Professional Learning FAQS
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Where do I go to sign up for a Professional Learning Workshop?
Posted by:Registering for a workshop or series is fast and easy! Go to the TrueNorth Midas website to see all of the upcoming professional learning opportunities offered through TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804. Be sure to login to your MIDAS account!
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How do I know if I have a MIDAS account?
Posted by:Your Midas Username is your school email address. In most cases, if you have attended a class with us in the past you have an account. You can reset your password to login for the first time. If you are not getting a reset password email please contact our helpdesk via email midashelp@truenorth804.org.
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How do I create a Midas account for myself or a new staff member?
Posted by:If you or your staff member does not have a MIDAS account and need one created, please contact our helpdesk via email professionallearning@truenorth804.org and provide us with the following information below that is applicable to you. This information helps us to know how to set up your new account.
- Full Legal Name
- Email Address
- IEIN # (if you have one)
- Currently teaching: Yes or No
- District/ Charter
- School/ Organization
- Position
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Is there a cost to attend a workshop?
Posted by:In most cases the workshop fee is waived for TrueNorth employees, Member District employees, and parents of students in our member districts. There may be a cost for materials. Please see the description of the class you are interested in for cost information. All fees will be billed directly to your home district after attendance is confirmed, you are not responsible to bring payment to the session.
Refunds: TrueNorth does not charge prior to the start of the course.
A replacement can be requested if a person is unable to complete the learning series they started. Please note, some courses a replacement is not recommended. Contact our Professional Learning Department professionallearning@truenorth804.org to inquire about a replacement or to cancel your participation.
Retired TrueNorth staff are welcome to attend our learning opportunities at no cost!
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Who is a “Member District” employee?
Posted by:TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 consists of 18 member school districts, if you are employed by one of these districts you qualify! To see the list of our member districts please visit the TrueNorth member district webpage.
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I am not a “Member District” employee, what is the cost for attending a class?
Posted by:The cost for a non member district participant will be posted in the course description. This cost is based upon the length of the course, half day, full day, or series. Material fees may also apply.
TrueNorth employees and member district staff have priority over non-members. You may be contacted if we cannot accommodate you after enrollment. To register for a session you must first create a MIDAS account. Please contact our Professional Learning Department professionallearning@truenorth804.org with any questions.
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Who can I contact to request special accommodations?
Posted by:Accommodations, questions and complaints can be directed to: professionallearning@truenorth804.org
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How do I cancel my registration for a workshop?
Posted by:Please contact our Professional Learning Department via email professionallearning@truenorth804.org and they can remove you from the class!
There is no cancellation fee, though we ask for advanced notice to open the spot for another person. TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 reserves the right to cancel any workshop due to low enrollment.
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My class was cancelled, will it be rescheduled?
Posted by:We don’t like to cancel classes but in cases of severe weather or sickness a cancellation may occur. We make every attempt to reschedule the class based on the instructor and location availability. You will be notified of the cancellation and accommodated to the best of our ability at the next opportunity. All fees are billed directly to your home district after attendance is confirmed, if the class is cancelled we will not send a bill.
TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 reserves the right to cancel any workshop due to low enrollment
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I want to sign up for a class but cannot find it posted for registration
Posted by:You may be looking for a class that already occurred or has been cancelled. If you have any questions about a specific course please contact our team at professionallearning@truenorth804.org.
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I am on the waiting list for a class, when will I know if I was let in?
Posted by:A reminder is sent out to those registered for the class a week before the session. This is when we typically received cancellation notices. Anyone on the waitlist will be notified by email upto the day before the session if there is a spot available for them to attend.
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What are PD hours and CEUs?
Posted by:Professional Development (PD) hours and/ or Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are hours of participation that are awarded to you for completing a professional learning course or a series. These credit hours are issued to the participants to maintain their license in their profession.
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How do I earn PD hours and CEUs?
Posted by:Credit for attending a course is based on your signature on the sign in sheet as well as sign out sheet. You are expected to attend the entire session to earn credit. Virtual attendance is taken via the Zoom Chat. Partial attendance may result in no PD credit. Satisfactory completion requirements for each course or series will be included in the course description.
All participants must complete an evaluation of the class within two weeks of a virtual session to be sent a certificate. If the course is a series, the evaluation will be provided at the final session. Individual courses may specify additional requirements for satisfactory completion, please check the course description for additional requirements. All certificates are sent out via email from professionallearning@truenorth804.org.
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What credits can TrueNorth provide?
Posted by:Non professional attendance credit: Provides proof that you attended a course. This certificate does not provide Hours/CEUs to put towards your professional license.
Professional Educator License (PEL) Professional Development Hours: Required for any person who has or is working on their Educator Licensure with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Continuing Education Units: for the following licences:
- Occupational Therapists
- Physical Therapists
- Social Worker
- Speech Language Pathology/ Audiology
Gateways to Opportunity Professional Development Record (PDR): Professional Development for early care and education practitioners in Illinois.
Administrators' Academy Credit: Required for public school administrators to renew their administrative certification. *Certain courses have been approved by the Lake County ROE for AA credit. These courses will have a fee for processing.
TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 (TrueNorth) has been approved by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to offer continuing education courses for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists.
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I am signed up for a multi-day training, when will I get the certificate with my PD hours/ CEUs?
Posted by:Credit for attending a course is based on your signature on the sign in sheet as well as sign out sheet. Each session of the training series will have a sign in sheet. The Professional Learning Department keeps a running record of which sessions and how many hours you attended. Once you complete the evaluation (provided at the final session) and any other stipulated satisfactory completion requirements you will receive the certificate with the totality of your hours.
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Where can I find a list of classes I attended and the certificates I earned?
Posted by:With the new MIDAS system you can now go to your profile and see your Professional Learning history under “PD Transcript”. We are currently sending out certificates via email, we hope to have the certificates available through MIDAS in the future.
If you are in need of any historical data further back than what is listed in MIDAS please contact our Professional Learning Department via email professionallearning@truenorth804.org for assistance. You will need to provide proof of identity before historical records are released. TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 does not issue retroactive PD Hours or CEUs.
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When should I renew my CPI/ Nonviolent Crisis Intervention certification?
Posted by:We recommend that you take the CPI Refresher course and renew your certification every school year. If you did not participate in an NCI course last school year, you must take the initial course again
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When will I get a bill (participation or materials fee) for the class I attended?
Posted by:If there is a registration or material fee for the course, the cost will be indicated when registering. All fees will be billed directly to the school district that employs the participant after the session is complete or the first session in a series is complete. Individuals are asked to not bring payment to the session. We will bill your district directly, please be sure you have administrative permission to attend.
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I got an email asking for my IEIN - what is that?
Posted by:Any person with a licence through Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is required to have their Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) on the course sign in sheet. You can find your number by logging into the Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS). You can add this to your bio information in MIDAS under “State ID” and it will automatically be added to any sign in sheet for future workshops.
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I have to leave early/ arrive late from the course I registered for - is that okay?
Posted by:We understand that life can be unpredictable. We allow a 5 minute window to allow for last minute arrivals but we do start promptly to respect everyone’s time and to be able to release everyone as scheduled. If you have a conflict with either the start or end time of the course please contact our team, professionallearning@truenorth804.org.
We cannot guarantee you full credit for the course if a portion is missed. If your conflict interferes with the time needed for you to learn and engage actively in the workshop you may be asked to register for another session or an alternate date.
*The Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Initial and Refresher training is a certification class. We will not be able to accommodate anyone who is 20 minutes late or requests to leave early. If you are unable to be present for the entire session, please consider looking at a date that best suits your schedule.
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I would like to bring one of these workshops back to my school/ district! Can we do that?
Posted by:Our TrueNorth District Service Coaches are able to present many of these workshops within your district. Please contact Lindsay Kiraly, Director of Professional Learning and Coaching, for more information. Her contact email is lkiraly@truenorth804.org.
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Who do I contact about my experience with the professional learning at TrueNorth?
Posted by:General suggestions, comments, questions about registration, cancellation, logistics, special requests, etc, contact: Professional Learning Specialist, Amanda Beranek, professionallearning@truenorth804.org.
Future programing, hosting professional learning in your district, professional learning plans, etc, contact: Director of Professional Learning and Coaching, Lindsay Kiraly, lkiraly@truenorth804.org
If for any reason you are not satisfied with your professional learning experience, contact the Director of Professional Learning and Coaching, or a District complaint Manager as directed in the TrueNorth Educational Cooperative 804 policy manual; 2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure.
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Still have a question?
Posted by:Contact our Professional Learning Department; professionallearning@truenorth804.org