TeachME Professional Development

What it is

TeachME Professional Development (teachmeceus.com) sells online continuing education courses that teachers and other educators use for license renewal and professional development hours. Its home page headline is "We Provide Online Continuing Education for Teachers and Educators", and the About page describes it as "a premier CE education provider for Teachers and Educators." The same page says TeachME "is owned and operated by EdCompass, LLC", and the footer gives a mailing address of EdCompass, C/O teachmeceus.com, 2093 Philadelphia Pike, #3733, Claymont, DE 19703.

There are two buyers. An individual teacher buys courses one at a time or takes an unlimited annual membership. A school, district or other organization buys a company plan that covers its staff for a year. That second route is what puts TeachME in training libraries as well as teacher development.

The course catalog

The course search page lists 91 courses totaling 233 hours, filtered by profession, by the state where the learner is licensed and by topic. The topics are Early Childhood Education, Education CEUs, Free CEUs, Health CEUs, Literacy CEUs, Mental Health CEUs, Safe & Supportive Learning Environments, Technology CEUs and Wyoming Approved CEUs.

Most courses run 1 to 4 hours, and a set of longer courses runs 6 to 8 hours. Examples from the catalog:

• Introducing STEAM Learning, Team Teaching in Education, Hands-On Teaching and Learning and Digital Citizenship, each 1 hour.
• Project-Based Learning, Growth Mindset in the Classroom, The Impact of Poverty on Education and Making School a Safe Place for LGBTQ Students, each 2 hours.
• Helping Newcomer Students Succeed and Creating Policies to Support Healthy Schools, each 3 hours.
• Best Practices for Using Data in Personalized Learning, 4 hours.
• Longer courses such as Enhancing Social-Emotional Experiences to Improve Student Outcomes, a literacy course on evidence-based approaches to reading and writing, Technology in K-12 Education and Assisting Students with Learning Disabilities in and Beyond School, at 7 or 8 hours.

One course is free: Effective Strategies for De-Implementation in Education, 1 hour, listed under "Take a FREE Course".

How a course works

Each course ends in an exam. The catalog notes that a course "has been registered with CE Broker and will be instantly reported as soon as you pass and pay for the exam," and each listing has "View Course" and "Take Exam" buttons. The site also warns that a "Course may have special hours depending on the state in which you're licensed or the type of credit you need", with details on each course page.

Certificates follow the exam. For company plans, the site says "Certificates become available immediately for downloading from within the employee and company account as courses are passed. Copies are also emailed to the employee." For Colorado, the approvals page says each participant can print a certificate with the details the state asks for: name, date, course name, contact or clock hours and a representative's signature.

Approvals and accreditation

The "CEUs for Teachers and Educators" page lists the approvals the company claims, in its own words:

• IACET. "EdCompass, LLC (dba TeachMe Professional Development) is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) (#5660188-1) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard."
• Massachusetts. Approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in the content area of Safe & Supportive Learning Environments (Provider # F201500073). Because Massachusetts wants activities that add up to 10 hours, teachers there contact support after completing 10 hours in that area to receive their certificates.
• Nevada. "Approved by the Nevada Department of Education to provide clock hours for educators."
• Texas. The Texas Education Agency is listed with CPE #901943.
• Colorado. The page quotes the Colorado Department of Education's note that it no longer pre-approves CEUs and accepts a certificate with the listed details.
• Early childhood. For CDA credential renewal, the page points educators to the CDA Training Verification form.

The page is also clear about limits: "Please note that it is the responsibility of each licensee to verify acceptance of our courses with their licensing agency," and it says continuing education is the final decision of the school district or other relevant authority.

Prices for individuals

The pricing is simple: "CEUs are $12.00 per Continuing Education Credit Hour." The catalog bears that out, with 1-hour courses at $12.00, 2-hour courses at $24.00, 3-hour courses at $36.00, a 4-hour course at $48.00 and the 8-hour courses at $96.00.

The alternative is the Unlimited CEU Membership: "only $95/year", with which "you can take as many of our courses as you like, whenever you want."

Company plans

Company plans are for "companies or organizations who want to ensure their employees stay current with their credentials and licenses by offering them continuing education hours purchased by the company at greatly reduced rates." A company representative sets up the account, creates as many employee accounts as needed and pays for the plans, and "all employees can take unlimited courses for 1-year."

The price table is per user per year, with unlimited courses at every tier:

| Total users | Cost per user | Courses | | --- | --- | --- | | 10 | $90 | Unlimited | | 25 | $85 | Unlimited | | 50 | $80 | Unlimited | | 100 | $75 | Unlimited | | 250 | $70 | Unlimited | | 500 | $60 | Unlimited | | 1000 | $50 | Unlimited |

The notes set the rules. The company administrator has full access to all employee records, while employees see only their own. Plans are for a single organization and are non-transferable, and company accounts are for 5 or more employees. The company does not accept checks; where a check is the only option, it is accepted only for larger plans and adds a $25 check processing fee to the invoice.

Who writes the courses

The About page names the course writers. Patricia Hocking-Walker holds a teaching credential and a Master's of Science in Psychology from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, and has worked as an educator for twenty years focusing on at-risk individuals. Marlee Chizhevsky, EdS, is an educational specialist and curriculum writer with over nine years in special education. Rebecca Corgan, BA, is a science writer and researcher with a background in biology, chemistry and clinical data analysis.

Support

Support runs by phone at 1-800-413-5262 and by email at support@teachmeceus.com, Monday to Friday from 8:00AM to 4:30PM PST, with a support button on the site and an FAQ. The home page adds that "A portion of every dollar you spend funds medical procedures for people in need."

Who it suits

TeachME suits a US teacher who needs clock hours or CEUs and wants to pay little for them: $12 a credit hour, or $95 a year for as many courses as they like. Teachers in Massachusetts, Nevada, Texas and Wyoming will find approvals named for their state, and early childhood educators renewing a CDA have guidance too. Schools and organizations can cover a whole staff on a per-user annual plan with central records.

It suits less well a teacher who needs graduate credit or a university transcript, which the site does not offer, or one who wants live teaching, since each course is studied online and closed with an exam.