Overview to Washington State Teacher Certification - YouTube

Certification requirements are subject to change.

The certificated professional is responsible for being knowledgeable about current and

revised regulations.

It is the responsibility of the certificate holder to understand and follow certification

policies and procedures, including meeting deadlines, completing applications, and fulfilling

requirements for maintaining their certificate.

In Washington, the first level of certification for most new teachers is the Residency Certificate.

Note that requirements for the Residency Certificate fulfills requirements for a Substitute Certificate,

which does not expire.

Some requirements for the Residency Certificate include:

a complete application, with license fee evidence of good moral character and personal

fitness, a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college

or university, completion of a state approved teacher preparation

program, training to teach at least one endorsement

area, and passing scores on basic skills and endorsement

tests.

The first issue of a Residency Certificate does not expire but it is subject to reissue.

Once a teacher has 1.5 years as a continuing employee, the residency certificate is reissued

with a three year expiration date.

Work in private schools, or schools outside of Washington, or substitute work in Washington,

is not counted as part of the 1.5 FTE which triggers reissue.

Teachers employed half-time or quarter-time in a public school in Washington accumulate

experience toward the 1.5 FTE threshold.

For example, three years of half-time employment would total 1.5 FTE, or six years of quarter-time

employment would total 1.5 FTE.

During the three year period between reissue and expiration, the holder of the reissued

Residency Certificate must complete requirements for the Professional Certificate.

Requirements for the Professional Certificate include passing either the ProTeach performance

assessment or the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards assessment – abbreviated

NBPTS.

Earning the Professional Certificate also requires coursework or in-service on identifying,

reporting, and preventing child abuse, which most teachers complete as a requirement of

their teacher preparation program.

Teachers holding a reissued Residency Certificate and who have come to the end of the third

year without passing ProTeach or NBPTS may apply to renew the Residency Certificate for

two additional years.

Granting a renewal requires attestation that the holder will register and complete the

ProTeach assessment or the NBPTS assessment.

The holder of a two-year renewed Residency Certificate who fails the online portion of

the ProTeach assessment or the NBPTS assessment, or who has a break in service such as leave

of absence or reduction in force, is eligible for an additional two-year renewal to add

time for passing either ProTeach or NBPTS.

The holder of a twice renewed Residency Certificate who fails the ProTeach assessment or the NBPTS

assessment at the conclusion of the second renewal period must have a five-year break

in service before seeking employment in a Washington public school.

After the five year break, the holder of an expired Residency Certificate may be hired

by a district on an Emergency Certificate in order to reestablish permanent certification

status.

ProTeach is a performance assessment designed for Washington teachers seeking advancement

from the Residency to Professional Certificate.

ProTeach focuses ona) effective teaching, b) professional development, and c) professional

contributions.

There are 12 criteria associated with ProTeach, which have been authorized by the Professional

Educator Standards Board.

The portfolio includes three entries: 1) Professional Growth and Contributions, 2) Building a Learning

Community, and 3) Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

Each entry includes the standard fair of performance assessment stuff, including rubrics, commentary

prompts, analysis of evidence, and the like.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is another performance assessment,

which focuses on five principles: teachers 1) are committed to students and their learning,

2) know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students, 3) are responsible

for managing and monitoring student learning, 4) think systematically about their practice

and learn from experience, and 5) are members of learning communities.

The assessment is divided into two parts: a computer-based content knowledge test, and

a portfolio.

The portfolio includes three entries, 1) differentiation of instruction, 2) teaching practice and learning

environment, and 3) effective and reflective practitioner.

Each entry includes rubrics, writing prompts, and analysis of evidence.

Once a Professional Certificate is earned, it is valid for five years.

However, for those teachers who passed the NBPTS assessment to transition from the Residency

to the Professional Certificate, the expiration is 10 years.

The Professional Certificate is reissued every five years by completing an annual professional

growth plan.

A professional growth plan is the document which identifies the specific competencies,

knowledge, skills and experiences needed to meet the standards at the "career level" benchmarks,

which are authorized by the Professional Educator Standards Board.

The plan shows steps the teacher intends to implement for growth over the coming year,

including

Goals, A rational or explanation of outcomes,

The specific career level standards defined by the Professional Educator Standards board,

Specific activities used to achieve the goals, outcomes, and standards,

Sources of evidence used to justify progress toward meeting goals, such as student work

samples, reflections written on lessons, student test scores, and the like.

The plan also includes a Review of the evidence by a colleague or supervisor,

Reflection describing next steps And signatures of the teacher, and reviewing

colleagues or supervisors.

The career standards are a key part of the plan.

Some example standards include the following: Using Multiple Instructional Strategies to

Address Individual Student Needs, Using a Variety of Assessments to Monitor

and Improve Instruction, Creating a Safe, Productive Learning Environment,

And Integrating Technology.

Although district human resource personnel may assist teachers in keeping track of dates

and requirements associated with reissue and renewal of certificates, it is the responsibility

of the certificated professional for being knowledgeable about current and revised regulations

and for following certification policies and procedures.

Resources for answering questions about certification include the Office of Superintendent of Public

Instruction and the Professional Educator Standards Board.

In addition, OSPI uses an Internet based platform called e-Certification to facilitate administration

of certificates, such as checking the certificate type, renewing a certificate, reissuing a

certificate, or requesting copies of a certificate.