When Kay Crawford completed Level I of the Educational Support Staff Certificate Program a couple years ago, she was so excited she didn't want to stop. So she didn't. Crawford, an in-school supervisor at Portage Junior High School, recently became the first person to complete the course work for Level II of the ESP Certificate program, offered through the WEA Professional Development Academy .
Nobody is ever too old to learn.
With the recent addition of the Level II program, one of the nation's most innovative professional development programs for education support personnel became bigger and better. The Level II program involves more instructional hours and in-depth learning in one or two content areas. Level I requires 40 hours of structured learning in four core curriculum areas and a number of electives. About 25 support staff are participating in the Level II program this fall. In some cases, employers provide financial incentives for employees to attain the certificate.