Certified Textbook Coordinator

For many careers, certification is critical. I currently hold a textbook certification from TCAT (Textbook Coordinators Association of Texas), but this certification will lapse in 2011 and TCAT no longer has a certification program. My school district thinks certifications are important so I am now working on a TASBO (Texas Association of School Business Officials) certification. With any luck I will have the TASBO certification by the time my TCAT certification expires.

Part of the process involves taking courses outside my area of "expertise", so today I took a 6 hour course on Safety in Schools. VERY interesting and very complicated. We talked about some subjects that strike terror into the hearts of parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about children! Fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, terror attacks, gunmen, chemical spills and on and on. It's nice to know that there are people in every district whose job is to think about these things and develop plans for how to respond. It also made me glad that I'm a textbook coordinator ... not a safety coordinator. Although it is true that safety is everyone's job, I'd hate to have to know as much as safety coordinators know about all the dangers out there ...

The test at the end of the course was pretty tough ... I hope I passed!


I'm taking a textbook course tomorrow. The instructor is a friend of mine and assures me that I should be teaching the course instead of taking it. Unfortunately to get certified I have to take it. I'm planning on focusing on P.D.'s teaching style as well as the content, so I'll definitely get something out of the course. Maybe the textbook test will be easier than the safety test was.