The overarching goal of the Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) program is to “grow our own” diverse group of future teachers who more closely reflect the population of today’s children and youth. RWT is a Washington high school teacher academy program, founded in equity pedagogy, that helps students to explore cultural identity and educational opportunities through the lens of the teaching profession.
By supporting participants as they complete high school, apply to and attend college, RWT strengthens the pathway from high school to teaching, with the goal that students will become not only certified teachers, but also education leaders who make a difference in their communities.
Curriculum and resources
Click to view the RWT infographic
Inspired by the effective practices of the original RWT pilot programs first eight years (2007-15), and charged by a special proviso from the state legislature (ESSB 6002), the Professional Educator Standards Board commissioned a task force to revise and develop the model framework and curriculum for high school Careers in Education courses to incorporate standards of cultural competence, new research on educator preparation, as well as curriculum and activities from the RWT program. This work resulted in the RWT teacher academy curriculum, for use in all Washington State teacher academies.
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 educators in the state of Washington. The resources and strategies developed out of this pilot are shared in the annual report (see Evaluation, below).
Grantees
RWT began in 2007 as a legislatively funded pilot project, out of which the RWT curriculum and resources have been developed. Today, PESB supports four grant-funded learning laboratories with a focus on the recruitment and preparation of a diverse group of high school students for future careers as educators. Programs aim to address the teacher shortage areas of Mathematics, Science, Special Education, Early Childhood Education (P-3), English Language Learner, and Bilingual Education. RWT program sites allow for the testing of new resources and strategies and provide an opportunity to study program outcomes (see Evaluation, below).
The following grantees have been awarded funding and designation as an RWT learning laboratory for the 2019-20 academic year:
Recruiting Washington Teachers – Burlington-Edison School District
Renton Teacher Academy – Renton School District
MVHS Careers in Education – Mt. Vernon School District
