Updated June 2, 2025
How many PD hours do I need in 2025-2026?
If you have a typical teacher contract, then you need 24 hours of professional development each year.  Six (6) of those hours are scheduled for you on our District PD Day (Aug 5) at Southwestern High School.  That leaves you with 18 hours of "Flexible Professional Development" for you to schedule with your department, with your school, with your principal, or on your own with principal pre-approval.

1. May 1 Deadline
   All PD must be logged in Vector by May 1 (at the end of the school year).  Any PD hours earned after the district's official "Closing Day" can be counted toward the next school year.

2. Pre-approval
   Request PD credit approval from your principal *before* participating in an outside-the-district PD.  Do not assume that it will be approved. 

3. Growth Days (G-Days)
   Growth Days are built into the School Calendar as "Work Day for Teachers."  These days are intended for district- and school-organized trainings, department meetings, content area collaboration, and curriculum refinement.  These work days might include some professional development activities, but because they're separately scheduled contract days, you can't also count them as PD hours.

4. Flexible Professional Development
   This is the formal name for the PD hours you need to accrue over the course of the year.  They're "flexible" because you often have a choice as to when and where you get these professional development hours. Be sure to get these hours pre-approved by your principal.

Would you explain my contract days, please?

Most teachers are contracted for 185 days.  Here's how they add up:
    - 170 Instructional Days
    - 5 Growth Days (G-Days)
    - 4 PD Days (24 hours): One district PD day (6 hours), and 18 hours of Flexible Professional Development
    - 4 Paid Holidays: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year
    - 1 Opening Day
    - 1 Closing Day

Why are there so many different names for the programs we use?

This can be frustrating.  Several of the programs we've been using have changed names in the last few years.  VeriTime and Aesop were purchased by Frontline.  TeachPoint was purchased by Vector Solutions.  Veteran staff members often call them by their former names.
    - Frontline Time and Attendance (formerly VeriTime) - clocking in and out
    - Frontline Absence Management (formerly Aesop) - sick days and scheduling subs
    - Vector Solutions (formerly TeachPoint) - tracking professional development

I attended a PD on a Growth Day.  Why didn't I get PD credit?

You already got credit/paid for that time as a growth day - as part of your regular contract.  You can't "double-dip."    Teachers get paid for five Growth Days and 24 hours of PD. It's illegal for the district to pay you for working the Growth Day *and* credit you the hours for PD.

Do I need to clock in for Flexible Professional Development that I attend in the summer? 

No, but it won't hurt anything if you do, so if your principal says to clock in and out, please do.  Flexible Professional Development hours are tracked in Vector.  All other contracted days are tracked by clocking in and out with Frontline/VeriTime.

Why didn't I get credit for attending a district-organized PD session?

It's probably one of these reasons:

1. You still need to complete the Feedback Form in Vector.  (See instructions in the Vector FAQ page.)

2. If the training was in-person, you might not have signed the attendance sheet.

3. If the training was online, you might not have signed-in soon enough (or at all) with the Vector Attendance Verification Code.  Vector leaves about 30 minutes after the meeting to sign in.