 PESB Educator Pathways and Workforce Development
January 2018 Newsletter
Greetings!
Happy New Year - we hope that 2018 is off to a great start for
all. We are pleased to share the Educator Pathways and Workforce Development
Team Newsletter with you below. In this month's edition, you will find
several updates, announcements, and opportunities to get involved. We also
encourage you to check out our new website or reach out to our talented staff
team with any questions you may have.
Best,
Alexandra Manuel, Acting Executive Director
DACA & EDUCATOR WORKFORCE IN WASHINGTON STATE
The PESB continues to be supportive of Washington State’s DACA recipients and undocumented youth, many of whom are educators. We acknowledge and are proud of the courage displayed by our educators and school communities in the face of anxiety and uncertainty, and have called on Congress to swiftly pass a clean Dream Act.
Since the DACA program was implemented in 2012, more than 800,000 people nationwide have applied for and received DACA status. This number includes thousands of educators in our K-12 system nationally. At the same time, Washington State is facing a severe teaching shortage. We also see the number of English Language Learners (ELL) students growing rapidly, and the research demonstrating the powerful impact that teachers who look like and reflect their students is undeniable.
Many bright, talented, and bilingual educators in our state are DACA recipients who will lose their ability to work and serve our students in the coming months. Stripping away great educators only hurts our education system, our students and families, and our economy. We are grateful and proud of our educators who support and display courage every day for their students and families, and we will stand with our communities to ensure there is a path forward for Dreamers and undocumented youth in the U.S. and Washington State. The Board's full statement is available on our website.
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA UPDATE
The PESB and Paraboard had their
first ever hill climb during the first week of the legislative session. This was an opportunity for board members to become engaged in the legislative
process and bring their thoughts and insights directly to law makers. Being that this is a short session, the PESB priorities are limited and are
focusing intently on technical changes and corrections to issues that were
passed last session.
PESB is seeking increased funding to adequately support
the implementation of a new bilingual educator initiative. We are asking,
in concert with the Governor’s office, for an addition $1 million annual
investment to expand bilingual educator recruitment efforts at the high school
level. In addition, we are supporting some necessary technical changes to
the recently established law regarding the Paraeducator Board and the
requirements for new and practicing Paraeducators. These changes will make more readily available scholarship dollars for Paraeducators looking to
advance their careers in education, adjust timelines for meeting new training
requirements for existing and recently hired paraeducators, and will provide
targeted resources for the development of specialty certificates regarding
Special Education and English Language Learner instruction.
For questions about these or other legislative issues, please contact
PESB staff Justin Montermini (Justin.montermini@k12.wa.us)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BILINGUAL EDUCATOR INITIATIVE AWARDEES
Congratulations to the school
districts of Everett, Marysville, Wahluke, Highline, Pasco, Quincey, Mount
Vernon, Burlington Edison, and North Thurston on your planning and development
year awards for the Recruiting Washington Teachers – Bilingual Educators
Initiative (RWT-BEI)! These programs will be developing bilingual-focused high
school teacher academies, through which they will be growing-their-own future
bilingual educators. Additionally, Wahluke, Maryville, and Everett school
districts will be receiving a grant to pilot their models for the 2018-2019
school year. More information on the Recruiting Washington Teachers program can
be found on our
website.
ADVANCING SYSTEMIC EQUITY AWARDEES & WORK GROUP
Congratulations to the teacher preparation programs who received grants for the next two years to advance racial equity and community engagement in their programs - Antioch University, University of Washington - Seattle, Central Washington University, Walla Walla University, Eastern Washington University, St. Martin's University, University of Puget Sound, Western Washington University, and Washington State University - Tri Cities. These grantees will advance systems-change work within their own programs, and form a work group to examine to support and scale work to recruit and retain diverse candidates and produce culturally responsive educators across the state. We look forward to this critical work!
PARA CONDITIONAL LOAN SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Pipeline for Paraeducators
Conditional Loan Scholarship is available for experienced paraeducators without
an AA degree who would like to go on to earn their teaching certificate. This
program provides financial support for earning an AA degree, making a candidate
eligible to enroll in an Alternative
Route 1 program. More information on
eligibility and requirements can be found on our
website.
JOIN THE NEW PARAEDUCATOR BOARD SUBCOMMITTEE
The charge of the subcommittee is to review the advanced
paraeducator certificate requirements as stated in HB 1115, and submit
recommendations to the Board that define how paraeducators may meet the
requirements of this certificate. Specifically, discussion will focus on Section 10 of the law, which states that paraeducators
may become eligible for an advanced paraeducator certificate by completing 75
hours of professional development in topics related to the duties of an
advanced paraeducator.
Date: February 9, 2018, 8 am - 5 pm
Location: The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in
Olympia, WA
Individuals who join the subcommittee do so on a voluntary basis
and must commit to a full day of review and discussion. Expenses are not
covered for volunteer members of the subcommittee by the Paraeducator Board. If you are interested in being a participant of this
subcommittee, then please complete this form by clicking on the link.
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