Upcoming Events

Registration is now open for the Advocacy Training, May 1, 2010, in Vancouver. The CSTP Advocacy Training is designed for teachers and other educators to add-to and boost-up the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for positive change at the local, state, and national policy levels. Learn how to transform your expertise into advocacy goals connected to strong, cohesive messages. Develop communication skills to speak so others listen. Strategize about logical entry points in the system to introduce your voice into policy dialogue, and craft a plan to meet your context-specific advocacy goals that support effective teaching and student learning.

The registration deadline is Friday, April 23, 2010. Interested individuals should register early as the training fills up quickly. The cost for the training is $50 per person. This cost includes meals (breakfast & lunch), training venue and materials. Click here to sign up now.

For more information on the Advocacy Trainings or to see the other dates scheduled for this school year, check out our flyer.

We are sorry, the retreat is full for this year.  Please check back in January 2011 when we will have a new Writers' Retreat opportunity posted.

Attendees will receive the luxury to write that long awaited journal article, or getting their professional thoughts down so that they can be published.

CSTP's 2010 Writers' Retreat   June 28 - July 1    Olympia

"As political activists, we must be advocates and risk takers who are willing to write and speak publicly.  We must be public relations people who testify, write letters, pen editorials, and communicate clearly with all educational stakeholders.  This is a new role for most of us.  The public is not used to seeing teachers on the front lines of the profession."  - Regie Routman, Conversations

CSTP will be helping to indulge attendees as a writer

• Spending four days in a quiet setting with supportive colleagues and write their opus, op-editorial, or journal article about some aspect of teaching.
• Working with writing coaches who can keep them motivated.
• Will be inspired by what their colleagues have to say:  about each other's work 
• Learning how to prepare their manuscript for publication. 

To prepare for the retreat please check out the following:

• You can see the kind of work that teachers produce by downloading one of the two editions of   CSTP's Teachers' Voices: http://www.cstp-wa.org/teacher-development/writing
• We can put you in touch with a retreat graduate who can testify to the value of this experience, like a former participant who wrote:  "I wanted to be sure that what I was doing in my classroom was the best I could offer my students.  I set out to change my own world and this is the story of my journey."
• Click here to view Jessie Towbin's article in ASCD's Educational Leadership, February 2010.

Questions:

Karen Estes - email: karen@cstp-wa.org

Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession
P.O. Box 7052                                                                                                     
Tacoma, WA  98417

fax: 253-761-1521

office: 253-752-2082

Write to Advocate is a two-day workshop, July 22 - 23, designed to increase teachers' knowledge and skills in communicating written messages that attract the attention of decision makers and other audiences about education issues important to them. Participants will learn how to use their expertise to develop powerful written messages. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to work with national and local communication experts to hone their writing skills and messages.

Interested people must complete a short online application by Monday, June 7. Those selected will be notified no later than June 25^th. Registration is $75, which includes course fee, meals and lodging.

Click here for the Wrote to Advocate flyer and application questions.
Click here to apply.

Questions? Contact Nasue Nishida.

"We live in a time of such rapid change and growth of knowledge that only s/he who is in a fundamental sense a scholar--that is, a person who continues to learn and inquire--can hope to keep pace, let alone play the role of guide."

Nathan M. Pusey
President, Harvard University

CSTP and OSPI present:

Strong Teachers, Strong Learners
Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind

Workshop: November 2, 2010 - SOLD OUT
Symposium: November 3-4, 2010

An interactive symposium for educators who provide teacher professional development.

We invite all educators who help their colleagues improve their professional practice to join this time of learning together. Mentors, coaches, other teacher leaders, and administrators will benefit from participating in our 4th annual symposium. Focused on improving student learning through teacher growth and development, this is an opportunity to

• Develop your coaching skills
• Network and collaborate
• Apply Habits of Mind to your practice
• Problem solve around current challenges
• Plan for your next steps

Workshop: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 - SOLD OUT
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Building an Even More Thought-full Learning Community with Habits of Mind

by Art Costa

This workshop is available as an add-on with symposium registration.

A Habit of Mind means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known: dichotomies, dilemmas, enigmas and uncertainties. It means getting into the habit of behaving intelligently when you DON'T know the answer.

For more on Habits of Mind see http://www.instituteforhabitsofmind.com/

What are Habits of Mind? Click here for a description.

Symposium: Wednesday and Thursday, November 3 and 4, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day

Keynote Address: Mindful Mediation
Featured speaker: Art Costa

Dr. Costa will inspire and challenge us in our pursuit of the common goal of increasing student learning. In doing this, he will help us understand how we can use our skills to enhance others' cognitive capacity for high performance, both independently and as members of a community.

Symposium Strands

Focused on a variety of mentoring and coaching topics, strands will provide participants the opportunity to think, problem solve, and apply concepts more deeply.

Participants will select one strand to attend Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday morning. Descriptions of strands and the opportunity for pre-selection will be emailed to registered attendees in late September.

New strand this year: Mentoring and coaching teachers in special education

Comments from 2009 symposium attendees:

• "Being able to connect with colleagues from around the state was valuable. Different perspectives and experiences always make for richer conversation."
• "I felt energized through my session work and the opportunity to network with people I do not regularly encounter."
• "It was amazing to work alongside coaches, mentors, and others with a variety of experiences and skills."
• "It was time well-spent."
• "Professional development opportunities for mentors are rare and this provides an avenue for growth."
• "Don't fix what isn't broken. I loved it."

Location:

The symposium will take place at the Lynnwood Convention Center in Lynnwood, Washington. Directions and lodging information can be found on the Registration page.

Register early! Reduced fees offered for all registrations received by June 30, 2010.

Bring your team! Register 3 people from the same district and receive a $50 discount on the third registration.