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Overall, the responses in UW-Seattle¶s proposal do not appear to address the
requirements of Alternative Route program design related to the candidate¶s ability to
waive partial or all requirements based on previous experience, though performance
tasks or other indicators. Also provide information as to how the candidates are
evaluated to access the open exit option after the half year point in the internship.?

PESB has provided bulleted points under sections of Form 2A that UW-Seattle needs to
address for the Application to offer Alternative Routes to be considered by the Executive
Committee for recommendation on the July PESB agenda. PESB staff hopes that this
information will assist UW-Seattle with re-submitting the proposal.
PESB is clear in their expectation that UW-Seattle address each of these sections with
original language, evidence and documentation to provide PESB with a full proposal
based on the unique aspects of your Alternative Route program plan and design.

Please note, that PESB does not accept µsee attached letter¶ as an adequate response
for any section of the application (See UW-Seattle Form 2A sections: District Need,
Selection of a Mentor Teacher).

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Seattle Public Schools and Federal Way Public Schools will partner with the University
of Washington (UW) on the University of Washington Accelerated Certification for
Teachers (U-ACT). Once approved, U-ACT will be UW¶s alternative route to teacher
certification program. Seattle and Federal Way will be the initial district partners;
additional partners may be added in the future. Seattle and Federal Way districts have
done internal assessments of their anticipated shortage areas (exact needs assessment
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data requested from districts). In response to their assessments, districts entered into
agreements with Teach for America (TFA) that will allow placement of TFA Corps
Members into locally identified teacher shortage areas. In both cases the districts will
work with TFA to request conditional certification as per their district needs.

The scope of the UW program is constrained by the specific needs emerging from the
TFA/District partnerships. The need for the partnership and alternative route program
were assessed and defined by the districts. UW did not conduct the analysis of need;
rather, the program has been designed in response to the district defined needs. In the
context of the partnership the UW is limited in its ability to control for shortage areas,
school placements, etc. However, the university is approved to offer all of the
appropriate endorsement programs and thus is able to respond to the districts¶ self
defined shortage areas.

For the foreseeable future, entrance into the program will be limited to TFA participants.
However, at some point UW may seek to expand the program to non-TFA participants.
All requisite analysis of content and market needs will be undertaken in consultation
with PESB.
?

#?/
:

Please provide PESB with information related to the following:

Ô Regarding the internal needs assessment that was conducted by the partnership
districts, UW-Seattle responds that the µexact needs assessment data requested
from the districts¶. Inclusion of the results of these needs assessments are
essential to the evaluation of this proposal;

Ô UW-Seattle refers to the specific needs emerging from the Teach for America
(TFA)/District partnerships. Documentation related to the components of the
partnerships and the specific needs of the districts should be defined, particularly
as to how they factor/align with or influence the design of the UW- Seattle
Alternative Route proposal.?
?
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Teacher preparation programs from around Washington continue to prepare teachers to

enter Puget Sound school districts. Many of those programs have a specific focus on
preparing candidates to teach in urban and high-poverty schools. Despite these efforts,
the districts in this partnership believe that teachers prepared through the partnership
with Teach for America and the particular alternative route program that is the subject of
this proposal, will address regularly experienced shortages and bring a unique set of
skills and perspectives that will help the districts close the achievement gap.
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This program is unique in the area in a number of ways. While it is not the only
alternative route 4 program in the area, it is the only one serving the partnerships
established by the participating districts and TFA. TFA has entered into an agreement
with a single university partner, the University of Washington, Seattle, to support
candidate preparation for residency certification in the Seattle-Tacoma region. In
addition the challenge-based program design, described later in this proposal, and the
UW¶s research capacity set this program apart. A research agenda has begun to take
shape around this alternative route program. The research agenda considers questions
about innovations in curriculum design for teacher preparation; innovations in
instructional practice: developing ³high leverage´ practices for the classroom; and tools
for novice teacher assessment. Taken together we believe the unique aspects of this
partnership have the potential to impact the overall field of teacher education.


#?/
:

Please provide PESB with information related to the following:

Ô Identify the demographics of the schools/districts in your service area. Include

specific information on the schools and school districts your proposal could
potentially serve;

Ô Include the geographic location, the identification of the major decision-makers,

and any seasonal or cyclical trends which may impact the program;
?
Ô The proposal states that ³« the districts in this partnership believe that teachers
prepared through the partnership with Teach for America and the particular
alternative route program that is the subject of this proposal will address regularly
experienced shortages and bring a unique set of skills and perspectives that will
help the districts close the achievement gap.´ Please provide data related to the
partner districts¶ achievement gap and teacher shortages that they are
experiencing. Provide documentation/narrative as to how the districts define
unique skills and perspectives and how the partnerships between the districts
and UW-Seattle will reduce the achievement gap;

Ô Identify all other college of education programs operating in the Seattle and
Federal Way service areas.

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Note- For purposes of clarification- the unique features of the program design and the
Program Design sections are both addressed by PESB below

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Unique features of the program design

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While current teacher certification programs at the University of Washington actively

engage the latest research in teacher education, they are built upon traditional models
of teacher preparation that rely on university coursework supported by field based
opportunities to learn. U-ACT is built upon a residency model of teacher preparation.
The program is designed specifically to support alternative route 4 candidates, as such
participants will be teachers of record in local public schools. The program will ground
learning in the context of the school community and the realities of daily teaching
practice.

U-ACT shares the same conceptual framework (figure 1.) and overall learning
objectives as the UW traditional preparation programs. These have shaped the program
design and will inform alternative route candidates¶ experience of the curriculum as they
prepare to meet state competencies for residency teacher certification.

Program Design

Current UW teacher education programs utilize a practice-based approach to teacher

preparation. Program developers have extended the notion of a practice-based
approach to focus the preparation and evaluation of U-ACT residency certification
candidates in order to build their instructional capacity.

A framework developed by Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009) is a useful way to think

about the structure and curriculum of this practice-based approach. Students learn in
practice, learn from practice, and learn for practice. The structure and the curriculum
give students opportunities to develop their knowledge of teaching through activities and
events that are oriented around this framework. The program balances the urgent
needs of daily teaching practice with learning theories, frameworks, and principles that
guide that practice, while affording candidates opportunities to develop their capacity to
learn from their own practice.
?
Before beginning the UW program students complete a series of readings and an initial
five-week intensive institute under the direction of TFA. A careful analysis of the institute
curriculum has been completed; it addresses many of the state competencies for
residency certification and is a good primer for the proposed UW Alternative Route
program. It will serve as the summer intensive prior to entering the classroom in the fall.

During the TFA preprogram institute students begin to draft individual professional
growth plans. At the very beginning of the UW program students take a performance
assessment. The assessment is a modified version of the Teacher Performance
Assessment (TPA). The results of the initial assessment are fed into the next draft of the
individual professional growth plans. These plans are completed in collaboration with
the internship support team - UW Team Lead, district mentor, and the TFA Program
Director.

Upon entering the program U-ACT students are assigned to a subgroup according to
their classroom teaching assignment - Elementary, Secondary Science, Secondary
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Mathematics, etc. Each subgroup has a Team Lead with primary responsibility for
supporting candidate progress through the program.

Instructional areas (e.g., assessment for learning, scaffolding for participation,

intellectual engagement for learners, and sense-making of k-12 students¶ thinking and
understanding) from current CoE teacher education curricula have been identified as
essential for U-ACT candidates to meet residency certification competencies by the end
of the first program year. These elements are reframed as Instructional Challenges.
These challenges are set in an instructional improvement cycle (figure 2) comprise the
core of the curriculum.
CoE faculty and program personnel utilize participants¶ personalized professional
growth plans and experiences in their own classrooms to customize and further develop
program curriculum to ensure students are able to meet all certification competencies.
As this is a performance-based program, each year the curriculum will be tailored to the
learning needs of the cohort of students entering the program.

Learning teams work both in-person and virtually, aided by synchronous and
asynchronous technologies. The curriculum is organized into three different types of
learning opportunities: the Teaching and Learning Seminar, Special Topics Colloquium,
and Problems of Practice Workshops.

Curricular Program Elements

Teaching and Learning Seminar.?(All three quarters of the academic year.)?The purpose
of the seminars is to engage the candidates in weekly collaborative work regarding
teaching. Students will work with their Team Lead and content or level subgroups
(teams) to complete faculty-generated Instructional Challenges. The central component
of this work is the development of the candidates¶ pedagogical content knowledge and
teaching practice. Throughout the academic year (September ± June), the Team Lead
meets, virtually and face-to-face, with the team to engage the program curriculum. The
faculty members who design the Instructional Challenges present at some of these
weekly meetings to both ensure the challenges are taken up appropriately and to review
participant work.
?
The framework of the seminar will remain the same for all corps members. However,
the way participants engage the curriculum will vary depending on the make up of their
subgroup and the individual challenges the participants are engaging in their
classrooms. For instance, early in the program all subgroups will encounter a challenge
that deals with student assessment. The specifics of that challenge will reflect the
particular issues embedded in the content the subgroup is teaching, i.e. math, science,
reading at the elementary level, etc. There will also be differences within subgroups.
Consider, for example, the assessment challenge as it might be experienced in the
elementary subgroup. The challenge deals with implementing a standardized reading
assessment and making instructional decisions based on the resulting student data.
Some of the participants in this subgroup may need to focus on the organizational
aspects of carrying out the assessment, another set might need more support in
developing the next instructional steps for the entire class, while a third set might need
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most support in identifying the needs for individual children based on the data. The
team lead is responsible for helping participants focus on their specific learning needs
within the challenge. In these and similar ways the learning is customized to the
specific individuals within a cohort or subgroup.
?
Special Topics Colloquium.?(All three quarters of the academic year.)?Special Topics
meets once or twice a month during the academic year. Some meetings engage the
whole cohort, while others focus on areas of interest to specific teams, groups of teams,
or individuals from across the learning teams. Special topics tackles cross cutting
issues such as learning and development; language, race, and culture; policy and
politics; and other issues.
?
Problems of Practice Workshops.?(All three quarters of the academic year.)?The goal of
these sessions is to support the candidates by engaging them in problems of practice,
which support analysis of their teaching in various ways. This set of workshops is built
upon a successful model, called Reconnect and Recharge, used during the induction
year of the current teacher education programs. In this program Problems of Practice
Workshops are held twice a month. Early in the academic year students are guided to
select specific types of problems. Team Leads and other CoE faculty developed these
problem types based on the likelihood that students will encounter them early in their
teaching careers. Later in the year students draw on their classroom experience to raise
dilemmas they would like to engage on during this forum.

Internship Support
Internship support will be provided in a coordinated effort between districts, TFA, and
UW. Each will draw on its unique perspective and resources to form internship support
teams. The districts have internal support structures for first year teachers (e.g. the Staff
Training, Assistance, and Review (STAR) mentor program in Seattle, and the Beginning
Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) in Federal Way). TFA employs Program Directors
to work directly with program participants in a coaching relationship focused on setting
and meeting goals for improving student learning. The U-ACT team leads will connect
their classroom support to the candidates¶ professional growth plans and the UW
challenge-based curriculum.

In order to ensure candidates do not suffer the burden of conflicting messages from
multiple support structures, the internship support teams will have regularly scheduled
meetings and a communication plan to reinforce coordination across the support
system. The internship support teams will ensure that overall cohort and individual
participant learning needs are being addressed. The UW curriculum is designed to
respond to participant learning needs as they emerge over the course of the school
year.


#?/


Due to the nature of the partnerships between TFA, School Districts and UW-Seattle,
PESB encourages UW-Seattle to provide leadership and develop the organizational
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capacity and infrastructure in their College to ensure clear communication of

responsibilities between each partner so that their alternative pathways to teacher
certification program meet standards for Residency certification.

Please provide specific program design definitions and narratives for the following
components of the Alternative Route Program Proposal:

Ô UW-Seattle makes reference to the residency model of teacher preparation.

Provide a narrative that addresses the residency model specific to the program
design of this Alternative Route application;
?
Ô UW-Seattle states that the Alternative Route program « ³shares the same
conceptual framework and overall learning objectives as the UW traditional
preparation programs« that will inform alternative route candidates¶ experience
of the curriculum as they prepare to meet state competencies for residency
teacher certification.´ Provide an example of, and narrative related to, how the
current conceptual framework used for UW traditional programs will be adapted
to the Alternative Route program design;

Ô It is unclear how the TFA directed summer internship aligns with the
requirements for a state approved Alternative Route program model. Is this part
of the UW-Seattle Alternative Route proposal? If so, provide a narrative that
describes how this is aligned with state standards for certification;

Ô UW-Seattle states that «´A careful analysis of the (TFA) institute curriculum has
been completed; it addresses many of the state competencies for residency
certification´. Please provide PESB with this analysis. In addition, explicate key
components and the delivery model related to the TFA internships in summer
school classrooms. Provide evidence that the coursework on classroom
management and culture; diversity, community and achievement; instructional
planning; literacy; learning theory; and leadership are aligned with standards for
Washington state approved preparation programs;

Ô Curricular Program Elements - Alternative Route Programs are required to

provide a teacher development plan that allows candidates to demonstrate
competency through assessments, performance tasks or other means in order to
waive partial or all requirements of the program. In an Alternative Route program,
all candidates do not complete the same requirements. Typically Route 4
candidates, as the teacher of record, complete requirements of the summer
institute (based on their teacher development plan) without additional coursework
requirements during the school year. Provide a narrative related to how
candidates can waive the following curricular requirements based on prior
experience as well as how the program will assess the candidate¶s readiness to
access the open exit option at the half way year point:

m Teaching and Learning Seminar. (All three quarters of the academic year.) .
The framework of the seminar will remain the same for all corps member.
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Throughout the academic year (September ± June). Provide an example of

the seminar framework and show how candidates can demonstrate they have
met the competencies for the seminar through assessments, performance
tasks or other instruments;

m Special Topics Colloquium. (All three quarters of the academic year.) Special
Topics meets once or twice a month during the academic year. ± Provide a
narrative of how the candidate¶s individual teacher development plan will be
used to determine if colloquiums can be waived.

m Problems of Practice Workshops. (All three quarters of the academic year.

held twice a month). The goal of these sessions is to support the candidates
by engaging them in problems of practice, which support analysis of their
teaching in various ways. - Provide a narrative related to how the candidates
will be able to demonstrate proficiency and attainment of competency related
to certification to waive this requirement. ?

Ô UW-Seattle refers to the framework developed by Cochran-Smith and Lytle

(2009). Explicate the key components of this framework including how it relates
to your Alternative Route program plan, structure, delivery, curriculum,
opportunity for open exit option and alignment with state standards for Residency
certification;

Ô The application references a ³Personalized learning plan/performance

assessments of candidate knowledge and skills, initial assessments lead to the
development of the personalized learning plan.´ - Provide examples of the
instrument/assessments and explain how candidates can utilize them to
demonstrate competencies for waiver or partial waiver of program requirements;

Ô Explicate key components and delivery model of the challenge-based curriculum;

?
Ô Explicate key components, delivery model, pre and post assessment and/or
other opportunities for candidate to demonstrate competencies for teacher
certification related to the program¶s ³opportunities to direct their own learning
built upon the personalized learning plan and challenges emerging from their
own classrooms´.

Ô Describe the ³technology-rich learning environment that utilizes synchronous and

asynchronous opportunities for learning and collaboration.´ Provide examples of
delivery models and timeline related to the Alternative Route program.

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All participants in U-ACT first apply to Teach for America and are accepted as corps
members. The TFA application consists of academic, personal, and professional
information, including letters of recommendation, a letter of intent, and a resume.
Applicants must hold, or be on track to receive a bachelor¶s degree from an accredited
college or university. At this stage applicants are screened for strong content knowledge
and leadership experiences. A small percentage of applicants are asked to participate
in a phone interview. An even smaller percentage is invited to a full-day interview. At
this stage applicants are screened for leadership qualities, professionalism, and
commitment to working in high need schools, ability to work under stress, and
communication strengths, among other qualities. A small of the original applicant pool
are accepted into TFA and invited to the intensive summer institute. The summer
institute acts as a final piece of the admissions process. That is, participants must
successfully complete the summer institute to become fully-fledged corps members.

Applications for UW and the U-ACT program are completed while at the summer
institute. Information similar to that in the TFA application must be submitted to the
university. The university reserves the right to deny admission to candidates that do not
meet entry requirements. Applicants that meet entry requirements are offered
conditional acceptance into the program. Before enrolling in U-ACT candidates must
secure positions in local districts under all of the rules governing conditional certification
as described in ESSSB 6696.

During the summer institute, conducted by TFA, participants are learning to teach in
closely supervised internships in summer school classrooms. Candidates also take
coursework on classroom management and culture; diversity, community and
achievement; instructional planning; literacy; learning theory; and leadership. Along
with the coursework there are team and individual opportunities to learn in a variety of
formats.


#?/
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Ô UW-Seattle states that ³Information similar to that in the TFA application must be
submitted to the university´. Provide PESB with examples and a narrative
outlining the process UW-Seattle, (in addition to the candidate¶s application to
TFA,) will use for admission to the program. Provide timeline, components of the
application, interview structure, testing, written requirements etc. as well as key
personnel involved in decisions related to admission.

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During the TFA preprogram institute students begin to draft individual professional
growth plans. At the very beginning of the UW program students take a performance
assessment. The assessment is a modified version of the Teacher Performance
Assessment (TPA). The results of the initial assessment are fed into the next draft of the
individual professional growth plans. These plans are completed in collaboration with
the internship support team - UW Team Lead, district mentor, and the TFA Program
Director.

?

#?/
?
?
Ô Provide examples of the instrument/assessments and explain how candidates
can utilize them to demonstrate competencies for waiver or partial waiver of
program requirements as well as the open exit option after the half year point in
the internship.?
?
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The UW anticipates enrolling 35 U-ACT residency certification candidates in the 2011-

2012 school year and at least 50 candidates a year in subsequent years. These
numbers are based on analysis done by TFA prior to initiating a cohort in the region, as
well as experience growing programs in other regions. TFA has begun negotiations with
several additional districts in the Seattle-Tacoma area. U-ACT will provide alternative
route residency certification preparation for all additional district partners in the area


#?/
?

Ô From the response provided, it appears that UW-Seattle did not conduct analysis
of work force needs related to the growth projections for the program. If this is
the case, UW-Seattle is requested to provide documentation related to the
analysis done by TFA.
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See attached district partner letters.

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?

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?
Ô Neither of the letters provided address the requirement of this section that asks
that the districts to identify that they are currently experiencing, anticipate
experiencing or are planning for addressing teacher shortages in endorsement
areas for which the Alternative Route program is preparing interns. UW- Seattle
can provide a narrative for this section to respond to the shortages in
endorsement areas that the districts have identified.
.
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See attached letters from district partners assuring mentor requirements will be met.
?
?

#?/
?
?
Ô The letters attached refer to Seattle School¶s Staff Training, Assistance, and
Review (STAR) mentor program and the Beginning Teacher Assistance Program
(BTAP) in Federal Way. It is PESB understanding from the application that UW-
Seattle will rely upon these programs for ensuring appropriate selection,
qualifications and training of mentor teachers. UW-Seattle is asked to provide
PESB with a narrative that outlines the goals and objectives of these programs,
as well as requirements to be considered for selection and participation as a
mentor teacher. The school district¶s curriculum, training materials etc. can be
included in the form of handbooks or manuals provided by the district to ensure
that the criteria for Mentor teachers is fully documented as part of the application.
(Note: please include any district mentor program materials in the appendices to
the Form 2A application).

In addition PESB asks UW-Seattle to address how they will provide input in the
selection and placement of their Alternative Route candidates with Mentors. UW-
Seattle should also define the processes they will use in collaboration with the
district if re-assignment of a candidate to a new mentor if needed.

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The two districts have entered into agreements with Teach For America that allow TFA
Seattle-Tacoma corps members to compete alongside other candidates for open
positions in high need schools. Hiring, and therefore placement, will happen at the
school and district levels. The University of Washington is committed to working with
11
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participants regardless of their placement as long as the placement is in an

endorsement area for which UW is currently approved to provide preparation.
?
?

#?/
?
?
Ô While UW-Seattle will rely on TFA and the districts for initial placement of the
candidates through the hiring process, under the Field Experience Placement
section of this application, PESB expects the applicant to identify who is
responsible for contact with a school district, or as the district policy requires, with
the local school directly during the candidate¶s internship as well.

A clear description of how individual contact with the district/school will be

handled over the course of the mentored internship is needed. UW-Seattle does
reference the presence of ³the internship support teams´ who will have regularly
scheduled meetings and a communication plan to reinforce coordination across
the support system. Please provide PESB with a narrative of UW-Seattle¶s role in
the intern support team and identify who from their certification program will be
the contact with the schools and districts during candidates¶ internship period.

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TFA¶s recruitment priorities are aligned with those of the College of Education. Both are
committed to recruiting a diverse, academically strong teaching corps with experience
in, and a commitment to working with children in low-income, diverse schools. TFA has
a highly sophisticated and expansive recruitment operation, working directly with over
350 schools across the country to find a highly motivated, committed, and diverse
corps. Of the 4500 corps members who began in 2010, 32% were non-white, 32%
were men, and 18% were the first in their families to go to college.


#?/
:

Ô UW-Seattle¶s response to this section describes TFA recruitment operations and

makes reference to the College¶s priorities and commitments to recruitment of
diverse candidates. PESB asks that UW-Seattle provide detailed information/
definitions specific to the College¶s commitments and priorities and how they will
influence recruitment for candidates from underrepresented populations through
their relationship with TFA. Provide a narrative that addresses UW-Seattle¶s
current strategies, such as collaboration with organizations that serve
underrepresented populations, frequency of meetings and outreach activities,
and most importantly, evidence that these strategies have resulted in an increase
in the number of candidates from underrepresented populations entering
programs overall.

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