Beginning Educator Support Team Grants
Contact Information
BEST will continue to award grants to renewing grantees (BEST recipients) but is not currently accepting new applications. We encourage interested districts to take advantage of other Beginning Educator Support Teams (BEST) support to develop their work including:
- Using the Standards for Beginning Educator Induction to guide district thinking and planning.
- Selecting and training mentors through free Mentor Events and Trainings.
- Consulting with BEST program staff for creative ways to develop and fund induction work.
Continuing BEST Grantee Requirements
Hiring
Stakeholder team considers placement of beginning educators to promote maximum success of beginning educators and their students, avoiding challenging placements when possible, and when not possible: knowing and mitigating those challenges for beginning educators.
Orientation
An instructional orientation and/or individualized assistance prior to the start of school or the start of the new educator’s assignment to acquaint them with district and school expectations and culture; orient them to preferred instructional practices and curriculum; and help them plan for their first day, weeks, and month with students. First-year educators must be compensated for their time.
A classroom set-up visit prior to the start of school or the start of the new educator’s assignment in which a mentor meets with the new educator to assist with classroom set-up and plans for the first days with students.
Mentoring
Well-trained, carefully selected mentors to enhance the instructional effectiveness of first-year educators. Mentors should be assigned at, or shortly after new educators are hired, and prior to them beginning their assignments. Mentors of first-year educators should have an average of 1-2 hours per week per mentee for planning, reflection, and problem-solving conversations; conducting observations; and providing feedback.
Mentors with strong ties to underrepresented populations should be provided for novice educators from underrepresented populations.
Appropriate mentor caseloads. A released mentor working full-time should support no more than 20 teachers and colleague mentors (full-time educators who also mentor) should not mentor more than 2 first-year teachers. (See Definitions below in of this grant for more details.)
A commitment to building a cadre of trained mentors who develop expertise over time, rather than using a one-year “buddy system,” especially in districts using a colleague mentor model.
Ongoing professional learning for mentors to build capacity in components of the WA State Standards for Mentoring. Mentors should participate regularly in mentor roundtables hosted by OSPI, regional consortia, and/or school districts.
Job description and compensation for mentors of early career educators for required activities that fall outside the mentor’s regular job responsibilities such as attending mentor roundtables, after-school meetings, and summer trainings.
Initial professional learning for mentors, including completion of the OSPI Mentor Academy 101 (preferably before the initial year of mentoring and no later than December of that year) with an emphasis on mentoring for equity.
Professional Learning
Ongoing professional learning for beginning educators designed to meet their unique needs throughout the first year. Professional learning should be aligned to the Washington State Teacher Evaluation Criteria (or other professional standards when relevant), the district’s adopted instructional framework, and district initiatives.
Feedback and Formative Assessment
Formative observations with written feedback for mentees provided at least monthly by released mentors and a minimum of quarterly by colleague mentors.
Release time for observations by mentees of accomplished teaching while accompanied by their mentor or another instructional leader.
Induction Program Assessment
Stakeholder Team to meet at least three (3) times per year to examine the current state of comprehensive new educator induction, gather and analyze data, problem-solve, set goals, and pursue sustainability. To build a sense of collective responsibility, members should be drawn from a variety of groups from across the district.
BEST Grant FAQs
When grants open, they are announced on the BEST website, to ESD's, and to all school districts and tribal schools through OSPI's weekly bulletins distributed to district leadership. BEST is not currently accepting new grantees.
The competitive grant process considers the following:
- Evidence of Need - Recent history around new hires and placement challenges.
- Evidence of Capacity - A commitment to use funds to build local expertise, examine and alter induction policies and practices, and invest in a long-term strategy for supporting beginning educators.
- Leadership - Identification of a district stakeholder team that will collaborate to create a system of coordinated support for novice educators.
- Induction Focus - Time for reflection and opportunities for beginning teachers to be observed and receive feedback from a trained mentor.
- Differentiated Support - Special attention given to the ways that novice teachers are placed and supported when they are assigned to high-need students and high-need schools.
- Alignment with Standards for Beginning Educator Induction.
- A letter of support from the superintendent.
Once announced, applications are open for about a month. Grants are awarded as soon as possible after applications close, usually within a few weeks.
2022-23 Continuing Grantees
- Bainbridge Island School District
- Bellevue School District
- Bellingham Public Schools
- Bethel School District
- Blaine School District
- Bremerton School District
- Bridgeport/ Pateros Public Schools
- Burlington-Edison School District
- Camas School District
- Central Kitsap School District
- Cheney School District
- Chief Leschi Tribal Compact
- Clover Park School District
- College Place Public Schools
- Dieringer Scool Distrit
- Eatonville School District
- Edmonds School District
- Enumclaw School District
- Ephrata School District
- Everett Public Schools
- Evergreen (Clark) Public Schools
- Federal Way Public Schools
- Franklin Pierce Public Schools
- Granite Falls School District
- Highline Public Schools
- Kent School District
- Lake Stevens School District
- Lake Washington School District
- Lyle School District
- Marysville School District
- Monroe School District
- Moses Lake School District
- Mount Vernon School District
- Mukilteo School District
- Nooksack Valley School District
- North Kitsap School District
- North Mason School District
- Northshore School District
- Ocean Beach School District
- Orting School District
- Pasco School District
- Peninsula School District
- Puyallup School District
- Quillayute Valley School District
- Quincy School District
- Renton School District
- Richland School District
- Riverview School District
- Seattle Public Schools
- Snohomish School District
- South Kitsap School District
- Spokane Public Schools
- Steilacoom Historical School District
- Sultan School District
- Sumner School District
- Tacoma Public Schools
- Tahoma School District
- Tukwila School District
- University Place School District
- Vancouver Public Schools
- Vashon Island School District
- Walla Walla Public Schools
- Wapato School District
- West Valley Yakima School District
- White River School District
- Yakima School District
ESD 101
Chewelah School District
Columbia (Stevens) School District
Colville School District
Colfax School District
Creston School District
East Valley (Spokane) School District
Freeman School District
Harrington School District
Inchelium School District
LaCrosse School District
Liberty School District
Mary Walker School District
Medical Lake School District
Newport School District
Nine Mile School District
Northport School District
Oakdale School District
Pullman School District
Reardan-Edwall School District
Republic School District
Riverside School District
Rosalia School District
Selkirk School District
St. John School District
Tekoa School District
Valley School District
Wellpinit School District
West Valley School District (Spokane)
ESD 105
Cle Elum-Roslyn School District
Colton School District
East Valley School District (Yakima)
Easton School District
Ellensburg School District
Goldendale School District
Granger School District
Highland School District
Kittitas School District
Mt. Adams School District
Mabton School District
Naches Valley School District
Republic School District
Royal School District
Selah School District
Thorp School District
Wahluke School District
ESD 112
Battle Ground School District
Castle Rock School District
Green Mountain School District
Hockinson School District
Kalama School District
Kelso School District
La Center School District
Longview School District
Ridgefield School District
Skamania School District
Stevenson-Carson School District
Toutle Lake School District
Wahkiakum School District
Washougal School District
White Salmon Valley School District
Washington State School for the Blind
Woodland School District
Capital Region ESD 113
Chehalis School District
Elma School District
Grapeview School District
Hood Canal School District
Hoquiam School District
Lake Quinault School District
Mary M Knight School District
Montesano School District
Napavine School District
North Beach School District
North Thurston School District
Oakville School District
Ocosta School District
Olympia School District
Pioneer School District
South Bend School District
Southside School District
Taholah School District
Tenino School District
Toledo School District
Tumwater School District
White Pass School District
Winlock School District
Yelm School District
Olympic ESD 114
Brinnon School District
Chimacum School District
Cape Flattery School District
Crescent School District
Port Angeles School District
Port Townsend School District
Quilcene School District
Quileute Tribal School District
ESD 123
Clarkston School District
Columbia-Burbank School District
Dayton School District
Finley School District
Kennewick School District
Kiona-Benton School District
Patterson School District
Prescott School District
Prosser School District
Waitsburg School District
North Central ESD 171
Brewster School District
Lake Chelan School District
Nespelem School District
Okanogan School District
Omak School District
Soap Lake School District
Tonasket School District
Warden School District
Waterville School District
Northwest ESD 189
Concrete School District
Conway School District
Coupeville School District
Darrington School District
La Conner School District
Lakewood School District
Lynden School District
Meridian School District
Mount Baker School District
Oak Harbor School District
Sedro Woolley School District
Stanwood-Camano School District
Grandview Consortium
Grandview School District
Toppenish School District
Wapato School District
Zillah School District
Bridgeport Consortium
Bridgeport School District
Pateros School District