Join other WEA members and National Board candidates on April 22 at WEA's National Board Home Stretch. This event is focused on supporting National Board candidates as they are making final revisions to components just before submission.

WEA's National Board Home Stretch is a one-day seminar consisting of two parts:

• The morning is facilitated by an NBCT certified in the given certificate area. The NBCT facilitator leads candidates through a peer review of either Component 2, 3 or 4 with up to four other candidates in the same certificate area. The group provides standards-based feedback on the written commentary of these components using a protocol specially designed for use at WEA Home Stretch events.
• In the afternoon, candidates may choose between Component 1 (Assessment Center) preparation or a similar, facilitated peer review of either Component 2, 3 or 4 as in the morning. Component 1 preparation entails exploring the selected response items, the constructed response exercises, and released items in a small like-certificate group of candidates. Candidates may choose to focus on the same Components (2, 3, and 4) for the morning and afternoon using different written pages of the given component in the morning and afternoon. Afternoon feedback groups may or may not be from a like-certificate area. 

WEA also releases its widely acclaimed WEA Component 1 Handbook -- a great tool to help demystify the assessment center experience -- at Home Stretch each year. Learn more and register here.

As teachers and support professionals, we are proud advocates for students, public schools and the education profession. Our elected representatives need to hear from us. Our elected representatives need to hear from us. The Snoqualmie Valley School District is part of the 5th LD which is represented by Rep. Paul Graves, Rep. Jay Rodne, and Sen. Mark Mullet.

Try these three ways to join the conversation:

1. Email our legislators at: Paul.Graves@leg.wa.gov, Jay.Rodne@leg.wa.gov, and Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov.
2. Call the Legislative Hotline at: 800-562-6000.
3. Text "OurVoice" to 41411 to sign up for text updates and keep up with what's happening in the Legislature.

Why do your representatives need to hear from you?
State revenue is up, but not enough to fully fund K-12 public schools and protect important social and health programs and other services Washington families need.

State officials released the latest revenue forecast Thursday morning. General fund and related revenue for the current biennium (2015-17) is projected to increase by $258 million and by $313 million next biennium (2017-19). That represents moderate growth in comparison to the total budget. Total state revenue for the current biennium is now estimated to be $39 billion – so this change represents less than 1 percent change.

Under the McCleary order, the Legislature must increase state funding for K-12 public schools by billions of dollars before a Sept. 1, 2018 deadline.

WEA supports new sources of state revenue that are more fair, adequate and sustainable.

Now that the latest revenue forecast is out, Senate Republicans are expected to release their state budget proposal next week, followed by a budget from majority Democrats in the state House the following week.

Both houses already released school funding plans, as did Gov. Jay Inslee. WEA strongly supports Inslee’s school budget, which comes closest to fully funding K-12 education as required by the Washington Constitution and McCleary.

We’re just as strongly opposed to the reckless school funding plan approved by the state Senate. It doesn’t fulfill the McCleary promise, and it’s packed with punitive policies that would hurt teachers and students. The Senate Republican budget:

• Increases class sizes by eliminating voter-approved I-1351
• Reduces funding for special education students
• Eliminates the voter-approved COLA for educators​

Questions about your certificate and next steps? Jim Meadows, WEA's certification expert, will fill you in on the latest and answer all your questions. Join us on April 25th!