Are you a teacher, paraeducator, administrator, or ESA who wants to make new connections as an educator?
CSTP has received a grant from the Professional Educator Standards Board to create a PLC of educators focused on working on and completing Professional Growth Plans (PGPs) focused around the LIFT Framework during the 2021-2022 school year. Applicants selected to participate in this PLC can earn 25 clock hours toward certification and salary advancement, learn from educators and facilitators from around the state, and receive a $300 stipend as they build skills as an instructional partner in their school.
Using the newly released LIFT Framework, you will:
- Reflect on your professional practice and learning communities
- Build and practice skills to work effectively with other educators and peers
- Examine learner variability and make connections with social and emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, and inclusive instruction.
- Explore how digital learning and teaching can support innovative instruction
What you need to know:
- The learning cohort of 20-24 educators will begin in Fall 2021 and finish in May 2022
- Facilitators will provide support and guidance with activities and discussions for the LIFT Framework and for completing the PGP requirements
- Any Washington State educator is eligible to participate (paraeducators, certificated educators, administrators and ESA’s such as school behavior analyst, school counselor, school nurse, school occupational therapist, school orientation and mobility specialist, school physical therapist, school psychologist, school social worker, and/or school speech language pathologist/audiologist)
- You must sign up with another educator from your school or district and work together to support each other and complete the activities for the project (partners can teach different subjects and/or grade levels)
- You will use the PESB Professional Growth Plan program to earn credits and document your work and effort
- Applications are due by September 28, 2021. Applicants will be notified of their application status by September 30, 2021
If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, contact anzara@cstp-wa.org.
Apply Now
Benefits of Participation:
During the PGP PLC you and your partner will each work on a problem of practice and reflect on your learning through the school year. Upon completion and submission of the PGP in May 2022, you will earn a $300 stipend and be eligible to submit it to the PESB for 25 clock hours to use towards certificate renewal or towards the General Paraeducator Certificate. Read about additional PGP benefits in PESB’s Why PGPs.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is LIFT?
LIFT is designed to help educators help educators through intentional instructional partnership. The LIFT Framework is an asynchronous self-paced professional learning path designed to allow any educator to build expertise to lead, teach, and support their peers to innovate instruction and effectively use digital tools and adapt to rapidly changing and dynamic learning environments. Educators integrate research-based instructional practices including reflective professional collaboration, inclusive instructional design, social and emotional learning and culturally-responsive teaching.
How does this fit with my current educational role?
The LIFT Framework builds leadership in place — enhancing and empowering existing teachers, librarians, instructional coaches, paraeducators and administrators to provide school- or district-based support for instructional innovation. As an extension of existing roles, educators who complete the LIFT Framework can both model and serve as educational leaders serving alongside their peers.
Why do we need instructional partnership?
Decades of research have demonstrated that coaching and instructional collaboration have a marked impact on both professional learning and student outcomes. Despite proof that professional collaboration makes a difference, instructional partnership is often overlooked or limited to formal coaching programs and roles. The LIFT Framework is designed to expand both the expertise and capacity of interested educators to provide peer-to-peer instructional support and leadership in schools and districts.
Who should my learning partner be?
Recognizing the productive challenge of blended, collaborative, and asynchronous learning, the LIFT Framework and learning path is designed to be completed concurrently with another colleague. Both the LIFT Framework and this PGP cohort requires that you complete this learning path with a learning partner who serves several functions:
- Thought partner for discussions and reflection
- Promotes completion of activities and accountability
- Collaborator on shared activities
- Peer review and verification to your documentation of work and assignments