ACE - Professional Development Certification Program

In accordance with Florida statutes, the ACE Professional Development Certification Program is designed to provide mid-career professionals the opportunity to fulfill instructional requirements to qualify as an educator. After completing the ACE program, participants may seek professional teaching certificates.

Need Help?

The ACE Professional Development Certification Program is provided online through the FLDOE EdVentures program.

  • Participants work online at their own pace.
  • Monthly online orientations are provided to assist participants in getting started with the program.
  • Optional face-to-face mentoring sessions, Saturday workshops, and summer workshops are provided to assist participants with the program requirements.
  • A mentor is available to assist participants at their school site with job-embedded professional development.

Administrators looking for more information on the ACE program can view a five-minute recorded webinar linked here.

Prospective participants must:

  • Hold at least a bachelor’s degree.
  • Have a full time paid K-12 instructional position with the Polk County School District in a position that does not change from day to day.  You must be teaching in your area of certification. Participants must be the teacher of record with students assigned to them as their teacher. Participants must be able to create curriculum that will be used by their students over time. ACE tasks do require direct student contact with the same students over time. Participants must be teaching in the area they are temporarily certified.  Intensive Reading and Gifted Teachers on 2021 temporary certificates and beyond will not be eligible for ACE. Staff in positions such as Deans, Network Managers, Testing Coordinators, Facilitators, Social Workers, Para Professionals, Instructional Coaches, and Long-Term Subs may not participate in the ACE Program. (*Due to State Statute and State Program Approval Requirements)
  • Meet the subject area requirement by achieving a passing score on an FLDOE Subject Area Exam for the subject area taught.
  • Pass all subtests of the General Knowledge Exam.
  • Acquire a Florida Temporary Teaching Certificate and Statement of Eligibility

Interested in becoming a teacher?

Check out these resources:

Teaching in Florida website

Polk County Public Schools Recruitment webpage

Colored become a teacher photo

ACE Program Application

Cost of program participation is $1,000.

Cost for district charter school participants is $1,250

Checks should be made payable to Polk County Public Schools. ACE currently does not accept payroll deduction or credit card payments. Fees must be paid in full upon application to the program.

ACE Application 2019-20 School Year

The last day to join ACE for those teachers on a 2020 temporary certification is May 1, 2019.

Online Informational Meetings for Those Interested in Joining ACE

ACE Informational Flyer

Sample ACE Task (Task 1)

Some Components of ACE Can be Completed Before you Formally Enter the ACE Program.  Click here for more information

Financial Assistance

Participants who were in the military may qualify for financial assistance. You can find more information about the Troops to Teachers Program here.

EdVentures Task Site

Access ACE Tasks on the EdVentures website at this link: http://tracking.altcertflorida.org/Auth/LogOn. You will sign in with the user name D-53-FirstInitialLastName. Your initial password is “newaccount.” Please log on and change your password upon admittance into the ACE Program.

Finding Scores for Your Task

Participants may access scores for their completed tasks at EdVentures. 

Mentors

Information Coming Soon

Professional Education Test Study Materials

This Moodle site has been set up to assist teachers in studying for the FTCE Professional Education test. This test must be taken and passed prior to completion of the ACE Program. Test results take up to four weeks to post to your FLDOE account.

Follow instructions to access the site here: FTCE Professional Education Test.

Please refer to the FTCE Teacher Test Study Assistance webpage for more testing information.

Turning in Tasks for Feedback and Scoring

Completed ACE tasks should be turned in to the mentor via the Moodle ACE Task Delivery Site found here: moodle.polk-fl.net. The Moodle username and password are the same as your district-issued email address and password.
ACE participants at charter schools will need to create a NetConnect user name and password following these instructions for guest users and then email the ACE facilitator to be added to the Moodle ACE Task Delivery Site.
The participant should email the task’s mentor to alert them to the availability of the task for scoring in Moodle. The Moodle site will not alert the mentor automatically. The list of mentors can be found on this page under the heading Mentors. As a general rule, mentors will provide feedback and scoring of tasks within seven days of the participant’s notification of the task’s submission in Moodle.

Resources for Paid ACE Charter School Participants

Information about turning in Teacher Evaluation Observations for Tasks

Resources for Paid ACE Participants

Professional Education Test Study Materials in Moodle

Florida’s Alternative Certification Program

FLDOE Testing Information

National Association for Alternative Certification

Accomplished Practices

Ethics for Educators in Florida

Reading Competency 2

Reading Competency 2 is a required course for all ACE participants. The 14-week Polk County Public Schools Moodle offering of this course is free to ACE participants. Participants must sign up for Reading Competency 2 separately from the ACE Program.

You can find more information about Reading Competency 2 on the Reading Endorsement web page. 

Additional ACE Requirements

Effecting those on a 2020/2021 Temporary Certificate

  • ESOL Requirement
  • Professional Educator Competence (PEC) Program – Contact ACE coordinator for more information.