The educational service district (ESD) Alternative Routes Grant comes out of the 2019 legislative session. The grant provides 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.
PESB conducted an application process in July 2019 and awarded ESD-U, ESD 112’s Alternative Routes program. The grant application is now closed.
Grant distribution
PESB will administer grant funds to the awarded ESD Alternative Routes program’s teacher candidates in the form of a scholarship as follows:
School year 2019-20 | $5,000 scholarship per ESD Alternative Routes candidate for up to 20 candidates
School year 2020-21 | $5,000 scholarship per ESD Alternative Routes candidate for up to 30 candidates
Funding is candidate-centric and will be awarded based on the actual number of candidates the program enrolls. Program partners may not charge indirect dollars for this grant program.
Program requirements
The ESD Alternative Routes Grant program must implement the program in accordance with Alternative Routes rules. Applicants must submit a program design narrative that addresses the five goals listed below.
- Collaborative recruitment and selection amongst partners
- Flexible program design to meet district(s’) needs
- Provide extensive support services to candidates with all partners engaged
- Commitment by candidates to serve for two years as a teacher in a high need area in Washington State
- Job embedded program design
The program must also:
- Engage retired or practicing teachers and administrators to inform the development and curriculum of the program;
- Provide extended support and mentoring through the first three years of their candidates’ teaching career using components of the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) model;
- Support school districts to develop school staff and community members to become teachers, with the goal of developing a teacher workforce that better reflects the region’s demographics, values, and interests; and
- Provide opportunities for classified staff (e.g., paraeducators) to become teachers.
Applicants can find resources on the Alternative Routes webpage and “Grow your own” resources page.
Program reporting requirements
As required by law, the ESD Alternative Routes Grant program must report the following to PESB by November 1, 2024:
- The number of teacher candidates applying for, and completing, the Alternative Routes 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; and
- The data must be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, type of endorsement, and school.
Contact pathways@k12.wa.us with questions about the grant.
