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Certificate in Dance Education

Keep teaching the students you love while earning your Certificate in Dance Education (CiDE) 100% online! 

The Certificate in Dance Education (CiDE) supports all dance educators working in diverse teaching environments, enhances credentials, and attests to a well-rounded training experience, all of which inevitably benefit the students of the dance educator who earns a Certificate in Dance Education. You can declare your intention to pursue the CiDE after completing 9 credits worth of courses through the Online Professional Development Institute (OPDI) for dance education.

The Certificate in Dance Education (CiDE) is conferred on a candidate who successfully completes 33 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) of OPDI™ coursework.

To earn 33 PDCs a student would need to successfully complete between 11 and 17 OPDI courses. Each time a student successfully completes a course, they earn NDEO-endorsed PDCs.

  • 12-week course = 3 NDEO-endorsed PDCs
  • 8-week course = 2 NDEO-endorsed PDCs
  • 6 week course = 1.5 NDEO-endorsed PDCs
  • 4-week course = 1 NDEO-endorsed PDC

Click Here to View Upcoming Fall 2024 OPDI Courses

 

You can declare your intention to pursue the CiDE after you have successfully completed 9 PDCs of OPDI coursework. Courses taken as an Audit do not count towards the CiDE.

You can take one course a semester or more – it is up to you to decide how many courses you can complete in a semester. If after one or two courses, you decide that online learning is not for you, there is no commitment to continue taking OPDI courses or even complete the CiDE.

Click Here to Declare CiDE

After the student has declared their intent, a mentor is assigned from the OPDI professional staff so they can jointly develop a 33-credit program of study that addresses the student’s future needs based on prior training and experience. The time in which a CiDE can be completed depends on the student’s work schedule and availability. Upon successful completion of the CiDE, the office issues an NDEO-endorsed Certificate in Dance Education diploma.

Since 2012 over 40 OPDI online courses have been developed across a number of subject areas including arts integration, kinesiology, assessment, dance history, teaching methods, standards, and genre-specific theory and practice courses.

There are typically 8 to 10 courses offered per semester. There are three semesters a year - Spring, Summer, and Fall. Tuition per course ranges from $200 to $595 depending on length of course, PDCs awarded, and member or non-member pricing.

All successfully completed OPDI courses count toward the Certificate in Dance Education (CiDE) allowing the student to craft a study plan that meets their professional development and career goals.

Students can take a few courses based on what interests them or what they need for professional development, or they can continue taking courses until they earn the full CiDE. You can begin your journey towards a CiDE in any semester with any course. You can take one course a semester or more – it is up to you to decide how many courses you can complete in a semester.

Earning a CiDE will help you become a better dance educator and enhance your credentials and resume, but it does not guarantee you a certain job, position, or promotion.

It is up to the student to confirm with their school, district, state, or employer what they will or will not accept as proof of professional development. It is up to the student to confirm with their district / state as to what is required to be "certified" to teach in that state's public K-12 school system. Requirements vary widely by state. Earning the CiDE will enhance your credentials and skills but does not directly certify you to teach in a public K-12 school.

Earning the CiDE will enhance your credentials and skills but does not directly certify you to teach in a public K-12 school.

As of Feb. 5, 2021, 35 states certify educators in Dance! With the assistance of the Education Commission of the States and the Arts Education Partnership, we now have answers to the following questions: What is the status of academic standards and teacher certification for dance in each state? What are licensure assessment requirements to become a dance educator in states where dance certification exists? Credential, licensure, and certification requirements for PreK-12 education differ from state to state due to lack of standardization in terminology, state legislation and policies, and funding.  Click here to read the Executive Summary and State Chart of these findings.

Still have questions? Emails us at opdi@ndeo.org.

Photo courtesy of Gina Gibney Dance, Inc.,by Scott Shaw.