The Kansas State Department of Education is looking for volunteers from pre-K-12 and higher education to review educator preparation programs. 

Program reviewer training takes place in the fall. 

Why become a program reviewer?  

• Give back to the profession. 
• Make sure standards are maintained in Kansas educator preparation programs. 
• Build a network outside your district. 
• Earn Professional Development points (confirm this with your district). 
• Pick which programs you review based on your content area and schedule. 
• The flexibility to travel to Topeka or conduct reviews via ZOOM. 
• KSDE reimburses your district for your substitute on the day you work on program reviews. 

To be a program reviewer, you need to hold an endorsement in any of the educator license and endorsement content areas Kansas offers or be part of an education preparation program and instruct in that content field; understand the current preparation standards; and take part in KSDE’s training for program reviewers.  

Program reviews help maintain strong educator preparation in Kansas. Each educator preparation program in Kansas must be peer reviewed and approved by the Kansas State Board of Education. Program reviews are a vital part of each educator preparation provider’s accreditation process.  

Program reviewers review current programs and newly proposed programs for alignment to program standards. Reviews are held in the fall and spring semesters. 

Each review team meets once, with reading done ahead of time, plus an email exchange later. Teams typically review one to two programs in the same license/content area. New review teams are formed every semester. 

If you would like to volunteer to be a program reviewer, sign up here: https://ksde.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bJaPlm0vk1SRNpY. If you have questions about becoming a program reviewer, contact KSDE’s Catherine Chmidling (cchmidling@ksde.org) or Joe Midgley (jmidgley@ksde.org).