If your district participates in the Missouri Career Ladder program, you can manage your whole year in Lebra: opt in, confirm your eligibility and stage, plan the activities you'll take on, log your hours as you go, and submit them for verification at the end.
Everything happens on the Missouri Career Ladder card in your Staff Portal.
Note: Career Ladder must be enabled for your district, and your role must be one your district has marked eligible. If you don't see the card, check with your administrator.
The Three Stages
Stage | Hours required | Payment amount | Years of experience needed |
Stage I | 50 | $1,500 | 2 |
Stage II | 75 | $3,000 | 3 |
Stage III | 100 | $5,000 | 5 |
Note: Your district chooses which stages it offers, so you may not see all three.
Step 1: Opt In
Open your Staff Portal.
Find the Missouri Career Ladder card.
Select Opt In.
The eligibility questionnaire opens automatically once you've opted in.
Step 2: Complete the Eligibility Questionnaire
The questionnaire determines which stage you're eligible for. If you closed it, select Complete Eligibility on the card to reopen it.
You'll be asked:
What is your current role? — choose from teacher, librarian/media specialist, school counselor, school psychological examiner, Parents as Teachers educator, school psychologist, special education diagnostician, speech pathologist, or other.
Are you full-time and on a regular-length contract?
How many completed school years did you hold a Missouri Professional Certificate prior to the start of the current school year? Enter a whole number from 0 to 40.
Important: Count only completed years before this school year started. Years taught under an Alternative Certificate or other non-professional certification do not count toward Career Ladder eligibility.
Do you hold appropriate certification for your current role? — Yes / No / Not sure
Did you meet an acceptable level of performance on your most recent evaluation? — Yes / No / Not sure
Have you completed the required beginning teacher assistance program, if applicable? — Yes / No / Not sure
Have you completed two years of mentoring, if applicable? — Yes / No / Not sure
Are you paid on the teacher salary schedule?
You can also attach supporting documentation if your district asks for it.
Understanding your result
After you submit, the card shows one of three outcomes:
Eligible — Your stage is shown along with the hours required. You can go ahead and create your plan.
Pending administrator review — Your answers included a "Not sure" or a "No" on the mentoring or beginning-teacher-assistance questions. An administrator will confirm your stage before you can create a plan.
Not eligible — You'll see: "Based on your responses, you do not currently meet the eligibility requirements." This happens if you aren't full-time, aren't paid on the teacher salary schedule, answered No to certification or performance level, or don't yet have enough completed years.
Tip: If you believe a result is wrong, talk to your administrator — they can review your eligibility and assign a stage.
Step 3: Create Your Activity Plan
Your plan is where you commit to the activities you intend to complete and how many hours you'll spend on each.
Steps
On the Career Ladder card, select Create Plan.
In Create Career Ladder Activity Plan, you'll see the prompt "Select the activities you plan to complete this year."
For each activity you want to include:
Select the activity category.
Enter your planned hours.
Add Notes (optional) — a brief description.
Watch the Total Planned Hours figure as you go — it needs to meet the hours required for your stage.
Under Compliance Confirmations, check both boxes:
"I confirm these activities are outside my regular contracted duties."
"I confirm I am not already compensated for these activities."
Select Submit Plan for Approval.
Your committee reviewer is emailed that your plan is waiting for them.
Step 4: Track Your Plan Status
The card shows a Plan Status badge:
Draft | Started but not yet submitted |
Submitted | Waiting on your committee reviewer |
Approved | Approved — you can start logging hours |
Revision Requested | Your reviewer has asked for changes — see their notes, update your plan, and resubmit |
Denied | Not approved — your reviewer's notes explain why |
Pending Verification | You've submitted your hours and they're being verified |
Completed | Your hours have been verified and your year is complete |
Select View plan details to open your plan, see Reviewer Notes, and check your progress.
If revision is requested: open your plan, make the changes your reviewer described, and select Resubmit Plan for Approval.
You'll get an email at each step — when your plan is approved, when a revision is requested, when it isn't approved, and when your activities are verified or need revision.
Step 5: Log Your Hours
Once your plan is Approved, a progress bar appears on the card showing hours logged against hours required.
Steps
Open Career Ladder Progress and select Log Activity.
In the Log Activities window, for each entry:
Activity — choose which planned activity this applies to
Date — when you did the work
Hours — how long it took
Time (optional)
Note (optional) — for example, "After-school reading support"
Attach files — supporting documentation, if you have any
Select Add another activity log to record several at once.
Select Save.
Reviewing and editing your entries
On the Career Ladder Progress card you can see your hours two ways:
By Activity — totals per activity category
Recent Activity — your latest individual entries
Select View all entries (or Manage all entries) to see everything. From there you can Edit entry or Delete entry.
Note: You can edit or remove entries until you submit for verification. Deleting an entry removes those hours from your progress and can't be undone.
Step 6: Submit Your Hours for Verification
When you've completed your hours, send them to your district for review.
Steps
On the Career Ladder Progress card, select Submit Activities for Verification.
In the Submit for Final Verification window, read the note: this submits all of your logged hours to your district for review and verification.
Check the attestation:
"I certify these hours were completed outside of contracted responsibilities and that I have not otherwise received compensation for this work."
Select Submit.
You can't submit until the attestation box is checked. Your committee reviewer is emailed that your activities are ready to verify, and your status changes to Pending Verification. Individual entries show Pending Verification until they're marked Verified.
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't see the Missouri Career Ladder card. Why?
Either Career Ladder isn't enabled for your district, or your role isn't one your district has marked eligible. Check with your administrator.
My result says "Pending administrator review." What now?
One or more of your answers needs confirming — usually a "Not sure" response. An administrator will review and set your stage, and you'll be able to create your plan after that.
Can I change my plan after it's approved?
Talk to your committee reviewer. They can request a revision or adjust your stage, which lets you update and resubmit.
Can I log more hours than I planned?
Yes. Your progress bar caps at 100%, but you can keep logging. Your district may set minimum and maximum hours per activity category.
Can I still edit an entry after submitting for verification?
No. Edit or remove entries before you submit. After that they're locked for review.
What counts as an eligible activity?
Work outside your regular contracted duties that you aren't otherwise compensated for. Your district defines the specific categories — common ones include mentoring, tutoring, coaching extracurriculars, postsecondary preparation support, and additional coursework or certification.