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 the 2022-23 school year, PISD has two cohorts in progress in partnership with ESC Region 10. The district will launch a third cohort for the 2023-24 school year with the application process taking place in spring 2023. Further information will be posted on this page and will be provided in PISD all-staff emails. 

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. 

If you have questions about National Board Certification in Plano ISD, please contact Craig McKinney, PL Coordinator at craig.mckinney@pisd.edu or (469) 752-8084.

The Professional Learning Dates Calendar includes designated district and campus PL dates for the 2022-23 school year. These dates include required district-led professional learning and required collaborative team planning time (identified on the document as District PL: Learning and Teaching). Principals are encouraged to share these dates and expectations about engaging in district-led learning and campus time, as designated in the document linked above. Please mark your calendars to ensure these dates do not conflict with personal plans. Any absences must be approved by the principal and entered into Teams since these are all contract work days.  

Vector Solutions Compliance Training Plan 2022-2023

Please take a few moments to carefully review the 2022-2023 Vector Solutions (formerly SafeSchools) training information. Vector Solutions includes many of our mandatory trainings which are 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 take 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".

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