AmeriCorps Benefits Described s.com



Colorado Corps Member Professional Development CommitmentBackground on Professional Development ExpectationsAs a member of Teach For America, we have a responsibility through our alternative certification and as a committed steward of our students, families, and communities, to provide our students with a transformational learning experience. In addition to this, we also have an obligation to ourselves to finish the corps with a clearer passion and conviction for our long term role as an educational leader. ASPIRE – TFA PLC RequirementsThe ASPIRE to Teach licensure and professional learning program requires 60 hours of Professional Learning Community hours to be completed by TFA Corps Members. This translates to 10 Saturday sessions, one per month, throughout the 2013-14 academic year. Corps Members will need to fulfill these hours and will be responsible for all content in order to be eligible for their Americorps Education Award at the end of their 1st year. You are expected to prioritize your attendance in accordance with Teach For America’s Absence Policy (below). In addition to these professional development dates, it is also expected that you complete your First 8 Weeks, Mid, and End of Year surveys and engage with your MTLD in ongoing support.Critical Dates for your Calendar:August PLC: 8/10 in DenverSeptember PLC and Corps Conference: 9/7 in Denver, 9/21 in Colorado SpringsOctober PLC: 10/12 in DenverNovember PLC and All Corps Conference: 11/16 in Colorado SpringsDecember PLC: 12/14 in Colorado SpringsJanuary PLC and All Corps Conference: 1/25 in DenverFebruary PLC: 2/22 in Colorado SpringsMarch PLC and Corps Conference: 3/8 in Denver, 3/15 in Colorado SpringsApril PLC: 4/26 in Colorado SpringsMay PLC: 5/10 in DenverIf you have a conflict with a session you have several options to make-up the time missed:For the Months of September and March - You can make-up a session by attending the Colorado Springs or Denver session you are not assigned to attend. You will need to email your ALI and JR.Treto@ at Teach For America to let them know of this change.School/District Conflicts – Given that attendance at all professional development is required for CU-Denver licensure and in accordance with Teach For America’s Americorps requirements, these instances should be very rare and must be approved by TFA and Suzanne Arnold of the ASPIRE program. If the conflict is due to a professional learning experience, you could potentially earn Professional Learning Time for your school/district time that day – but this would only be in very rare circumstances where similar content is being covered. You would need to submit your school professional development agenda along with a description of your responsibilities for potential approval with a minimum of 2 weeks notice. However, this does not include parent-teacher conferences or other non-professional learning types of experiences with the school/district.For professional absences, you will need to make up the 6 hours of Professional Learning Time and content by attending two Thursday evening ASPIRE make-up sessions in Denver during the month following your absence. It will still be counted as a Saturday absence in accordance with Teach For America Americorps Requirements.If approval is granted by Suzanne Arnold for you to attend a school professional development event in lieu of your ASPIRE commitment, you will need to provide documentation of attendance to Teach For America (i.e. sign-in sheet or email confirmation from a school administrator).Personal Conflict – These are very rare (i.e. participation in a sibling’s wedding) and must be approved at least a month in advance by emailing Suzanne Arnold and JR Treto. In case of illness, notification will need to be provided as soon as possible to both your ALI and JR Treto. For personal absences, you will need to make up the 6 hours of Professional Learning Time and content by attending two Thursday evening ASPIRE make-up sessions in Denver during the month following your absence. It will still be counted as a Saturday absence in accordance with Teach For America Americorps Requirements.Absence PolicyWe understand that unavoidable circumstances (i.e. you get sick, etc…) may prevent you from attending a formal professional development event. Please note the following: Arriving significantly late or leaving early will be counted as a partial absence.Absences should only occur in the event of unavoidable circumstances and regardless of absence circumstance you can miss no more than 1.5 Saturdays (i.e. the purpose of the 1.5 is to account for unavoidable circumstances)For any Saturday absences, you will still need to make up the 6 hours of Professional Learning Time and content by attending two Thursday evening ASPIRE make-up sessions in Denver during the month following your absence (unless you have been approved to swap out school/district professional learning time)More than 1.5 absences during the year will result in:an improvement conversation and plan with your MTLD, ALI, and regional staff about your continued learning and development as a committed Teach For America corps member and ASPIRE candidatethe forfeiture of your AmeriCorps education award (see specifics of Americorps policy below for additional guidance)AmeriCorps Benefits OverviewTeach For America is currently an AmeriCorps qualifying program and as such you are eligible for specific benefits. Individual corps members may receive loan forbearance, interest accrual payment and education awards. Each year, Teach For America must reapply for membership in the AmeriCorps network; as a result, benefits are never a guarantee from one year to the next. Teach For America is approved as an AmeriCorps program because of the organization’s commitment to impacting student achievement. Once Teach For America is approved as an AmeriCorps program each year, corps members are enrolled as members and must meet specific criteria to receive their education award. Members must follow the prescribed AmeriCorps policies and procedures, document a set number of hours of service, and fulfill all requirements of their AmeriCorps program—Teach For America, in this case. It is the responsibility of each individual corps member to work closely with the Colorado regional AmeriCorps contact to complete all requirements.AmeriCorps Benefits Described? Loan forbearance for qualified loans for each one-year term of service? Payment of accrued interest on loans put into forbearance during the term(s) of service? An education award in the amount of $5,350+ for each term of service that can be used toward either the payment of past student loans or the cost for future educational pursuits Corps members are eligible for benefits for up to two one-year terms of service. If a member has served in an AmeriCorps program prior to Teach For America, he or she may be ineligible for some or all of the benefits available through Teach For America.Regional RequirementsAs stated above in professional development expectations, AmeriCorps members must fulfill the requirements of their program (Teach For America) to receive the benefits outlined above. Therefore, Teach For America · Colorado prescribes the following criteria that must be met for corps members to receive these Americorps benefits:1. AmeriCorps Requirements and Paperwork:Abide by all AmeriCorps policies and proceduresComplete one enrollment form Complete one Requirements, Policies and Procedures formComplete a principal verification form documenting a total of 1700 hours of service (including teaching and professional development)Complete one end-of-term exit form2. Required Program Elements:Attend all mandatory professional development commitments outlined in the above calendarComplete the Teach For America First 8 Weeks, Mid-year, and End-of-year surveysEngage in meaningful ongoing support with your MTLDAgreement of Professional Development Expectations and Americorps requirements outlined above:I have read the above policy regarding Teach For America Colorado regional programming requirements and corps member expectations. I understand that failure to comply with requirements or an excess of three absences from mandatory regional professional development may result in my ineligibility for AmeriCorps benefits and ultimately dismissal from the corps for the 2013-2014 term of service.Name (print) Signature Date ................
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