Federal Way Public Schools Receives One of Five Grants in State
For Providing Support for Novice Teachers

Federal Way Public Schools is expanding its beginning teacher assistance program for the 2009-2010 school year, thanks to a grant from Washington state – one of only five such grants bestowed on districts or consortia in the state this year.

In the United States, the new teacher drop-out rate exceeds that of students. “Nationwide, 50% of beginning teachers leave the profession within their first five years, while Washington state’s rate of attrition is approximately 25%,” says Francine Oishi, Federal Way Public Schools’ BTAP Mentor and BEST Grant Coordinator. This may be at least in part due to the teacher support program piloted by the state in 1985, Oishi notes. “Programs specifically designed to meet the unique needs of beginning teachers -- including mentor partnerships – support novice teachers’ professional growth and help retain new teachers,” Oishi noted recently.

Although Washington is retaining more new teachers than the nation as a whole, the loss of one in four new teachers is still significant, and education leaders continue to look for additional solutions. In 2009, the state Legislature asked OSPI to modify the past beginning educator entitlement grant process to target funding to the most promising programs. 

Working with a team of Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) mentors, Oishi submitted a grant proposal to the state early this summer for a portion of that funding.  On August 7, 2009, she learned that she and her team had pulled off a coup.  FWPS’ proposal was one of just five applications selected from a field representing 185 school districts in the state to receive a Beginning Education Support Team (BEST) Program Grant.

For novice teachers in Federal Way, this means they are among a small number statewide this year to benefit from the state’s changing focus on beginning teacher preparation. Federal Way Public School’s Beginning Teacher Assistance Program will expand to provide increased mentor support, classes, professional learning communities, and professional certification preparation for novice teachers during their first three years.

According to the state award notification, the enhanced funding allows BEST grant recipients to build comprehensive induction programs to support professional growth of beginning teachers from initial hiring, to their first year in the classroom through the third year of teaching. It builds on the previous two decades of work funded by the Teacher Assistance Program.

BTAP mentors Mary VanderPoppen, Amie Ojerio, and Francine Oishi, with support from mentors Debbie Weed and Jamie Schneider researched and utilized Effective Support for New Teachers in Washington State, Standards for Beginning Teacher Induction (2008) as a guide in crafting the FWPS proposal. TFL Office Manager Mary Helbling and Grants Coordinator Gloria Shank offered critical assistance in assuring the grant proposal met the OSPI submission requirements.

Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Early Career Educator Development Program Administrator Linda Foster said that Federal Way’s work plan and proposal for the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) grant was exemplary. “Your vision of comprehensive induction and mentoring for first, second and third-year teachers, and for candidates for Professional Certification, is a best example of what is possible and necessary to increase retention and enhance instructional growth for all early career teachers in Washington State,” Ms. Foster’s notification letter said.  

Posted: September 14, 2009