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We hope you had a happy Teacher Appreciation Week! In honor of May the Fourth, which was also last week, enjoy this wonderful tableau courtesy of CSTP friend and family member Jake Stevens, middle school teacher and Star Wars superfan!
We hosted a gift card giveaway last week on social media, and our two lucky teachers are: Carolyn Muñoz and Amanda Lampinen Haan! Congrats to our winners. For and more news, giveaways, and updates, be sure to follow CSTP on Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you, educators, for everything you do both in and out of the classroom for your students and communities. In many ways, none of us would be here without you.
| | Camp CSTP Early Bird Registration is Open! | | |
It’s time to start getting ready for the BEST week of the year! That’s right, it’s CAMP CSTP 2025!
This summer CSTP is hosting two sessions in-person at the Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center in North Bend, WA including "Communication and Collaboration for Equity-Focused PLC" and "Transformational Leadership." Our intimate sessions are limited to 24 attendees and focus on connecting educators while diving into important topics. These sessions are an excellent opportunity for educators to retreat and recharge in community while getting ready for the new school year with options to register for one or both learning sessions. Be sure to register by May 31 to take advantage of Early Bird pricing.
See here for registration and more information about each session! Each session will include lunch, dinner, overnight lodging, breakfast, and snacks, and will be eligible for 6 clock hours.
Early Bird Price April 9-May 31: $195.00 (or combine with another session for $375 (save $15)
Session I: Communication and Collaboration for Equity-Focused PLC
Dates: 12:00 PM on July 30, 2025 - 11:30 AM on July 31, 2025
In this session, participants will co-construct a definition of equity and co-create a shared understanding of high-functioning PLCs. With this grounding, we will utilize the critical aspects of Communication, Collaboration, and Equity Lens from CSTP’s Teacher Leadership Framework to deepen the knowledge skills and dispositions that lead PLCs and learning teams toward collective efficacy. Participants will have opportunities to practice these constructs and leave with tools and protocols to support their PLC.
Session II: Transformational Leadership
Dates: 12:00 PM on July 31, 2025 - 11:30 AM on August 1, 2025
Guided by CSTP’s Teacher Leadership Framework, this session is designed to specifically address the knowledge, skills, and dispositions educators need to successfully lead others – formally, informally, and all spaces in between! This session will address all six aspects of the Leadership Framework (Working With Adult Learners, Communication, Collaboration, Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy, Systems Thinking, and Equity Lens) and guide participants to reflect on their own strengths and opportunities for growth in their ability to lead successful collaborative teams. Our time will be spent answering the driving question, “What is required of me to be an effective teacher leader?”
| | CSTP Professional Development Survey | | |
CSTP wants your feedback as we approach the end of the 2024-25 school year and look towards the future. What trainings and learning opportunities would you like to see us provide teachers and educators next school year and beyond? Fill out the following survey to let us know your thoughts.
Take the survey here.
Contact ada@cstp-wa.org with any questions.
| | Partner with CSTP to Offer Clock Hours at Your Next Training | | |
Are you running a course, professional development or book study and want to offer Washington State clock hours? CSTP is an approved Washington State clock hour provider and can approve your courses for clock hours. It is free for the instructor to apply for the course with participants paying a nominal fee.
Learn More and Apply for Clock Hours
| | Career Connected Learning with CSTP | |
CCW is a statewide network of business, labor, education, and community leaders creating work-based and academic programs for young people in Washington to explore, prepare, and launch themselves into college and careers. CSTP is the designated Sector Lead for Education supporting this work at the state level. Here are our monthly updates. To find out more about Career Connect Washington you can to careerconnectwa.org.
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Reflecting on Our Time as Education Sector Lead with Career Connect Washington
As another year of our work with CCW comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on the completion of our role as the sector lead for Education with Career Connect Washington. It has been an honor to serve in this capacity, and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
Over the past year, one of our most meaningful contributions has been hosting five Regional Gatherings across Washington state. These events brought together more than 120 participants, ranging from district superintendents, ESD leaders, HR and teaching & learning directors, classroom teachers, coaches, mentors, and union leaders to local community-based organizations and nonprofits. All of these individuals share a deep commitment to building equitable and accessible pathways into the education profession.
The success of these Regional Gatherings was driven by a shared desire to illuminate and expand the routes into careers in education. It was incredibly fulfilling to witness participants—from across varied roles and regions—connect, build relationships, and engage in conversations that may not have happened otherwise. We believe these strengthened connections will lead to more coordinated and collective efforts in support of educator pathways that benefit and serve all students!
Looking ahead, we’re especially excited about our ongoing partnership with the Center of Excellence on a statewide website project focused on education careers. This website aims to provide a user-friendly, up-to-date resource for individuals interested in pursuing a career in education. By offering accessible and reliable information, we hope to empower future educators to explore the many roles available and feel confident in the choices they make as they navigate their own journeys. This website is a love letter from educators to prospective educators to help light the path a little more clearly.
As we await the finalization of the state legislative budget, we are still clarifying our formal role within Career Connect Washington moving forward. Regardless of the outcome, we remain deeply committed to supporting career-connected learning and will continue to champion educator workforce development across the state.
Thank you for being part of this work with us! We look forward to the continued collaborations and collective impact we can make in the months and years ahead.
Email saara@cstp-wa.org with any questions.
| | WEA National Board Certification Resources | |
National Board Jump Start
National Board Jump Start is a comprehensive, multi-day seminar designed to provide National Board candidates with important information about the certification process, time to examine component and Assessment Center requirements, the opportunity to plan how to meet requirements, and time to collaborate, gather resources and information needed to pursue certification. All this happens in a supportive, constructive and collegial environment.
There are a total of six (6) training modules that will be offered each training week. Registration fee is $75 and open to WEA members only. Foundations I is a required entry course. Select as many of the remaining 5 modules (C1, C2, C3, C4, Foundations II) as you like for the flat $75 Registration fee. Up to 30 WEA Clock Hours can be earned for attending all 6 modules.
- June 23 - 27, 2025
- August 4 - 8, 2025
Save the date! Registration will be posted on the WEA website.
National Board Information Session Series: Registration Now Open!
Audience: Certificated Educators. Our Certification Trainings are conducted online through Zoom, as a Member Benefit, free of charge to WEA Members only.
National Board Certification — Standards & Process: Session 2 (2 Clock Hours)
National Board Certification — Support & Next Steps: Session 3 (2 Clock Hours)
See here for more trainings and details from WEA!
| | BIPOC Mental Wellness Mixer & Game Night | | |
A Night of Healing, Laughter, and Connection for the BIPOC Community with the mission to raise $2,000 for 3 Kings Dojo.
- 15+ BIPOC Mental Health Specialists
- Music by DJ Love Jones
- Food & drinks from the station
Where:
The Station Coffee Shop - Columbia City
3000 S Alaska St. Suite B
Seattle, WA 98108
When:
5/31/2025, 6 pm - 10 pm
Get tickets here.
| | May is Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month | | |
From the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art:
In the month of May we take time to reflect and celebrate the important role that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have played in our shared history. Explore Smithsonian events happening online and in-person and find resources, podcasts, and collection items to learn more about AANHPI contributions.
Asian Americans are often left out of view of American history but their lives—and art—are inextricably intertwined with the nation's history. Discover AAPI artists whose art contend with the complex events and issues of the American story.
Read more and find resources here.
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Join us for fun facts, obscure knowledge, and exploration of physics, genetics, etymology, art, and more!
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We love food. We love consistency. We love it when food is the same whenever we eat it. We breed food crops, just as we breed animals, for specific traits and characteristics. Every fruit you can buy in a grocery store could have different variations–just look at how many apples you can choose from!–and each individual type is expected to remain the same.
There are many breeds, or cultivars, of bananas in the world. Red bananas are squat, soft, and pinkish in color.There are plantains that are rarely eaten raw as they are starchy and hard until cooked. The Blue Java banana can be grown in colder climates and has a vanilla-like flavor.
When you picture a banana in a modern supermarket, you likely think of the Cavendish banana. The Cavendish is the most widely imported and consumed banana in the world–it is tasty, large enough to be a substantial snack, thick enough in peel to be transportable, and is a pleasing yellow color. It is a seedless fruit, meaning it can only propagate through replanting cuttings, instead of breeding together multiple plants. On its face, this is convenient: The consistency of bananas is ensured!
There is a major downside. In both plants and animals, some individuals have more genetic immunity to diseases than others. Not so with seedless plants. If one banana plant is susceptible to a fungal rot, then all genetically identical plants will be. Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) is named for and caused by a fungal pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, which spreads among banana plantations and can ruin entire farms. If you see this on a large enough scale, then the identical bananas could go practically extinct.
We have seen it happen to a banana already: In the first half of the 20th century, the most consumed banana was the Gros Michel (translated from French: Big Michael or Big Mike), a close relative of the Cavendish and another seedless fruit. A different strain of Fusarium mold started taking hold of banana plantations all across Central America starting in the 1920s. By the 1960s those vast plantations were gone. The Big Mike banana still exists today, but it is not commercially viable to grow in large quantities.
The Cavendish has been going through the same process for years. Barring any breakthroughs in anti-fungal remedies, we will eventually have to embrace changes to our bananas and get used to a different cultivar. The Cavendish, like Big Mike before it, will become a rare food, only grown in small batches lest the mold comes for it.
Big Mike, I’m sorry we did not learn from you sooner. Look not un-gently upon us; we are merely lovers of the seedless banana and consistency in foodstuffs. Cavendish, we shall enjoy you as long as you may last. And for all you people who don’t like bananas, well–maybe you’ll like the next one.
| | Your gift ensures that CSTP continues to support student achievement through a focus on teaching excellence. With you as a partner in CSTP’s mission, you directly make a difference in the lives of youth across Washington State schools. Donations are tax deductible and essential as CSTP works to support educators navigate unique models of student engagement and teacher leadership. | | Liking and sharing our posts on social media is another way you can support CSTP during these times. Thank you for sharing our message. | | | | |
