Maintaining Teacher Certification

Initial Professional Certificate (IPC)
Career Continuous Professional Certificate (CCPC)

Initial Professional Certificate (IPC)

An initial professional certificate is valid for four years and is assigned to new graduates of teacher education programs and individuals with less than four years of teaching experience who meet the minimum requirements and qualifications. To maintain this certificate, and apply for a career continuous certificate, you must:

Completion of 4 years of approved teaching experience.
Develop and implement an Individual Professional Development Plan that is on file with the District. For Willard Schools you will submit this annually in Talent Ed.
Participation in a district mentoring program for 2 years. For Willard Schools this will be facilitated through this Canvas course and includes the Willard 101 Teacher Induction Program held in August.
Participation in an accredited Beginning Teacher Assistance (BTA) program offered by a Missouri college or university, Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC), or professional teacher organization such as MNEA or MSTA. You can NOT include this on your PD Log. For Willard Schools will typically host a BTA in the Fall that is facilitated by MSTA.
By the end of year 4, successful completion of 30 contact hours of professional development which may include college credits (1 semester hour equals 15 contact hours of professional development). For Willard Schools, we provide you with a PD Log Template that you can choose to use to record your hours. District Office will request a copy of that log when it is time for you to upgrade to a CCP Certificate. These PD hours can occur during or outside of contract time. You can NOT include BTA.
Successfully complete the annual performance-based teacher evaluations. For Willard Schools, these will be documented in Talent Ed.

Career Continuous Professional Certificate (CCPC)

The District will verify that you have completed the requirements for upgrading your initial certificate. You and the District will jointly complete the application for a CCPC certificate. This application must be submitted within 30 days of the expiration date of the IPC.

The CCPC is a permanent teaching license with maintenance requirements:

Develop and implement an Individual Professional Development Plan that is on file with the District. For Willard Schools you will submit this annually in Talent Ed.
Complete 15 hours of professional development per year which may include appropriate college courses (1 semester hour equals 15 contact hours of professional development). For Willard Schools, we provide you with a PD Log Template that you can choose to use to record your hours. These PD hours can occur during or outside of contract time. Send this log to District Office at the end of each school year until you are exempt.
Successfully complete the annual performance-based teacher evaluations. For Willard Schools, these will be documented in Talent Ed.

Those who complete 2 of the 3 following requirements will be exempt from the professional development requirement:

Complete 10 years of teaching.
Complete a master's degree.
Obtain national certification from an agency recognized by DESE.

Additional Resources

DESE Teacher Certification

DESE Teacher Certification

Teacher Certification FAQs

Q: What documentation do I need to keep regarding my certification?
Q: What is the Professional Development Log and how do I use it?

Q: What documentation do I need to keep regarding my certification?

Professional Development Log with dates, number of hours, and subject matter; This log will be requested by the District when you upgrade to a CCP Certificate, and will need to be sent to District Office every May to maintain the CCP Certificate. See the question below for more details.
Personal Professional Development Plan: Print from Talent Ed each year.
Beginning Teacher Assistance (BTA) Certificate: Distributed at meeting;
Mentor Protege Program Completion Certificate: Distributed in May once all requirements are met.
Performance-based Teacher Evaluations: Print from Talent Ed each year.

You can utilize these forms to track completion of requirements:

Q: What is the Professional Development Log and how do I use it?

The Professional Development Log is a record of your PD activities that includes the date, subject matter/title, and number of hours. This is documentation you keep to maintain your Missouri teaching certification, regardless of what District you are employed by. Not to be confused with Willard's District Growth Hours, for which you are required to do 6 hours per year outside of contract time. Anything you record for Willard District Growth Hours can be included in your Professional Development Log as well.

If you have a Initial Professional Certificate, by the end of your 4th year of teaching, you must complete 30 contact hours of professional development which may include college credits (1 semester hour equals 15 contact hours of professional development). You should document those hours as they occur in your PD Log. These PD hours can occur during or outside of contract time. For example, you can record the time spent in meetings during Willard 101. You can NOT count BTA. District Office will request a copy of that log when it is time for you to upgrade to a CCP Certificate.

If you have a Career Continuous Professional Certificate, to maintain your certification you are required to complete 15 hours of professional development per year which may include appropriate college courses (1 semester hour equals 15 contact hours of professional development). You should document those 15 hours as they occur in your PD Log. These PD hours can occur during or outside of contract time. Send this log to District Office every May to maintain your CCP Certificate.

Those with a CCPCertificate who complete 2 of the 3 following requirements will be exempt from the professional development requirement and no longer have to maintain a PD Log:

Complete 10 years of teaching.
Complete a master's degree.
Obtain national certification from an agency recognized by DESE.

If you reach exemption status, instead of sending your PD Log to District Office in May of that school year, send this completed form: Career Continuous Professional Certificate Record of Met Requirements.

Logo Image

Logo Title

In This Section