ESD alternative routes grant

Eligibility

ESDs that are approved by PESB to offer an alternative route program are eligible to apply for this grant. The grantee must maintain at least limited approval status during the grant period.

Implementation

The grantee must implement the program according to Washington’s preparation program standards and requirements and alternative route rules.  The grantee must include the following in program implementation:

• Engage retired or practicing teachers and administrators to inform the development and curriculum of the program
• Support school districts to develop school staff and community members to become teachers to grow a teacher workforce that better reflects the region’s demographics, values, and interests
• Provide opportunities for classified district staff (e.g., paraeducators) to become teachers
• Provide extended support and mentoring through the first three years of candidates’ teaching careers using components of the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) model

The grantee will prioritize the following:

• Priority 1: Recruit candidates from populations systematically excluded from the educator workforce that reflect P-12 student demographics
• Priority 2: Prepare candidates to address content area or geographic shortages
• Priority 3: Strengthen a grow your own teacher model that provides a clear pathway from recruitment to employment
• Priority 4: Offer candidates and mentor teachers job-embedded learning, where candidates are an integral part of the school community and student learning improvement strategy
• Priority 5: Provide support services to candidates to meet program and teacher certification requirements
• Priority 6: Provide candidates credit or early program completion for prior relevant coursework and experience

Reporting

The grantee will participate in a check-in with PESB annually in July through 2024.

The grantee must report the following to PESB by November 1, 2024:

• The number of teacher candidates applying for, and completing, the alternative route program
• The number of program completers who are hired as teachers, both in the awarded ESD and elsewhere in the state
• The retention of teachers in the awarded ESD before and after implementation of the grant
• Feedback from school principals and teachers in the local school districts on the quality of the teacher candidates they worked with during the grant
• The data must be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, type of endorsement, and school

Application and award

Apply for the grant online. We encourage applicants to use the application template (document) to prepare responses before completing the online application. The application is due August 31, 2021, by 5 p.m.

A review team will use the application criteria form to evaluate applications. Applicants will have the opportunity to answer questions and respond to feedback from the review team. Once we determine all application criteria are “met” by an applicant, we will issue the award letter.

After receiving their award letter, we will share the following additional information with grantees:

• General assurances
• Funding distribution process
• Annual check-in between PESB and the grantee

The grantee will receive up to $150,000 per year during school years 2021-22 and 2022-23 to provide scholarships of $5,000 each for up to 30 candidates. Funding is candidate-centric, and we will distribute funds based on the actual number of candidates the grantee enrolls in the program.

The grantee may not charge indirect dollars to this grant.

• ESD alternative routes grant policy
• Alternative routes information
• Program approval
• PESB reports
• “Grow your own” resources