Plano ISD National Board Cohorts

Plano ISD's NBCTs from Cohort 1: (left to right) Cohort co-facilitator Craig McKinney, Isabel Pawling, Imelda Carrasco, Rebecca Vanderbrook, Jennifer Shelton, Casey Goodwin, Sarah Manthey, and Kristy Dellinger

National Board certification is the most respected professional certification available in education. The Board-certification process was established by teachers, for teachers, to allow educators to certify against a set of standards for accomplished teaching. Educators can pursue certification in 25 certificate areas by completing an assessment that involves four components.

Teachers may choose to undertake certification on their own or join a cohort program for guidance and support. The National Board website (nbpts.org) provides a wealth of resources for candidates or for those who are interested in learning more about the process. 

Plano ISD supports teachers in the National Board certification process through a two-year cohort in which teachers work through the components with the guidance of cohort facilitators and National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) mentors. In December 2023, Plano ISD's inaugural cohort celebrated its first group of seven NBCTs. In 2023-24, the district supported two cohorts in various stages of the certification process. The district is launching a fourth cohort for the 2024-25 school year. Applications for future cohorts will be available in the spring of 2025. 

Individuals who become NBCTs automatically earn a Recognized designation under the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) and receive annual allotment funding of $3,000 to $9,000 from the State. Compensation amount varies by campus. For more information on this, visit the National Board Certification in Texas page. 

Plano ISD Professional Learning would like to thank NexPoint and the Plano ISD Education Foundation for their support of our National Board cohorts. 

If you have questions about National Board Certification in Plano ISD, please contact Craig McKinney, PL Director at craig.mckinney@pisd.edu or (469) 752-4786. 

Vector Solutions Compliance Training Plan 2024-2025

Please take a few moments to carefully review the Vector Solutions Compliance Training 2024-2025. Vector Solutions (formerly Safe Schools) includes many of our courses required by law and/or board policy. This overview provides all the necessary information about how to log in to Plano ISD’s Vector Solutions website and complete the required training.

Vector Solutions serves an important role in Plano ISD. Compliance training protects the district from liability, and teaches employees about safety and legal guidelines. New employees are required to take more courses than employees who have already received training in previous years. Both lists are available below. Notice that due dates for new employees and existing employees may be different.

Logging In to Vector Solutions

Vector Solutions can be accessed through the link below or Webdesk.  Login to webdesk with your PISD network credentials (firstname.lastname) and your normal district password. Then select the Vector Solutions icon:

Once logged in, all mandatory courses will be listed on the homescreen. Suggested courses may be listed below the required courses. You are not required to take any suggested courses unless instructed to do so. If you do not see a required course, please contact SafeSchools@pisd.edu.

Classroom management resources and professional learning information is available for classroom teachers and support staff is now available here! For professional learning information regarding this topic, be sure to check out the information located under "Instructor-Led courses".

The Plano ISD Professional Learning Department partnered with the PISD Education Foundation and NEXPOINT to provide the 2024 Summer Teacher Externship Program, a program which promotes learning that reaches beyond traditional classroom or workshop settings and provides the teacher the opportunity to engage in experiences that focus on classroom-to-career connections. Working side-by-side with knowledgeable and skilled professionals, teacher externs are better able to prepare students with current and future workplace skills and build meaningful relationships that ultimately benefit teachers, students, the school district, and hosting organizations. 

The application for summer of 2025 will be available in the spring. 

Contact craig.mckinney@pisd.edu with questions.

Check out the PowerSchool Development calendar for additional learning opportunities.Use the Course Search box to browse our catalog. You can also access the Calendar in the top-right corner to search for offerings by date and time.