Educators enjoy themselves at Dr. Stembridge's latest Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) Design Studio, hosted at Bellevue College for ESD 121.

• 2/28/24-3/28/24: WERD Book Study - Brilliant Teaching: Using Culture and Artful Thinking to Close Equity Gaps by Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge
• Save the Date: Camp CSTP returns in-person in North Bend, WA the week of August 12-16, 2024. 

Just a Few Days Left to Apply to Join the Learning Standards Focus Group

CSTP is working with OSPI to recruit educators to provide feedback on standards that are currently being updated by teams at OSPI. Apply by February 9 to be a member of a teacher focus group.

The teacher groups will focus on the state Learning Standards Review project. The project aims to prioritize, revise, and clarify the state learning standards. OSPI needs feedback from educators on the following:

• drafts of the prioritized, revised, and clarified learning standards;
• drafts of teacher implementation documents;
• drafts of caregiver/family-facing products;
• and professional development needs for educators.

K-12 teachers with content expertise in ELA, math and science are invited to apply. We are looking for about 90 educators who can meet multiple times with a mix of in person and virtual events.

This project will require in person attendance at our launch event on the evening of March 15 and all day March 16 in the Seattle area. Travel expenses will be covered. Additionally you will need to attend three virtual focus group meetings this spring that will take place after school hours. Each participant could earn a stipend amount of up to $850.00.

Focus group members will be chosen to provide a well-balanced group in terms of representing:

• the race and ethnicity of Washington’s student population;
• each geographic region in Washington;
• large, medium, and small districts;
• urban, suburban, and rural districts.

If you are interested in being a member of the focus group, please fill out this application by February 9.

Please email Anzara Miller at Anzara@cstp-wa.org with any questions.

Learning Standards Review Project Information: In 2023, OSPI began an initiative to review, refine, and prioritize Washington state’s K–12 learning standards, starting with ELA, Math and Science. State law requires OSPI to periodically review and update the learning standards to align with current best practice, and the learning standards in several content areas have not been updated in many years. Through this project, OSPI aims to make the learning standards more accessible and usable for both educators and families, and more aligned to the knowledge, skills, and abilities that employers are seeking from Washington’s graduates.

Register Now for the WERD Online Book Study

Legislative Updates

The legislative session officially began on Monday, January 8th so be on the lookout for our updates. Samantha Miller returns as CSTP's Legislative Updates Coordinator for the 2024 legislative session. She writes weekly emails during session focusing on bills that impact Washington educators. These are a great way to keep up with what’s going on on the hill without having to research it all yourself.

Register Now for CSTP's National Board Cohort Support

Are you a national board candidate looking for cohort support? CSTP is supporting online Washington national board candidates with a cohort held over Zoom with OSPI-trained National Board Facilitator Ranice Innocent. Candidates are encouraged to register early as our small cohorts fill up quickly and must register at least two weeks before the first meeting. 



• Component 1 starts March 7, 2024, with Ranice Innocent
• (FULL) Component 2 starts October 26, 2023, with Ranice Innocent
• (FULL) Component 3 starts December 5, 2023, with Ranice Innocent
• (FULL) Component 4 starts November 9, 2023, with Ranice Innocent

Partner with CSTP to Offer Clock Hours at Your Next Training

Are you running a course, professional development or book study and want to offer Washington State clock hours? CSTP is an approved Washington State clock hour provider and can approve your courses for clock hours. It is free for the instructor to apply for the course with participants paying a nominal fee.

Learn More and Apply for Clock Hours

CSTP's 20th Anniversary Monthly Giveaway

January 22-26 was NBCT Week!

Team NBCT week may be over, but our celebration of National Board Certified Teachers never ends! National Board Certified Teachers in Washington and all over the country are helping to build a foundation for our future. Thank you for all you do to provide our students the best possible education!

Here are some statistics on how Washington compares to the rest of the country:

• 4^th in new certifications
• 1^st in renewals
• 3^rd in total NBCTs.

Keep up the good work, Washington teachers! NBCT Strong! See the NBPTS site for more information.

OSPI National Board Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Information Sessions

Are you a NBCT planning to maintain your National Board certification during the 2023-2024 school year or next year? You will want to sign-up for this free informational webinar hosted by OSPI National Board Regional Coordinators.

Participants will learn about the MOC process and understand the next steps in maintaining their certificate, gain valuable information about completing MOC and have space to ask pertinent questions related to the assessment. While these sessions are not a series, NBCTs are more than welcome to attend multiple dates.

• Tuesday, January 16 at 4:30 PM
• Tuesday, February 6 at 4:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 3 at 4:30 PM

Register Now.

National Board Candidate Informational Sessions

Are you considering earning your national certification or working towards your renewal? National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers free informational webinars including Introduction to National Board Certification, Preparing for Your National Board Journey, and Introduction to Maintenance of Certification.

PESB: New Video Resources for Paraeducators

The Paraeducator Board has made an effort to enhance communications with paraeducators across the state. Agency staff produced the following videos to address four of the top pieces of information that paraeducators are asking for.

Paraeducator Training Program: An overview of all paraeducator certificate training program levels. The chapter bookmarks in the video description can be used to navigate to the individual training levels.

Professional Growth Plans for Paraeducators: Provides an introduction to professional Growth Plans (PGPs) for paraeducators to consider for their professional development.

How to Create an E-Certificate Account: This step-by-step guide will answer many of the technical questions that paraeducators have when creating an account in this system.

Clock Hours 101 for Paraeducators: Answers to paraeducator questions about clock hours for professional development, like: What is a clock hour? What counts/doesn’t count as acceptable documentation?

Launch of the Newly Redesigned OSPI Resource Clearinghouse

Good luck to all those teachers who will host Valentine's Day in their classrooms! It's always an emotional day with way too many cards being thrown around. Have fun everyone!

Here are some of my favorite Valentine's puns if you're making your own cards this year:

I choo-choo-choose you! 🚂

You are dino-mite! 🦖

Will you BEE mine? 🐝

I whale always love you! 🐳