PESB News of Note - November 2017

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Regular Board Meetings

Professional Educator Standards Board

November 16-17, 2017

The November meeting will be held at Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, WA. 

Find meeting information at PESB's Next and Future Meetings


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PESB@k12.wa.us

360.725.6275

www.pesb.wa.gov


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PESB News of Note

November 2017


About PESB Members

Professional Educator Standards Board members include practicing teachers, principals, superintendents, and other education professionals. Appointed by the Governor to the Board, they work in Washington schools and in programs that prepare Washington educators. 

All current PESB members serve in a school- or university-based position. They add the responsibilities of being a Board member to those duties. As classroom teachers and school principals, they understand the impact on students when teachers are not hired until after the school year begins and depleted certificated substitute rosters disrupt schedules. In their work as Board members, they take very seriously their responsibilities to establish policy and oversight as it pertains to educator credentialing, preparation, and workforce development across Washington's K-12 system, as their policy decisions directly affect their schools, students, and communities. 

If you're interested in being a Professional Educator Standards Board member, visit PESB's About the Board webpage. To learn more about PESB members' backgrounds and their terms, visit the Current Board Members with Terms page


Featured: How PESB Works with Districts

November's PESB News of Note features ways in which PESB initiatives support school district and community efforts to find the best teachers for their children's classrooms.

School districts face different resources and challenges in recruitment and retention of new and experienced educators. Educator preparation programs provide varied opportunities for partnering with employers to support training and development of their workforce. 

How does PESB work with school districts? Why would its newsletter focus on district-level recruitment, development, and retention of educators? This month we highlight three (3) of the multiple PESB initiatives that support district and community efforts to employ educators who will provide the best educational opportunities for their students.

-- Human Resource Professionals Training Project --

PESB continues its work to develop and deliver the HR Training Project as presented to the Board in November 2016 (Tab 9). This project aims to identify best practices for recruitment, selection, and retention of educators and share those with HR professionals across the state.

As part of the November 2016 Board presentation, the Board considered the literature review and training strategy developed by consultants Scontrino Powell Inc. At the direction of the Board, staff have been working since then with the consultants to develop training modules, vet training materials with stakeholders, and schedule delivery of the training to participating districts and ESDs. 

The literature review and training strategy can be viewed on the PESB website:


    -- Recruiting Washington Teachers - Bilingual Educators Initiative --

    The Recruiting Washington Teachers - Bilingual Teachers Initiative (RWT – BEI)  application is now available!  The RWT – BEI Pilot Project supports recruiting, preparing, and mentoring bilingual high school students, to prepare them to become future bilingual teachers and counselors in the state of Washington. This program builds upon the Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) program, supporting high school bilingual students to explore becoming teachers in our state.  

    Pilot sites will use the culturally responsive, equity pedagogy based RWT Curriculum, hosted by PESB. Grants will be available for districts or a district partnership, with the requirement that there be at least one pilot site on either side of the Cascades. Pilot projects will have the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year as a planning period and will launch in 2018-2019. 

    Applications are due by 5 p.m. November 17, 2017.

    For more information visit PESB's Bilingual Educators Initiative webpage.

    -- Alternative Routes to Certification --

    Alternative Routes to Certification are job-embedded pathways to gaining a Washington State full teaching certificate. Alternative routes are designed for career changers and for individuals already working in the school system who want to transition to full-time teaching by completing a mentored internship or residency. Compared to traditional educator preparation programs, alternative routes tend to be shorter, more convenient, more affordable, and more practically oriented.


    ProTeach Portfolio Assessment Update - Final Submission Date

    In June 2017, Washington's Legislature passed E2SHB 1341, which removes the professional teacher certification requirement, making that certification optional.

    With that change, the relationship with ETS to offer the ProTeach Portfolio Assessment will be terminated December 31, 2019. For complete information on this action, visit the ProTeach Registration Deadlines, Retake Policy, Scoring Reports page on the PESB website.

    The latest date teachers will be able to take the assessment is June 28, 2019 . Four (4) submission dates remain open between now and the contract termination date:

    • January 31, 2018
    • June 28, 2018
    • January 31, 2019
    • June 28, 2019

    For additional testing submission dates and deadlines information, visit the Washington ProTeach Portfolio Registration and Submission page


    PESB Reports On...Grow Your Own Teachers

    The 2017-2018 school year is well under way, yet many district HR professionals and building administrators may just be winding down from the stresses of hiring the teachers needed to fill all classes and courses. Once the right match is found, they then concern themselves with keeping great teachers in their schools and districts. 

    PESB initiatives include supports for districts' efforts to find the best teachers for their schools. The HR Training Initiative described above highlights one approach to planning, recruiting, on-boarding, and retaining educators. Another is creating opportunities at the district level for current classified staff or classroom volunteers with strong interest, skills, and experience to become fully certified educators. 

    As the Grow Your Own Teachers report outlines, there are many community members who have an interest in teaching and are looking for just the right supports to realize that interest. The report provides best practices on teacher recruitment, development, and retention by capitalizing on the talent and skills of high school students, current paraeducators, career changers, foreign trained immigrants, bilingual populations, and people of color to provide the next generation of teachers. 


    Research of Note

    Each month, PESB identifies and shares research related to its work. These articles are intended to spark thought and discussion only and do not imply an endorsement of the research position or findings. 

    Understanding Teacher Retention and Mobility in Washington State. Elfers, A., Plecki, M., and Van Windekens, A. January 2017. 

    University of Washington researchers' study "aims to provide insight into the demographics of Washington teachers and their retention and mobility patterns..." Their findings include demographic characteristics, statewide trends in retention and mobility, affirmation that Washington state has work to do to improve the diversity of the teacher workforce, and a call to provide more new teacher support given the substantial increase of new teachers in Washington's schools in recent years. 


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