LENA Grow Teacher Certification

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.