 Educator Pathways and Workforce Development Newsletter
March 2018
Welcome! Through this newsletter we hope to share our ongoing efforts and commitment to diversifying the educator workforce and addressing teacher shortage. This newsletter highlights events, opportunities and resources connected to our work. The PESB is also advancing our own internal work around racial equity, as we look both internally and externally to how we contribute to equity in the educator workforce, and we are pleased to continue to prioritize this work. As always, please reach out to our staff if you have any questions.
Celebrating a Successful Diversifying the Educator Workforce Event!
The PESB held their second Diversifying the Educator Workforce (DEW) event this past February in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Over 150 people gathered to learn about PESB and stakeholder efforts and share strategies to increase diversity in the educator workforce and grow the next generation of future educators. A special focus on the Recruiting Washington Teachers Program and new professional development and curriculum elevated opportunities to build programming to support young people from Washington State to enter the teaching profession!
PESB Board and Paraeducator Board members, along with guests from the National Grow Your Own Collective, also learned about Washington State GYO efforts and participated in site visits at Highline Public Schools' Bilingual Teaching Fellows Program and Highline College's teacher preparation program. View photos and resources from the event!
Our next event will be held in fall 2018 and will focus on equity in educator preparation - please be on the lookout for upcoming info!
2018 Legislative Session - Summary of Outcomes
This was a successful session for the Professional Educator
Standards Board both in funding priorities and ensuring continuity in program
management, particularly as it related to educator workforce development
grants.
The board entered the session with the budget priority of securing
a $1 million increase in the funding for the Bilingual Educator Initiative
(BEI) established in HB 1445. This
would raise the total allocation from $450,000 to $1,450,000. Increased funding
was secured, but with a caveat. The proviso line item was increased by $1
million! However, as a change from last year, the proviso included
specific language that indicated that, of the increase, $950,000 was to
be spent on dual language expansion programs in elementary settings with the
remaining $500,000 directed to the BEI work.
An
additional budget item not included in the agency
priorities at the beginning of the session but included in the final budget is
a $250,000 proviso allocated directly to the Professional Educator Standards
Board “to procure or develop professional development for paraeducator subject
matter certificates…including any necessary changes or edits to general
paraeducator certificates…” This funding was a priority of stakeholders and the
amount and terms of the allocation was the result of external stakeholders’
advocacy efforts.
For more information about the session, please visit the legislative
updates page here or send
questions directly to Justin.montermini@k12.wa.us.
Announcements
Recruiting Washington Teachers Professional Development: The Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) program now offers free, flexible professional development for all interested Washington teachers! The professional development is designed to help educators better access the dense teacher academy curriculum and prepare themselves to run an RWT program. The modules have been created through a partnership with the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession--for Washington teachers, by Washington teachers. Learn more on the Recruiting Washington Teachers curriculum webpage.
New Free WEST-B & ParaPro Test Prep Resources: Our partners at the Center of Excellence for Careers in Education have created free test prep materials for the WEST-B & ParaPro tests! These materials were developed with a focus on equitable test preparation modules that support the needs of adult learners with a variety of
backgrounds, learning experiences, and English language competency. Resources can be found here and also through their website.
New Display on PESB website - Teacher Program Endorsement Offerings: The PESB now has a display to help prospective teacher candidates find teacher preparation programs that offer the endorsement they are seeking. Please visit our Approved Programs Endorsements page to access our new chart!
Grants and Scholarships
The Pipeline for Paraeducators Conditional Loan Scholarship: This program can provide funding for paraeducators interested in earning their residency teaching certificate, who have a minimum of three years classroom experience and no college degree, with up to $4,000 towards earning their Associate of Arts (AA) degree from a Washington community or technical college. Those awarded will be required to complete their AA within two years of award date, making them eligible to enroll in an Alternative Route 1 program to earn certification, and teach for a minimum of two years. The final deadline of this fiscal year is May 8th. More information on the requirements and responsibilities of candidates are available on the Pipeline for Paraeducators Conditional Loan Scholarship page of the PESB website. We look forward to your application!
Teaching Equity Network Fund - next round now open! The next deadline for teaching equity network applications is May 31st, 2018. The Network Fund provides grants of up to $5000 for partnership events to diversify the workforce, promote equity and culturally responsive education. This fund is sponsored by the WEA, Center for Excellence for Careers in Education, and the PESB. Learn more about how to apply!
Paraeducator Board Pilot Applications: The Paraeducator Board is accepting applications for the pilot of
the paraeducator certificate program! Applications are welcome from single districts or a district
consortium (the consortium may be led by an ESD). The application window
is one month, with the last day to submit an application being on April 30,
2018 (by 8:00 am). If your district has interest in submitting an application, we
urge you to review our online resource page for further
information and to apply!
Get Involved!
Learn more about PESB's Active Work Groups and ways to get involved. We seek stakeholder input on an ongoing basis to address policy issues and advance equity in the educator workforce. Visit us on twitter @DiverseWaTeach
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