TPEP Framework Specialists met at the yearly in-person convening on March 13. This year they discussed opportunities to sustain supportive and safe learning environments among teacher and student communities. | | CRE Alignment and Sustainability Conference | | Includes Morning Workshop with Dr. Stembridge! | | |
As a state, we have been working to deepen our learning and implementation of Culturally Responsive Education. Now is the time to join us in a conversation about how to continue this momentum moving forward! Come to the Culturally Responsive Education Alignment & Sustainability Conference to hear District and Building Administrators share how they built on their residency experiences and scaled the CRE work building and district-wide.
Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge will begin the day with a morning workshop and keynote that will guide participants to further explore the CRE Mental Model and how the application of the model can shift practices across schools and districts. Participants have an opportunity to make specific connections between the CRE Mental Model and district and building initiatives and leave with a plan in place to continue the CRE work.
Who Should Attend: District Administrators, Principals, Instructional Coaches, PLC Leads, Teachers and Educational Leaders who have participated in a CRE residency or are interested in continuing to be in community with this work.
LOCATION: Hilton Seattle Airport
WHEN: May 14, 2025, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
COST: $25
CLOCK HOURS AVAILABLE: 5 clock hours
Register for the CREAASC here!
| | Camp CSTP Early Bird Registration is Now Open! | | |
It’s time to start getting ready for the BEST week of the year! That’s right, it’s CAMP CSTP 2025!
This summer CSTP is hosting two sessions in-person at the Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center in North Bend, WA including "Communication and Collaboration for Equity-Focused PLC" and "Transformational Leadership." Our intimate sessions are limited to 24 attendees and focus on connecting educators while diving into important topics. These sessions are an excellent opportunity for educators to retreat and recharge in community while getting ready for the new school year with options to register for one or both learning sessions. Be sure to register by May 31 to take advantage of Early Bird pricing.
See here for registration and more information about each session!
Session I: Communication and Collaboration for Equity-Focused PLC
Dates: 12:00 PM on July 30, 2025 - 11:30 AM on July 31, 2025
Early Bird Price April 9-May 31: $195.00 (or combine with another session for $375 (save $15)
Regular Registration Price June 1-July 15: $220.00 (or combine with another session for $400)
Clock Hours: 6
Included in Registration: Overnight lodging at Rainbow Lodge, one lunch, one dinner, one breakfast, snacks, unlimited coffee and soda, clock hours, and all session materials.
Description: In this session, participants will co-construct a definition of equity and co-create a shared understanding of high-functioning PLCs. With this grounding, we will utilize the critical aspects of Communication, Collaboration, and Equity Lens from CSTP’s Teacher Leadership Framework to deepen the knowledge skills and dispositions that lead PLCs and learning teams toward collective efficacy. Participants will have opportunities to practice these constructs and leave with tools and protocols to support their PLC.
Is this session for me? If your PLC needs support/ a reboot/ a reinvigoration, or just want to keep the good work going and you would like to help facilitate that shift in your building, COME! Bring some teammates or come by yourself.
Session II: Transformational Leadership
Dates: 12:00 PM on July 31, 2025 - 11:30 AM on August 1, 2025
Early Bird Price April 9-May 31: $195.00 (or combine with another session for $375 (save $15)
Regular Registration Price June 1-July 15: $220.00 (or combine with another session for $400)
Clock Hours: 6
Included in Registration: Overnight lodging at Rainbow Lodge, one lunch, one dinner, one breakfast, snacks, unlimited coffee and soda, clock hours, and all session materials
Description: Guided by CSTP’s Teacher Leadership Framework, this session is designed to specifically address the knowledge, skills, and dispositions educators need to successfully lead others – formally, informally, and all spaces in between! This session will address all six aspects of the Leadership Framework (Working With Adult Learners, Communication, Collaboration, Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy, Systems Thinking, and Equity Lens) and guide participants to reflect on their own strengths and opportunities for growth in their ability to lead successful collaborative teams. Our time will be spent answering the driving question, “What is required of me to be an effective teacher leader?”
Is this session for me? This session is for leaders in all senses of the word: current leaders looking to hone their skills, aspiring leaders seeking to stretch their expertise, and those serving as informal leaders. Bring your teammates or come by yourself!
| | Washington's 2025 Legislative Session Continues | | |
CSTP continues to give updates on the current session. Every Friday, our Legislative Update Coordinator, Samantha Miller, will recap the week's events and what bills are still in play.
You can stay updated and catch up on past weeks (and even updates from past years) here on our Stories From Schools blog! We will also be sending out updates via email.
| | 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
| | Career Connected Learning with CSTP | |
CCW is a statewide network of business, labor, education, and community leaders creating work-based and academic programs for young people in Washington to explore, prepare, and launch themselves into college and careers. CSTP is the designated Sector Lead for Education supporting this work at the state level. Here are our monthly updates. To find out more about Career Connect Washington you can to careerconnectwa.org.
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Round 13 Winners
We were excited to learn about the Round 13 Successful Bidders this past month! After a rigorous application process and formal presentations to the selection committee, the following programs have been chosen and our partners over at the Employment Security Department are excited to get their contracts up and ready for them to continue doing amazing work across the state!
- Washington Education Association's Apprenticeship Residency in Teaching Program
- Education Service District 123's Early Learning Apprenticeship Pathway (ELAP)
- Northwest Education Service District 189's Teacher for the People
Many congratulations to the teams that put these proposals and presentations together. We so look forward to supporting you throughout this journey!
Washington State Careers in Education Website Project
The Washington State Careers in Education Website Development Project aims to create a comprehensive, user-friendly website as a central hub for information about careers in education in Washington State. The website supports Career Connect WA programs to strengthen equity and career-connected learning in the education sector.
The team is currently reviewing and refining the draft pathway pages for tone, clarity, and alignment with system goals. Our next steps will be to incorporate design considerations and user flow enhancements, begin development of additional website elements, including sections on dual credit, financial aid guidance, and other education-related careers beyond teaching, and continue progress toward a fully functional, student- and stakeholder-friendly site aligned to a June 2025 launch!
Just looking at our drafts, we're pinching ourselves at how useful and aligned to our goal of creating something that simplifies and clearly presents different pathways for students to engage with. We can't wait to share it with you all!
If you have questions please contact Saara Kamal at saara@cstp-wa.org.
| | OSPI National Board Updates: Regional Coordinator Constractor Posting | | |
OSPI has posted a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to contract with 9 NBCTs to lead as Regional Coordinators for the 2025-2026 school year and with contract renewal options over the following 4 years. Regional Coordinators are NBCT leaders contracted with OSPI to offer regional National Board support to all school districts within Washington Educational Service Districts (ESDs). The Regional Coordinator team is a resource for cohort facilitators, NBCTs, candidates, and educators who are interested in learning more about the National Board process. This also includes the universities, education associations or UniServ councils, and non-profits working within these regions.
Our goal is to bring National Board support to each ESD region within the state. Bidders are not required to be located or working within the ESD region as this work is almost entirely remote. Approved contractors are compensated monthly as based on completion of a set of outlined deliverables (10 months, excluding December and July).
Review the RFQ on the OSPI competitive procurements webpage and submit application materials or questions to the OSPI contracts office at contracts@k12.wa.us. (Note: while you should read the entire RFQ, the proposal just requires that you submit an updated resume and letter of interest detailing how you meet the minimum and desired qualifications)
OSPI will host a pre-bid conference to answer your questions and provide more details about the Regional Coordinator role live on April 16 at 4:00 PM via Zoom. Proposals must be submitted no later than 3:00 PM on June 4. Contracts are scheduled to begin August 1.
| | WEA National Board Certification Resources | |
National Board Jump Start
National Board Jump Start is a comprehensive, multi-day seminar designed to provide National Board candidates with important information about the certification process, time to examine component and Assessment Center requirements, the opportunity to plan how to meet requirements, and time to collaborate, gather resources and information needed to pursue certification. All this happens in a supportive, constructive and collegial environment.
There are a total of six (6) training modules that will be offered each training week. Registration fee is $75 and open to WEA members only. Foundations I is a required entry course. Select as many of the remaining 5 modules (C1, C2, C3, C4, Foundations II) as you like for the flat $75 Registration fee. Up to 30 WEA Clock Hours can be earned for attending all 6 modules.
- June 23 - 27, 2025
- August 4 - 8, 2025
Save the date! Registration will be posted on the WEA website.
National Board Information Session Series: Registration Now Open!
Audience: Certificated Educators. Our Certification Trainings are conducted online through Zoom, as a Member Benefit, free of charge to WEA Members only.
National Board Certification — Overview: Session 1 (2 Clock Hours)
National Board Certification — Standards & Process: Session 2 (2 Clock Hours)
National Board Certification — Support & Next Steps: Session 3 (2 Clock Hours)
See here for more trainings and details from WEA!
| | Reminder: Educator of the Year Webinar | | |
In case you missed it! Check out our most recent 2025 Educator of the Year Kim Broomer, joined with other Washington State Teachers of the Year on Maintaining Strong and Welcoming Public Schools on the most recent episode of League of Education Voters LEVinar series, interviewed by CSTP friend Arik Korman!
This webinar shares what they are hearing from students, families, and colleagues in their community about how the current school year is going and what students need now, especially as we face massive changes at the federal level. Students from across WA will offer feedback. Executive orders at the federal level are targeting students who are undocumented, students who identify as LBGTQ+, students who come from low-income backgrounds, and students with disabilities. Now more than ever, it is crucial to maintain strong and welcoming public schools.
Take a listen here!
| | April is Arab American Heritage Month | | |
From the Arab American Foundation:
"During the month of April, the Arab America Foundation formally recognizes the achievements of Arab Americans through the celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM). Across the country, cultural institutions, school districts, municipalities, state legislatures, public servants, and non-profit organizations issue proclamations and engage in special events that celebrate our community’s rich heritage and numerous contributions to society.
Arab America and the Arab America Foundation launched the National Arab American Heritage Month initiative in 2017, with just a handful of states recognizing the initiative. Each year, our grass-roots network of over 250 Arab American volunteers in 26 states gathers hundreds of proclamations from their states, counties, municipalities, and local school districts."
Read more HERE.
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Join us for fun facts, obscure knowledge, and exploration of physics, genetics, etymology, art, and more!
| | Assuming One's Place in the Family | | |
Taxonomy is the science of mapping genetic relationships and connections in all living beings. The major ranks, increasing in specificity, are Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family Genus, and Species. Taxonomic classifications change over time and some remain in dispute to this day. Relating animals has a huge range of interpretation and human biases. We naturally want animals that look similar to be directly related–but this assumption is often incorrect.
Take, for example, the case of the legless lizard and snake. Lizards and snakes are both members of domain eukarya (multi-cell organisms), kingdom animalia (animals), phylum chordata (animals attributes like thyroid and a tail bone), class reptilia (reptiles, cold-blooded), order squamata (reptiles that shed their skin periodically). They are closer in form and function to each other than other reptiles like crocodiles and turtles. All species of legless lizards and snakes lay eggs, move in a slithering motion, eat similar foods like eggs and rodents, and, of course, they have no legs.
So far, our assumption that these two similar-looking reptiles are taxonomically close is unchallenged. But we must accept that the differences are significant: Snakes have flexible and unhinging jaws which allows them to swallow large prey, while legless lizards do not. Snakes do not have eyelids or ear holes, while all lizards (legs or no) do. Snakes have a forked tongue, while the lizards have a simple notch.
Furthermore, Snakes can slither along any surface imaginable, using their bellies and sides to propel themselves. Legless lizards, in contrast, have to rock their body side to side as they wind their way across the ground, as they cannot use their belly scales for locomotion. If a legless lizard finds itself on a very flat surface and cannot rock back and forth or find purchase on its side–like, say, a smooth paved road–then it will be difficult or impossible to move.
Another major difference is found in their tails. The tails of these reptiles start where the rib cage ends and waste is expelled. A snake’s length is about one third tail, while the legless lizard has the opposite proportions with a length that is fully two thirds tail. Legless lizards, like many lizard species, can detach their tails when menaced by a predator. Their extended tails tend to break into several pieces, shattering like glass, which is why some legless lizards are also known as glass lizards. No snake can do that!
Even the leglessness itself might not be as important to taxonomy as we assume. The fossil record shows a creature called Tetrapodophis that lived during the early cretaceous period. According to some theories, this reptile was more closely related to snakes than modern lizards are, with similar skeletal structure and body function, except for the fact that it had four legs.
All of this is to say that taxonomy, especially of extinct animals, is based heavily on speculation and interpretation that can evolve in time as much as creatures themselves. But you can be sure about this: If you see a long tube-shaped animal sunning itself on a road, do your best to not drive over it. Whether it's a snake or a lizard, it’s cold-blooded, so it really needs that heat!
| | 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 and teacher leadership. | | Liking and sharing our posts on social media is another way you can support CSTP during these times. Thank you for sharing our message. | | | | |
