Newsletter
August 2017

Welcome back to school!  We are excited to share announcements, opportunities and resources for the new year that you don't want to miss.

Do you have new teachers in your district or colleagues who should have this information? Be sure to   and encourage them to sign-up for our emails  to stay on top of events and opportunities.
9 Free CSTP Resources for the New School Year

It's the beginning of a new school year and time to pack your educator toolkit. We have compiled a list of our top free resources to start your year on the right track.
 
  1. New Teacher Support - Do you have new teachers starting in your school or district this year? Learn how you can support them to be successful in their first year and beyond.
     
  2. Early Career Performance Expectations - The Early Career Performance Expectations document is intended to complement the evaluation process by providing early career teachers with a formative look at where their performance is right now, and the steps that a teacher could take to improve. It is not to replace any rubrics or evaluation materials provided by the state or that accompany the instructional frameworks a district has chosen. This document is intended to help build a bridge between where a teacher is now, and where we would hope they would be a few years into their career.
     
  3. Teacher Case Stories: Student Growth - Eight short stories from Washington NBCTs about their challenges and struggles with student growth from their varied perspectives in different contexts, grade levels and content areas, but all from their authentic voices.
     
  4. Teacher Leadership Framework - Identifies and clarifies the specific professional development needs of teacher leaders that will positively impact learning for students in all of our schools.
     
  5. Teacher Leader Self-Assessment - This companion tool for the Teacher Leadership Framework helps you assess your current knowledge and skills and plan for future development as a leader.
     
  6. School and District Capacity Tool - This companion tool for the Teacher Leadership Framework is designed for school principals and district leaders to determine systems-level readiness to utilize the expertise of teacher leaders and support their work and development as leaders.
     
  7. Mathematics: Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy - This tool is designed for teachers and district leaders to articulate the specific knowledge and skills teachers need to lead initiatives in mathematics.
     
  8. TPEP Best Practices - A series of videos of local Washington school districts discussing their best practices for the Teacher Principal Evaluation Project (TPEP).
     
  9. High-Leverage Practices Protocols - A set of discussion protocols that highlight a high-leverage practice using teacher video. The protocols are connected to the State 8 teacher evaluation criteria and can be done in 30 minutes or extended for longer periods of time. Click on a video link and look for the "Training Protocol" link at the bottom of the screen.
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In This Issue
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
TPEP Best Practices Colloquium
When:  November 1, 2017
Where: Yakima, WA
PESB's Educator Retooling Grant
When:  September 22, 2017
Award: $3,000
PESB's Educator Retooling Grant
When:  January 12, 2018
Award: $3,000
TPEP Best Practices Colloquium
When:  March 1, 2018
Where: SeaTac, WA
PESB's Educator Retooling Grant
When:  April 27, 2018
Award: $3,000
Welcome New CSTP Staff!

This summer we said goodbye to Sarah Applegate as she left for two years to follow her international dreams of teaching in China and Cindy Rockholt who is now the OSPI  Assistant Superintendent of Educator Growth and Development. We are excited to welcome new staff members Shannon Cotton, Holli Hanson and Lindsey Stevens to the team.

NBCT Shannon Cotton is serving in a part-time capacity as the State Systems Improvement Lead for the Network to Transform Teaching (NT3) Grant, assisting the WA Partners - CSTP, OSPI and WEA. She will continue as a health and fitness teacher in the Camas School District. You can reach Shannon at shannon@cstp-wa.org.  

Holli Hanson joins CSTP as the Director of Teacher Engagement and Initiatives. With deep commitment to obtaining equitable outcomes and improving student learning in schools and systems, Holli brings over 25 years of experience as an educator. Most recently, Holli served as Executive Director for Abeo School Change, where she facilitated professional development throughout the country focusing on Professional Learning Communities and utilizing collaborative tools to improve student learning and obtain equitable outcomes in schools and systems. As Associate Director for the Coalition of Essential Schools NW Center (CESNW), she was a consistent advocate of student-centered reform and championed CES Principles as a driver of equity.  Additionally, Holli's passion for education was fueled by her experiences as an elementary and secondary counselor in the Clover Park School District and a teacher in alternative programs in Baltimore MD, South Carolina and Florida.  You can reach Holli at holli@cstp-wa.org.


Lindsey Stevens is a National Board Certified Teacher who lives in Tacoma and is currently serving as our Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Grant Washington State Site Director. Previously she has been a high school social studies and English language arts teacher for 13 years and most recently was a full time release mentor teacher in the Sumner School District supporting new to career teachers at the secondary level. She has worked with CSTP as a consultant and presenter for the past four years and though she will miss her students and colleagues in Sumner her passion for all thing teacher leadership and effective instruction has led her happily to this new work. You can reach Lindsey at lindsey@cstp-wa.org.

Register Now for the TPEP Best Practices Colloquium "Learning from Student Growth"


CSTP is excited to be hosting the  TPEP Best Practices Colloquium "Learning from Student Growth" on November 1, 2017, in Yakima. This full day event will feature districts and schools from around the state sharing ways they are using what they learn from student growth to improve teacher practice and strategies to authentically connect student growth to the teacher evaluation system. The Colloquium facilitates discussion across and within districts as you learn about other district's best practices and share your experiences. Registration is limited to 150 participants. Learn more and register at http://cstp-wa.org/events-calendar/tpep/.
 
Presentation Teams and Workshop Topics: 

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Yakima School District
 
Beyond Admiring the Data
This workshop will focus on the processes that the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School staff have used to create intentional collaboration for planning, assessment and adjustment with a strong focus on using evidence.
 
Lake Stevens School District, Mead School District, Spokane Public Schools
 
Grading for Growth: Transform Points into Passion
Have you spotted the ironies of traditional grading? Have you discovered how standards-based grading can prioritize learning and growth? This workshop will share how teachers in several secondary content areas have incorporated standards into assessment and grading, found overlaps between standards-based grading and the State 8 Teacher Evaluation Criteria, and discovered that standards-based grading practices can empower students in any classroom.
 
North Kitsap High School, North Kitsap Public Schools
 
Real and Relevant Student Growth
How do you move past tracking student growth for TPEP evaluation purposes to tracking student growth for student learning? Learn what techniques and strategies North Kitsap High School has used for making student growth real, relevant, and manageable.
 
Marie Curie Elementary School, Pasco School District
 
Keeping Student Growth A Focus For ALL Kids
Marie Curie STEM Elementary is a new school with big plans for serving their students, many of whom are English Language Learners. Come and learn how they have used strategies to monitor and motivate student academic achievement in their 5th and 6th grade classes.
 
Seattle Public Schools
 
Leveraging Teacher Leadership to Sustain Knowledge and Learning About Student Growth
This workshop will focus on how to engage various internal and external stakeholders in the process of building a teacher cadre with expertise in student growth and see how the cadre works to train and lead others in the district. We will talk through a case study from Seattle Public Schools and offer some resources participants can adapt for use in their own districts.
 
Walla Walla High School, Walla Walla School District
 
PLCs and Student Growth
This session will explore how two different PLCs analyzed student work to impact instruction and teacher learning. Learn practical ways that the teams collaborated to enhance their students' growth through Criterion 8 and how the principal and teachers collaborated in the work.
 
Workshops with Framework Author Representatives:  Patty Maxfield - CEL, Kate Dickson and Karyn Wright - Danielson, Tina Boogren - Marzano, and Ron Sisson with Association of Washington State Principals (AWSP).
Cost:  Free
Location:  Yakima, WA
Included in Registration:  Breakfast, lunch and materials.
Not Included in Registration:  Travel, hotel, parking, substitute costs, or clock hours.
Who Can Attend:  TPEP teams or individuals working in a Washington public school district. Teams from each district are encouraged to attend together, and be comprised of district office representatives, building administrators, teachers, association leaders and instructional coaches. There is not a limit on the number of team members a district can bring.

Save the date! We will hold a second colloquia in the SeaTac area on March 1, 2018. Stay tuned to future newsletters for more information.
"The Interchangeable White Lady" Interview with Hope Teague-Bowling

Stories from School blogger, NBCT Hope Teague-Bowling, has been getting a lot of attention regarding her post, " The Interchangeable White Lady: An Introduction" last fall. She was interviewed by Kiro Radio's Dave Ross and Colleen O'Brien and explained what she means by "Interchangeable White Lady" and how she connects with her minority classroom on the  RossFiles on Kiro Radio.

This fall she will be elaborating on what it means to be an interchangeable white lady and teaching diverse students in her new podcast series. Listen to "Episode 1: An Introduction" at  http://www.hopeteague.com/podcast/2017/8/9/episode-1. 
Washington State Mentoring Standards

The Beginning Educator Support Team has completed and posted the Washington State Standards for Mentoring, found on the OSPI website at  http://k12.wa.us/BEST/Standards.aspx. 

The Washington State Standards for Mentoring were written by a team of Washington educators as tool to guide mentors in self-assessment and reflection. The standards are designed to help both new and veteran mentors in various job settings to assess their current level of understanding and abilities, and to create actionable steps to improve. Ongoing reflection and practice will deepen and refine mentoring skills, leading to gains in mentees' skill and their students' learning.
2016-2017 CSTP Clock Hour Transcripts Arriving Soon

Have you taken a professional development course with clock hours through CSTP? If so, your official clock hour transcript has been mailed out and will be arriving this week. If you do not receive your official clock hour record by the end of August, please contact  Cindy Kleinfelter for assistance at  cindy@cstp-wa.org .

Partner with CSTP to Offer Clock Hours at Your Workshop

Are you planning professional development for your staff? How about a literature circle or a short series of learning opportunities? Tie your workshops to clock hours through CSTP. 

CSTP is an approved clock hour provider in the State of Washington. We have a simple application process for you and your participants, with approval times within one week. Once the training is over, we have a simplified electronic evaluation process that we administer to participants, and we hold onto their clock hour records per the state retention schedule.

It's free for you to apply to offer the clock hours, and low fees for participants to collect their clock hours.  Participant fees are $10 for 3-9.9 hours, $20 for 10-19.5 hours, $30 for 20-49.9 hours, and $50 for 50 or more hours. 

Find out more information on our website including the clock hour application at http://cstp-wa.org/clock-hour-information/. Questions? Contact Cindy Kleinfelter at cindy@cstp-wa.org.
Stories From School Roundup 

CSTP's Stories From School bloggers are always busy working on new stories.  Here is a recap of new articles for the past month.