(1) Each district or consortia of school districts applying for the alternative route certification program shall submit a proposal to the Washington professional educator standards board specifying:

     (a) The route or routes the partnership program intends to offer and a detailed description of how the routes will be structured and operated by the partnership;

     (b) The number of candidates that will be enrolled per route;

     (c) An identification, indication of commitment, and description of the role of approved teacher preparation programs that are partnering with the district or consortia of districts;

     (d) An assurance of district provision of adequate training for mentor teachers either through participation in a state mentor training academy or district-provided training that meets state-established mentor-training standards specific to the mentoring of alternative route candidates;

     (e) An assurance that significant time will be provided for mentor teachers to spend with the alternative route teacher candidates throughout the internship. Partnerships must provide each candidate with intensive classroom mentoring until such time as the candidate demonstrates the competency necessary to manage the classroom with less intensive supervision and guidance from a mentor;

     (f) A description of the rigorous screening process for applicants to alternative route programs, including entry requirements specific to each route, as provided in RCW 28A.660.040; and

     (g) The design and use of a teacher development plan for each candidate. The plan shall specify the alternative route coursework and training required of each candidate and shall be developed by comparing the candidate's prior experience and coursework with the state's new performance-based standards for residency certification and adjusting any requirements accordingly. The plan may include the following components:

     (i) A minimum of one-half of a school year, and an additional significant amount of time if necessary, of intensive mentorship, starting with full-time mentoring and progressing to increasingly less intensive monitoring and assistance as the intern demonstrates the skills necessary to take over the classroom with less intensive support. For route one and two candidates, before the supervision is diminished, the mentor of the teacher candidate at the school and the supervisor of the teacher candidate from the higher education teacher preparation program must both agree that the teacher candidate is ready to manage the classroom with less intensive supervision. For route three and four candidates, the mentor of the teacher candidate shall make the decision;

     (ii) Identification of performance indicators based on the knowledge and skills standards required for residency certification by the Washington professional educator standards board;

     (iii) Identification of benchmarks that will indicate when the standard is met for all performance indicators;

     (iv) A description of strategies for assessing candidate performance on the benchmarks;

     (v) Identification of one or more tools to be used to assess a candidate's performance once the candidate has been in the classroom for about one-half of a school year; and

     (vi) A description of the criteria that would result in residency certification after about one-half of a school year but before the end of the program.

     (2) To the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose, districts may apply for program funds to pay stipends to trained mentor teachers of interns during the mentored internship. The per intern amount of mentor stipend shall not exceed five hundred dollars.

[2006 c 263 § 816; 2004 c 23 § 2; 2003 c 410 § 1; 2001 c 158 § 3.]

NOTES:

     Findings -- Purpose -- Part headings not law -- 2006 c 263: See notes following RCW 28A.150.230.