The Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Board is pleased to announce it granted accreditation status to the Federal Air Marshal Service Instructor Development Course (IDC) at the April 22, 2010 meeting in Annapolis, Maryland.
The IDC is a 40-hour program delivered to FAMS instructors assigned to the FAMS Training Division and the 21 FAMS field offices nationwide. The IDC is intended for FAMS employees with little or no formal training experience who have been assigned to instructor roles. The course objective of the IDC is for students to work with course faculty to design and develop a 30-minute lesson the student delivers on the final day of the course. One of the special features of the IDC is the student preparation and rehearsal sessions that are integrated into the course on days three and four. These one-on-one sessions with course faculty provide a valuable "workshop within the course" that builds awareness of the principles of instruction and leads to learning and performance.
FLETA Board Member Tim Danahey mentioned that the original IDC was adapted from the U.S. Secret Service Essentials of Instruction course. In 2009, a working group held a Curriculum Review Conference, which resulted in a number of additions to the IDC in order to better serve the students and the FAMS. Mr. Danahey noted that the IDC is an effective instructional tool that helps instructors go to the field and pass along information to the students. The IDC was offered five times in 2009 with a total of 63 students trained.
To achieve accreditation, an agency must undergo a voluntary thorough assessment of their academy and/or program to ensure compliance with the FLETA standards. These professional standards were developed to increase agency effectiveness and efficiency. The standards address the following areas: Academy Administration; Qualifications and Development of Training Staff; Program Administration; and Program and Curriculum Development. To maintain accredited status, agencies are required to submit annual reports to the FLETA Board and participate in a reaccreditation process every three years.
The FLETA Board is nationally recognized by federal law enforcement agencies, as well as stakeholders in law enforcement training. It is the Board’s goal to improve the federal law enforcement community with each accreditation, and the Board has now awarded 36 program accreditations and 12 academy accreditations.
If you would like more information regarding the FLETA process, please visit the website at www.FLETA.gov or contact FLETA at 912-261-3684.