Premier Series Information

The Premier Series is an array of courses designed to provide teachers with the skills they need to be successful as an instructor in a CTE program.

We recognize that, increasingly, CTE teachers come directly to the profession from industry without having participated in a college/university teacher training program. As such they are often thrust into the profession with inadequate pedagogical preparation.

The Premier Series is designed to provide teachers with the skills they will need to successfully navigate not only the CTE classroom, but the CTE laboratory, work-based learning and CTE student organizations as well. Premier Series courses are offered throughout the state by several providers. The Arizona Department of Education has approved each of these courses and issues a certificate which can be used in lieu of college credit for all courses in this series. These credits enable a teacher to remove deficiencies from their Standard CTE Certificate.

Every Premier Series Course is 15 hours in length and earns one (1) semester hour (SH) of credit with the exception of Methods of Teaching CTE which is 45 hours in length and earns three (3) semester hours of credit. Some courses are 15 hours without homework and some are 7.5 hours with a significant but practical homework assignment equal to the remaining 7.5 hours. During COVID most courses are online.

Upon successful completion of each the course, the participant will have a choice of how credit will be awarded:

• Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Certificate with Superintendent of Public Instruction Seal – This certificate will be accepted by the certification office in lieu of transcripted college credit. It counts toward the “Professional Knowledge” coursework required to remove deficiencies from a teacher’s Standard CTE Certificate, or
• Professional Growth Certificate – For teachers with a Standard CTE Certificate and no deficiencies, a professional growth certificate will be issued for 15 hours of Continuing Education. These hours count toward the 180 hours needed every 12 years for recertification, or
• College Credit – Currently the University of Arizona Agriculture Education Department will grant undergraduate credit or graduate credit. (Course title: AED 497) or graduate credit (course title: AED 597). Credit is also being offered by Northern Arizona University as graduate credit (CTE576). The cost of tuition is the responsibility of the teacher.

The Premier Series is offered throughout the state of Arizona by ACTEAZ, Pima JTED, and West-MEC with a handful of courses available through Cochise Technology District, NAVIT, EVIT, STEDY, and WAVE. ACTEAZ also provides training at the Arizona CTE Summer Conference. Please see the Course Calendar for a current listing of available courses.

For more information, contact [email protected].