Grants & pilots - Professional Educator Standards Board

Through innovative grants and pilot programs PESB is responding to employer workforce demands and expanding the diversity of our state’s educators.

Advancing Equity grant

The Advancing Equity Grant is a new, two year grant of up to $10,000/year. The purpose of the grant is to increase equity in educator preparation programs across the state and informing broader PESB policy connected to cultural responsiveness and equity. This page contains information on the grant, including meeting dates, a timeline, and an FAQ.

The alternative route block grant (ARBG) provides funding for preparation programs, districts, and candidate scholarships to support alternative route programs engaging “grow your own” teacher strategies to address district needs. This page contains information about the 2019 application due in October, including application materials, resources, and timeline. This page also houses information about the most recently awarded grant for school years 2018-20 and archived materials from past award cycles.

This page contains documents such as progress reports and award announcements from the Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) pilot program. These pilot projects enable colleges of education to collaborate with school districts to establish collaborative schools for innovation and success, serving particularly at-risk and low-achieving students.

The educational service district (ESD) Alternative Routes Grant comes out of the 2019 legislative session, House Bill 1139. The competitive grant will provide financial aid to teacher candidates enrolled in one ESD’s Alternative Routes program during school years 2019-20 and 2020-21 to pursue an initial residency teaching certificate. This page contains information about the grant, including application requirements, materials, and resources.

This page contains information, as well as links to resources and reports, on the “Grow Your Own” pilot program, a privately funded grant initiative ending June 31, 2019. The purpose of this pilot program is to build an educator workforce that is representative of the district student population they serve and develop individuals to teach in the district’s identified high need subject areas.

At the July 2020 meeting, PESB approved a one year, multiple measures pilot to offer greater flexibility for candidates to meet the edTPA requirements. This pilot will help to reduce barriers and allow for more equitable pathways into the teaching profession. A multiple measures process for the edTPA contributes to a culturally responsive and coherent assessment system, and ensures a properly credentialed and diverse teacher workforce.

Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) is a high school teacher academy program, founded in equity pedagogy, that aims to help students explore and prepare for careers in education. RWT programs are possible without grant funding — funding is provided with additional requirements and responsibilities. Learn about the grant.

The Recruiting Washington Teachers – Bilingual Educators Initiative (RWT – BEI) pilot project is aimed at recruiting, preparing, and mentoring bilingual high school students, in order to prepare them to become future bilingual teachers and counselors in the state of Washington.

The Teaching Equity Network is a network of cross-sector collaborators promoting equity in the preparation of future educators, equity in pathways into teaching, and ongoing training around equity and culturally responsive practices for educators. This page contains information on the Teaching Equity Network Fund grant.