Newsletter
December 2017

Happy Holidays from CSTP! We are sending out our December newsletter early for those of you heading out for winter break. We wish you a restful holiday season and a happy new year!

2017 CSTP Holiday Party
Top Row (left to right): Jeannie, Cindy, Holli, Connie and Erin.

Bottom Row (left to right): Marianne, Shannon, Nasue and Lindsey

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.
NBCT Spotlight: Melissa Charette

NBCT Melissa Charette is a special education teacher at Washington Middle School in the Olympia School District and is the 2018 regional Teacher of the Year in ESD 113. Melissa has created a unique Peer Mentoring program whereby general education students and special education students work together on learning goals throughout the school year. This programs has worked effectively in her school and is something Melissa feels is replicable in other schools.

Read about what Melissa and her students are doing from her new blog where she provides regular information and updates. Be sure to watch the short video too: https://teachspednow.wixsite.com/website.

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In This Issue
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
NBCT Score Release 
Date:  December 16, 2017
Educator Retooling Scholarship
Deadline:  January 12, 2018
Amount: up to $3,000
Seattle Time's Ignite Education Lab
When:  February 12, 2018
Where: Seattle, WA
TPEP Best Practices Colloquium
When:  March 1, 2018
Where: Tacoma, WA
Educator Retooling Scholarship
Deadline:  April 27, 2018
Amount: up to $3,000
Register Now for the March 1 ,2018 Tacoma TPEP Colloquium
 
CSTP is excited to be hosting our largest TPEP Best Practices Colloquium "Learning from Student Growth" on March 1, 2018 in Tacoma, WA. 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 own experiences. Registration is limited to 200 participants. Learn more at http://cstp-wa.org/events-calendar/tpep/.
 
Cost:  Free
Location:  Tacoma, WA
Included in Registration:  Breakfast, lunch and materials.
Not Included in Registration:  Travel, 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. If you are not working in a Washington public school but interested in attending, please contact [email protected] to be added to a waitlist. 
 
 
Presentation Teams and Workshop Topics:
 
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Yakima School District
 
Beyond Admiring the Data
How does a school create a culture with collaboration intentionally focus on using evidence to plan and improve instruction? 
This workshop will focus on the tools and protocols that the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School staff have used to go deeper with data that is then used to determine specific action steps to enrich learning. 
 
 
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.
 
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.
 
River Ridge High School, North Thurston Public Schools
 
PLCs and Student Growth
This workshop will examine the evolution of the River Ridge Math PLC from a data collecting machine into a group of teachers collaborating around student growth and achievement. Participants will gain skills for removing barriers for their own learning communities.

Saltar's Point Elementary School, Steilacoom Historical School District
 
Learning from our Students
What can happen when we ask our students about their classroom experience? The results might be confirming, surprising or open up new questions to explore further. This workshop will highlight one school's journey of employing Student Perception Surveys as a powerful tool to reflect on and impact classroom practice.
 
White Swan High School, Mt. Adams School District
 
Yes, I Can!  
What does it look like to foster a growth mindset as an everyday day occurrence? What types of things need to happen to support a cultural transformation in thinking for both students and teachers every day? This workshop will explore White Swan High School's journey to improve student success which lead them to a focus on changing instructional practices and adult mindsets. The result: A commitment to instilling math confidence in every child and an increase in student's growth.
Washington Middle School, Olympia School District
 
Putting Yourself in Someone Else's Shoes
How do we create independent, confident students while improving social emotional intelligence? By putting students into authentic leadership roles within the classroom which empowers them to deliver curriculum, collect and interpret data, and understand how to explain and support student learning. In this workshop, participants will gain insights of how supporting the growth of Special Education students and taking a role in improving integration, leads to tremendous growth in a variety of ways for all involved.
 
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).

The 2018 Washington Teachers of the Year Podcast

T he League of Education Voter's recently sat down with Washington's 2018 Teachers of the Year to talk about their teaching philosophy, how to make education better in Washington, advice they would give to new teachers, plus so much more. Check out their interview podcast at  https://educationvoters.org/podcasts/#2018-teachers-year.  
Seattle Time's Ignite Education Lab

The Seattle Times is looking for your education story to share at their next Ignite Education Lab on February 12, 2018 in Seattle. People of all ages and educational backgrounds are welcome to apply to present. Pitches to present are due by December 30, 2017.

Stories From School Roundup