We are planning our upcoming summer Camp CSTP to be held virtually the week of July 19-23, 2021 and would love feedback on a couple of things as we plan our summer courses.

Congratulations to Teacher Tech Project (TTP) Help Desk educator, Emily Hamilton, for being selected as the Olympia School District's Teacher of the Year. Emily helped launch CSTP's TTP Help Desk for Schoology which answers questions about the learning management system and posts helpful resources.

Emily will be formally recognized by the Olympia School Board on May 13 at 6:30 PM. You can learn more about her nomination on the Olympia School District's website.

Date: May 2, 2021

Date: May 13, 2021

Date: May 15, 2021

Date: July 19-23, 2021

Date: July 27-29, 2021

Register now for the 5th annual Washington State Teacher Advisory Council (WATAC) Spring Conference that will take place virtually on Sunday, May 2, 2021. The online Spring Conference is open to all Washington state teachers, leaders and administrators, including award-winning educators – the Regional, State and National Teachers of the Year, the Regional and State Classified Employees of the Year, the Principals of the Year and the Winners and Finalists of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, OSPI Fellows and NBCTs. Educators will have opportunities to learn from their colleagues, while hearing from a stellar line-up of educator, student and family panels and sessions. We are thrilled to have 2021 Washington Teacher of the Year, Brooke Brown, keynote this year.

Cost: Free! Plus the clock hour fee is waived for the first 100 registrants.

Clock Hours: 6 ($15 clock hour fee)

Who Can Attend: Washington Teachers, Paraeducators, Principals, Administrators and Classified Staff

Draft Agenda and Session Line-up: Coming soon! Sessions expected between 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and 1:00 PM-4:00 PM.

Location: Online

Cost: Free

Dates: May 13 from 3:00-6:00 and May 15 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (each date features different educators and you are welcome to register for one or both)

Clock Hours Available: 3 per Leadership Lab (a total of 6 for both)

Who Should Attend: The Leadership Lab will be most relevant to classroom teachers, instructional coaches, principals and district administrators.

CSTP is excited to partner with AESD on the Future-Focused Educators’ Summit. This free Summit is open to all Washington educators interested in looking ahead and responding to upcoming challenges and opportunities. Connect with educators in your role and learn new perspectives from others.

The Summit starts with an evening kickoff event. Over the next two days, choose from a menu of interactive, engaging sessions. Sessions will inform, inspire, and energize you to navigate the dynamic environment we are in and assist in looking toward the 2021-22 school year and beyond.

Earn up to 15 STEM clock hours, as well as connect, learn, and lead with colleagues around the state and beyond.

Do you have a tip, trick or technique you would like to present at the Summit? Submit your presentation proposal by June 15.

The WLA School Library Division Leadership Committee believes strongly that it is time for change. One small step toward welcoming more BIPOC educators to embrace School Librarianship as a profession is to remove barriers to WLA membership. They welcome diverse voices into their membership, and want to invite BIPOC individuals to explore School Librarianship through WLA ScLD membership at no cost. They have launched a scholarship to support 20 memberships, open to any BIPOC Teacher Librarian, School Library Paraprofessional, Reading Specialist, Teacher, or Administrator in Washington State. Scholarships are first-come, first served and will be awarded on a rolling basis until all are used.

Learn more and apply on the WLA website.

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is offering grants up to $15,000 to strengthen educator retention through professional learning opportunities. Grantees will organize and support learning communities using competency-based professional growth plans (PGPs) in the 2021-22 school year.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) must include paraeducators and educators from populations that have been historically underrepresented and systematically excluded from the educator workforce. Each grantee must support a minimum of 20 educators completing PGPs.

Grant applications are due by June 8, 2021. Learn more on the PESB website.

Ready Washington is launching a contest to IGNITE high school students' thinking and conversations about their education and career goals for Washington public high school students. To enter, students must submit a one-minute video responding to Ready WA's prompt. 5 student videos will be selected in this contest and each of those students will win a $500 scholarship. Winning students will also be able to nominate a teacher who has supported them on their path, and they will receive a $100 Visa gift card.

Learn how to enter on the Ready WA website.

Looking to expand your leadership as an NBCT to the rest of your region and statewide? If so, you might consider the recent opening for OSPI National Board Regional Coordinators, posted to the OSPI contract procurement page.

All Regional Coordinators are NBCTs and classroom teachers, contracted with OSPI to support candidate cohorts, facilitation, and outreach on behalf of the state NBCT network. While OSPI is accepting applications from NBCTs in all regions of the state, for the 2021-2022 school year we are currently looking for Regional Coordinators within ESD 101, 112, 121, 171, and 189. Please review the description, qualifications, and proposal content requirements within the informal solicitation. Responses are due by April 9 at 3:00 PM. Any comments or questions on this opening can be directed to Kyla Moore at contracts@k12.wa.us.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is implementing a new payment plan in April 2021 for national board certification or Maintenance of Certification which will allow:

The new payment plan is expected to launch on April 8 on the NBPTS website.

Date: Saturday, April 24, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Click Here for Information (Registration closes at 5 p.m. April 12)

Module One provides a big picture approach to MOC. In this training, participants will network with other NBCTs, review the Five Core Propositions, and get an overview of the MOC process. They will also begin to plan their Professional Growth Experiences (PGEs).

Module Two is a close look at the MOC instructions to inform next steps with PGEs.

Date: Saturday, May 15, 9 a.m.-Noon

Eligibility: This event will only be open to WEA members

Dates: June 28-July 2, 2021 or July 26-30, 2021

Learn more about these trainings on the WEA website.

The latest posts from CSTP's teacher bloggers on www.storiesfromschools.org.

"Back in when I was in high school, the Model United Nations was an end-of-the-year activity for the freshman level World History class. Two classes each period met together in the library for the event. Every member of the classes was assigned a nation and goals to meet. I drew Burma. Another girl and I worked together to get affordable rice for our country."

"In our educational “house,” student mental health and increasing teacher workload are the stress cracks. The bowed walls are standardized tests, curriculum mandates, and graduation requirements. Foundation fissures are inequitable academic tracking, access to college level courses, and disproportionality in discipline data."

"Picture it. Can you imagine giving out jackets and letters to members of the Philosophy Club or the Model UN Club or the Chess Club? Holding pep rallies for their competitions? Busing players and cheerleaders to away games? Prominently displaying their trophies by the front entrance of the school?"

"One RTA student remarked 'I like when teachers are open and honest about who they are instead of just putting on a teacher persona.' Other students echoed this sentiment saying, 'I like when a teacher owns up to their mistakes and lets us know it’s okay for us to make mistakes too.'"

"That’s a lot of plates to keep spinning in the air, and for six-credit-per year systems, that means there is no room at all for a single plate to fall. One failed class throws you completely off track… which means (1) summer school (not always free, and may supplant income-generating work time), or (2) doubling or tripling up to take more classes on top of required classes, or (3) returning as a 5th year senior, which should be no source of shame but makes districts’ data “look bad” so kids are often shuttled off to other systems when that looks inevitable."

"The elementary evening program runs from 1:30 PM-7:45 PM with half hour planning times before and after, including a 45 minute break for dinner. Classroom teachers and specialists from across the district staff the program, working with a mix of students pulled from fifteen elementary schools. Teachers remain connected to their home schools through Professional Learning Communities."

Do you have a question about your Learning Management System? Submit it here, in our Facebook group or to our Twitter accounts.

Need students to annotate on a pdf in Canvas? Try Kami as an external tool for your assignment? Learn about it here!

Here's a great Google tool that can be used to stay organized! One of the many benefits of using Google Keep for your reminders is that your to-do list goes wherever you go. School, home, coffee shop- it's with you! Learn about it here!

Did you know that Microsoft Teams now offers transcripts and live captions for your meeting? Check out this video to learn how to use this new feature.

Are you looking for ways to balance your student workloads in Schoology? Check out this video featured in the Schoology LMS Resource Guide for neat tips.

Trying to fight Zoom fatigue? Try Sketchnoting! Learn how teachers are using it in this KQED article.

On December 31, 2020 CSTP added four new modules designed by educators for educators in grades K-12. Badges and clock hours are available for those completing any of the 20 available asynchronous modules in the Teacher Tech Project. Each completed module is worth one clock hour.

Learn more on the CSTP website.

This week staff member, Stephanie Prosser, shared that her sister-in-law once saved and raised a baby squirrel and that their story recently became viral. Their story was too good not to share and we especially love their message "everyone deserves a chance". Watch squirrel Steve's viral debut below and follow his adventures on his Instagram account at @stevethegraysquirrel.

Your gift ensures that CSTP continues to support student achievement through a focus on teaching excellence. With you as a partner in CSTP’s mission, you directly make a difference in the lives of youth across Washington State schools. Donations are tax deductible and essential as CSTP works to support educators navigate unique models of student engagement during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Liking and sharing our posts on social media is another way you can support CSTP during these times. Thank you for sharing our message.