Washington's Performance
Ungraded
Why does this matter?
There are many pathways—both traditional and nontraditional—that aspiring candidates of color may complete to become a teacher. Traditional preparation programs play a central role in preparing teachers for the workforce. Increasingly, states are turning their attention to building a pipeline of teachers using more nontraditional routes: putting high school students on track to a career in teaching, offering post-college students on-the-job teacher residency programs, and/or investing in registered apprenticeships that combine on-the-job learning with classroom instruction.
Why does Washington stand out?
Washington’s strategy to increase the teacher workforce includes high school pre-educator pipeline programs and “grow your own” programs.
In 2017, Washington’s legislature expanded the state’s Recruit Washington Teachers Initiative to include the Bilingual Educators Initiative (BEI). BEI is a high school career academy program designed for bilingual high school students to prepare to become certified bilingual educators in the state. Funded at $1 million in 2022, the program currently disburses grants to seven district grantees.3
What are the key actions Washington
should take?
See what these exemplars are doing in this policy area:
Key Resources
State of the States 2023: Teacher Diversity
Explore NCTQ’s comprehensive scan of state teacher diversity policies.
Increasing teacher diversity: Four ways districts can take action
Learn more about how districts can create the conditions for a more diverse workforce.
References
- Somewhat unusually, in this model, students participating in the model’s fifth and sixth year experience do not receive their high school diploma when they complete the 12th grade year. As the state has noted publicly, this has created some drawbacks for students. Students participating in higher education coursework during their fifth and sixth years may be unable to live on their college campus due to rules. They are also unable to access state or federal financial aid to pay for cost of living or any additional coursework they might take outside of their TREP courses. Districts are not required under the law to cover the cost of housing or books during a student’s experience, though Colorado Department of Education staff note that many have. Without this requirement, students may struggle to pay for housing during the program. Banghart, K. (Host). (2023, January 31). TREP Program (Season 4 Episode 4) [Video podcast episode]. In Redefining Rural. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWimYhggzg
- This same benefit is open to graduates of any Connecticut Educational Reform District, a designation that currently includes districts with the state’s lowest accountability index scores.
- Bilingual Educators Initiative grants. (n.d.). Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board. https://www.pesb.wa.gov/innovation-policy/grants-pilots/bilingual-educators-initiative/
- Marrun, N. A., Rodriguez-Campo, M., Plachowski, T. J., & Clark, C. (2021). Divergent values: A family critical race theory analysis of families of color and their perceptions of teachers and teaching as a profession. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 20(3), 2. Marrun, N. A., Plachowski, T. J., Mauldin, D. A. R., & Clark, C. (2021). Teachers don’t really encourage it: A critical race theory analysis of high school students’ of color perceptions of the teaching profession. Multicultural Education Review, 13(1), 3-24. Goings, R. B., & Bianco, M. (2016). It’s hard to be who you don’t see: An exploration of Black male high school students’ perspectives on becoming teachers. The Urban Review, 48(4), 628-646.
- Gasman, M., Castro Samayoa, A., & Ginsberg, A. (2016). A rich source for teachers of color and learning: Minority serving institutions. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions.
- Gasman, M., Castro Samayoa, A., & Ginsberg, A. (2016).