab.
      2. Click Certify Teacher.
      3. Review requirements. If teacher completed, click I Agree. (If not, click I Disagree. The teacher is ineligible for certification.)
      4. Repeat for each eligible teacher.
      5. View, save, or print certificates from this tab, or from the View Reports screen. Bring them to Coaching Session 5. Some programs even frame teachers' certificates.

      Important:

      • Certification tools are unavailable after a group is closed. Certify before closing the group.
      • Certification is not available to teachers in groups with fewer than five LENA Days.
      • Certification is not available for Flex sequences.

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      Teacher Surveys

      At the end of a Grow 1 Essentials or Grow 2 Insights sequence, LENA emails a survey link to each teacher associated with the group.

      The email is bilingual (English/Spanish) and contains a link in each language. After clicking the link, the teacher can also switch between English and Spanish on the first screen of the survey.

      Important Note for Teachers With Shared Email Addresses

      If multiple teachers use the same email address, the system still sends one email message per teacher. In other words, the address will receive several messages. Each message mentions the corresponding teacher by name, and contains a link specific to that teacher.

      Whoever monitors the inbox must distribute the correct links to the correct teachers.

      Tips on what to do when the teacher did not receive a link are here.

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      Accessing Teacher Certificates

      Teacher certificates are available in LENA Online indefinitely, from within the group the teacher is associated with.

      • For all teachers in a group use View Reports.

      LO_Group_ViewReports

      • For all certificates earned by any one teacher use the Group Staffing tab on any group the teacher has participated in. Click View Cert to open the certificate.
      LO_GrowTeacherCertificationViewCert

      To print or save a certificate from a LENA Online screen:

      1. Hit Ctrl+P, or right-click on the report to select Print.
      2. Choose destination.
        • Choose a printer to print the certificate.
        • Choose one of the PDF options to save to your computer as a PDF that you can later attach to an email.
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      LENA Grow Teacher Certification and State Professional Development Credits

      LENA Grow is approved for PD credit in some states. Refer to the list below to understand how you might receive credit in your state. For information on credit for coaches visit LENA Grow Training for Program Managers and Coaches. 

      State Teacher PD Credit
      Alabama

      LENA Grow 1 and LENA Grow 2 PD hours count towards the required annual professional development hours for Alabama child care licensing and teachers can enter certificates into the Alabama Pathways Registry. The LENA Grow certification process is all that is required. Certificates should be provided to teachers for licensing documentation and to upload into their Alabama Pathways account.
      Colorado

      LENA Grow 1 Essentials is approved for 4.5 hours and LENA Grow 2 Insights is approved for 3.5 hours in the Colorado Professional Development Information System (PDIS). To process approval, LENA Trained Coaches submit the LENA Grow Completions Google Form once educators have completed the LENA Grow sequence(s). The google form is available in the PDIS and is emailed to coaches seasonally. Guidance Document: Awarding Professional Development for LENA Grow in Colorado Shines PDIS.
      Louisiana

      LENA Grow 1 and LENA Grow 2 PD hours count towards the required 12 clock hours of annual continuing education for Louisiana Early Learning Center Licensing Regulations and the Louisiana Career Development Track as long as the LENA Grow coach is an approved trainer in the Louisiana Pathways Registry.

      Teacher PD Approval Steps:

      1. LENA coach applies for Pathways approval through the LDE Fasttrack or Independent Trainer application process. The LDE FastTrack process is for those who work for a Louisiana agency and is typically the most efficient.
      2. In addition to the LENA Grow certificate, coach provides teachers with a second page that includes the LENA Grow certificate information, coach’s name, Louisiana Pathways Registry trainer ID number, and the Louisiana Pathways logo.
      3. Teachers provide their program with a copy of the amended certificate for their child care licensing training file and retain a separate copy for Pathways Career Development Track submission.
      Maryland

      LENA Grow 1 and LENA Grow 2 PD hours count toward required annual teacher professional development hours for Maryland child care licensing and toward the Maryland Child Care Credential. For licensing, teachers should retain LENA certificates as training documentation. For the Maryland Child Care Credential, teachers should submit them as part of their application.
      Ohio

      LENA Grow 1 Teacher Certificate is approved for 4.5 hours and LENA Grow 2: Insights is approved for 3.5 hours in the Ohio Professional Registry.

      The LENA Grow Coach training approved for 4.5 train-the-trainer hours in the Ohio Professional Registry.

      Teacher PD Approval Steps:

      1. Agency requests the approved training number (AT) from LENA through the agency’s Training Organization Dashboard. (The Ohio Training Organization Dashboard user guide is here.)
      2. LENA receives an alert and accepts the request. This automatically adds the AT to the agency’s dashboard so it can be scheduled.
      3. Agency creates a scheduled event (ST) with one session only. Create one ST per LENA Grow site/cohort. For the event, select a date range that includes the last possible completion date for any participating educator.
      4. Once the educator(s) have completed the LENA Grow sequence, agency verifies attendance in the system for the single session. Educators then receive the PD credit.

      Coach PD Approval Steps:

      1. Agency emails LENA to let us know coach(es) completed training and quiz and provide their OPIN number(s).
      2. LENA adds the coach(es) to the system and approves the training.

      Tennessee

      LENA Grow 1 and LENA Grow 2 hours, as rewarded on the LENA Grow Teacher Certificate, count towards the required annual training hours for Tennessee child care licensing when documented in the TNPAL system. LENA Grow satisfies the 3-hour Pre-Literacy and Literacy Skills and Education Implementation requirement.

      To grant credit to teachers, coaches submit teachers’ LENA Grow certificates through their organization's TNPAL state-approved portal. Additional approval is not required.
      Texas

      LENA Grow PD hours count toward required annual teacher professional development for Texas child care licensing for so long as the coach who delivered the program satisfies the Texas Child Care Trainer Requirements.

      Teacher PD Approval Steps:

      1. Via the Texas Early Childhood Professional Development System (TECPDS), the teacher submits the LENA certificate with a second typed page noting the LENA coach name and specifics on how the coach satisfies the Texas Child Care Trainer Requirements.      
      2. The teacher’s coach, a TECPDS approved trainer, logs into TECPDS and creates a new certificate through the system’s certificate generator.
      Virginia

      Certificate accepted if the LENA Grow coach is approved in the registry. 

      Coach may also submit extra hours on behalf of the teacher above those listed on the LENA grow certificate.

      Washington, DC

      PD hours awarded on the LENA Grow Teacher Certificate count towards the required annual professional development hours in the DC Professional Development Information System when conducted by TAP-approved organizations. Approved organizations enter the training information into the system. Teachers should retain the LENA Certificate along with the coach’s information and organization’s TAP approval number.
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      Certification Troubleshooting

      Certify button does not appear for teachers on Group Staffing tab.

      The certify button only appears after LENA Day 5 for an open group. A teacher cannot be certified before LENA Day 5 has been processed. 

      Forgot to certify teachers before closing group.

      Please contact your LENA Partner Success Manager or support@lena.org for assistance.

      Teacher did not receive survey link via email.

      If a certified teacher does not receive their survey link by email, it's usually for one of these reasons:

      • Typo in the email address in LENA Online.
      • Teacher checked the wrong email account (e.g., personal instead of work).
      • Message went to a folder like junk, other, clutter, or spam instead of into the inbox.

      Note: If the teacher's email address is incorrect in LENA Online, please contact support@lena.org for assistance. We can help re-send the survey, and also ensure that the email error does not adversely affect your program's subscription usage calculations.

      Teacher's certification(s) from a previous group are not listed.

      This happens if the teacher was accidentally duplicated in their second group by way of a typo or other data entry error. Please contact support@lena.org for assistance, as this can also affect your subscription usage calculations.

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