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An owl in a graduation cap pointing at the words Recruiting Washington TeachersThe 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 high school Washington 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, the RWT program 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

Graphic showing information about the RWT washington teacher academy curriculum, arranged like a tree. The leaves and canopy of the tree have text boxes saying "Recruiting Washington Teachers" and "Curriculum: Our curriculum is the core of RWT and is grown through research, pilot programs, and professional development opportunities." The roots of the tree extend below the ground in a cutaway effect, and have four text boxes reading "Learning Laboratories: RWT has been created through experimentation and innovation in pilot sites," "Bilingual Educators Initiative: In 2018 new sites began developing tools and resources for bilingual teacher academies," "Professional Development: Professional development is available through free online modules and RWT micro-credentials are being piloted," and "Evaluation and Reports: The impact of RWT on students has been measured and reported on since 2007. Check out the annual reports on our website."
Click to view infographic summary of the RWT program

Inspired by the effective practices of the original RWT pilot programs first eight years (2007-2015), 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.

Overview of RWT curriculum:

Grantees

RWT began as a legislatively funded pilot project, out of which our curriculum and resources have been developed. Today, we operate 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 in the teacher shortage areas of Mathematics, Science, Special Education, Early Childhood Education (P-3), English Language Learner, and Bilingual Education. These sites allow for the testing of new resources and strategies and provide an opportunity to study the outcomes (see Evaluation, below).

The following grantees have been awarded funding and designation as an RWT learning laboratory for the 2017-18 academic year:

  • Recruiting Washington Teachers – Burlington-Edison School District
  • Renton Teacher Academy – Renton School District
  • MVHS Careers in Education – Mt. Vernon School District
  • Teach 253 – Tacoma School District

For more information on the current grantee sites, visit our RWT grantee sites page.

The RWT pilot program has been authorized and funded by the state legislature since 2007, with guidance provided by the RWT Advisory Board.

Bilingual Educators Initiative

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. Through a competitive grant application process, pilot sites are being created. The resources and strategies developed out of this pilot program will be made available statewide.

Evaluation

Results from the collaborative evaluation of the RWT learning laboratories dating back to 2007 are available on the RWT Reports page.

Contact

For more information, contact the educator pathways and workforce development team at pathways@k12.wa.us.

 

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