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Hashtag Teach reports CAEP accreditation findings; board to schedule vote after reviewing Alabama alignment
Summary
Hashtag Teach told the Alabama State Board of Education that a CAEP site visit in April found the program met all standards with no stipulations. Presenters described a three‑year residency program, virtual classroom observations and state partnerships; the board discussed when to place the provider vote on the agenda.
Dr. Jesse Kilgore, president and founder of Hashtag Teach, told the Alabama State Board of Education that the program’s site visit with the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) took place April 21–23 and that Hashtag Teach met CAEP standards with no stipulations.
Kilgore and Dr. Megan Brown, Hashtag Teach’s director of instruction, briefed the board on the provider’s curriculum, assessment and quality‑control systems and described the organization’s plan for candidates to earn state certification. Kilgore said the CAEP reviewers examined roughly 175 pieces of evidence and conducted about 75 interviews during the visit.
Board members and department staff discussed timing for a formal board vote. A Department staff presenter told members the provider has met the state’s minimum statutory criteria that trigger a board review and that staff is legally obligated to place the matter on a future agenda. Several board members said they would prefer to wait until more members can attend; the board agreed to decide whether to schedule the vote for August or September after receiving additional material on how the program aligns with Alabama requirements.
Hashtag Teach described a three‑year residency model that combines coursework with on‑the‑job teaching and layered supports. The presenters said the program typically requires 15 to 33 college credit equivalents depending on certification area and that course sequences are broken into a Phase 1 (classroom readiness) and Phase 2 (classroom excellence). Instructional coaches are assigned to cohorts for the three‑year span; the program requires two minimum classroom observations annually, submitted as teaching videos of about 20 minutes followed by a debrief and scoring against an instructional rubric.
Program features described to the board included: a virtual early‑warning system that notifies candidates who are off pace; a transition coordinator who assists candidates in year three to meet state certification paperwork and requirements; plagiarism and AI‑authenticity checks on submitted work; and multiple degree‑completion and university partnerships the presenters said support coursework and graduate credit.
Kilgore and Brown said Hashtag Teach operates in four states (Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana and Arizona) and partners with other institutions to offer alternative pathways, including degree completion arrangements. They told the board Hashtag Teach has never raised rates since its founding in 2018 and that the CAEP review process they completed is the basis for a possible seven‑year accreditation because there were no stipulations.
Board members asked specific questions about how the program’s credit hours and field experiences would align with Alabama certification rules, including whether internships or student‑teaching requirements would be met in the sequence presented. Department staff and presenters said the program follows each state’s specific requirements and that Hashtag Teach’s Alabama application addressed state requirements; staff agreed to provide a written, Alabama‑specific implementation plan to the board before any vote.
Next steps: Hashtag Teach will provide additional documentation to clarify semester‑hour calculations and alignment with Alabama certification processes; department staff will circulate the implementation plan and a recommended timeline for placing the item on a future board agenda.
