Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) Grant Program

Grant Program Overview

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been tasked by the 2009 Legislature with implementation of a beginning educator support program in five to fifteen school districts and/or regional consortia. This program – intended to provide an enhanced level of support for the development of early career educators – is grounded in a growing national research base.

It builds on more than two decades of capacity and infrastructure developed throughout Washington by school districts, educational service districts (ESDs), and other education professionals through funding and assistance provided by OSPI’s former Teacher Assistance Program (TAP).

Click to download the description, eligibility, and application instructions.

Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) grants are designed to provide significantly enhanced, competitively awarded funding to school districts and/or regional consortia to support the professional growth of beginning teachers – from initial hiring to their first year in the classroom through candidacy for Professional Certification. BEST grants are administered by OSPI’s Early Career Educator Development program (formerly TAP), which also provides resources and professional development for mentors and district/ESD program administrators.

Required BEST grant components are aligned with state standards for the induction of novice educators described in Effective Support for New Teachers in Washington State (CSTP-OSPI, 2008). This document is available online at http://www.k12.wa.us/TAP/default.aspx or by contacting the OSPI Early Career Educator Development office at (360) 725-6323 or (360) 725-6119.

State standards for required second-tier licensure – Professional Certification – provide the framework for early career educator learning and expected areas of continuing development. Professional Certification standards for teachers are available at http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher/procert-program.aspx. 

  
Application Instructions

The Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) grant application will be available beginning Monday, June 8, 2009, on the OSPI iGrants system at:

https://eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/iGrants/(S(eftmxp45obv0dau0jv1prvmk))/Default.aspx
The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. 

Eligibility

All public school districts, the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD), the Washington School for the Blind (WSB), and educational service districts (ESDs) are eligible to apply.

Districts which received TAP (Teacher Assistance Program) funding in 2008-09 must complete the required TAP End-of-Year report (form package 309) in iGrants before BEST grant funding for 2009-10 to the district will be considered.

School districts, the WSD, and the WSB may apply individually or as a member of a “regional consortium” which may include or be led by an ESD.

Regional Consortia

Definition:  A regional consortium is two or more school districts which collaborate in providing one or more of the required program elements.

All members of a consortium are required to meet all program components either individually or collaboratively. A regional consortium may or may not include an ESD depending on the capacity of the member districts and the ESD to carry out program requirements.

For example:  Districts with fluctuations in new teacher hires from year to year may wish to form a consortium utilizing the capacity of the regional ESD to provide program continuity; differentiated professional development for first, second, and third year teachers; and support for Professional Certification candidates. An ESD might also serve as regional “host” and facilitator for the required participation by district mentors in a Mentor Roundtable.

For the purpose of state coordination, each regional consortium will be required to identify a lead agency. This might be a school district or an ESD. Among other responsibilities, the lead agency is responsible for the distribution of funds to consortium members. Only the lead agency is eligible to apply a percentage of the grant funding, not to exceed five percent of the grant total, to costs related to grant administration.

Consortium members remain individually responsible for meeting all required program components, for local program implementation, and for program outcomes. Each member of the consortium is responsible to other members for collaboratively proposed program components. End-of-year program review and assessment also are required of each consortium member.