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Dear Curriculum Directors and Education Leaders:

This message is to share with you important updates regarding professional development provided by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and to announce our growing partnership with the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (WSASCD).

1. OSPI Sponsorship of Statewide Conferences: Given our current state and national economic situation, and considering that OSPI (along with many school districts) anticipates significant staff reductions for the 2009-2011 biennium, we have made the decision to cancel the two primary OSPI-sponsored statewide conferences for the next two years: the OSPI Summer Institutes and the January Conferences. The 2010 January Conferences had been scheduled to take place in Spokane on January 26 through 28.  This decision was made after careful consideration of the current financial crisis and the negative effect that it will have on 2009-2010 professional development budgets in general and attendance at conferences in particular. We sincerely regret the necessity for this decision and apologize to any of you who may have made plans to attend these conferences.

1. Professional Development Collaboration between OSPI and WSASCD: One way we have approached the cancellation of these important conferences has been to enter into a partnership with the WSASCD to provide a series of OSPI-staff directed breakout sessions at the annual WSASCD conference. The 2009 conference is scheduled October 9 and 10, 2009, at the SeaTac Double Tree Hotel.  Information about the conference, including proposal forms for those interested in presenting at the conference, is available at //www.wsascd.org/.

For now, we will plan intentionally to pursue professional development for the field through partnerships with WSASCD, WERA, educational associations, Educational Service Districts, and other organizations or partners that request OSPI staff to participate in their workshops.  In addition, we will continue to schedule OSPI workshops for federally funded programs such as Reading First, Title I, Special Education, and School and District Improvement.

Again, while we regret the need for the cancellation decisions, we are optimistic about the opportunities presented by closer collaboration with our state professional development partners. We hope to see many of you in the fall at the annual WSASCD conference.

Alan Burke, Ed.D.

Deputy Superintendent
K-12 Education

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

alan.burke@k12.wa.us

(Posted 4/10/09)

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TEACH Grants
February 2008

What are the TEACH Grants?
The TEACH Grants are authorized in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which was enacted into law in the fall of 2007. These are grants to recruit teachers into hard-to-staff fields and low-income schools. Grants of up to $16,000 ($4000/year) for undergraduates and $8,000 for Master’s degree seeking students can be used to cover the cost of tuition and other school-expenses. Grantees will then complete a four-year teaching service obligation in a high-need field at a school that receives Title I funds.

When will the TEACH Grant Program begin?
The program will begin in July 2008.

AACTE complete Teach Grant fact sheet