Professional Teacher Certification
Culminating Seminar FAQs
When may I register for the Culminating Seminar?
You may
register
for the
Culminating
Seminar
once you
have
completed
Core
requirements
including
a final
review
of your
portfolio
by
Western
Washington
University
personnel.
You will
need to
send
transcript
or clock
hour
receipts
verifying
M.Ed. or
elective
credit
completion
to
University-School
Partnerships,
Woodring
College
of
Education
M.S.
9090,
Western
Washington
University,
516 High
Street,
Bellingham,
Washington.
98225
It’s not
necessary
to
receive
the
results
from an
external
review
of your
portfolio
before
enrolling
in the
Culminating
Seminar.
How much time does it take?
The Culminating Seminar is a two-credit class and will meet for 20 contact hours within a single quarter. The course will be offered every quarter if there are at least eight candidates who wish to enroll. Individual district-based instructors are responsible for scheduling meeting times and sometimes choose all-day Saturday sessions and sometimes they choose late week-day sessions. Check with the University-School Partnership office at (360) 650-3347 for the current schedule when you are ready to enroll.
What is the purpose of the Culminating Seminar?
The Culminating Seminar focuses on consideration of the impact of a teacher’s professional development on student learning, the analysis of personal professional growth, and each candidate’s future career goals. This seminar provides candidates with the opportunity to discuss professional practice with colleagues as they tie together the various aspects of the Professional Certificate Program. Each member of the seminar will re-visit the Professional Growth Plan goals that were written in the Pre-Assessment Seminar and report on their status.
Will members of my original cohort be in this seminar?
Not necessarily. Candidates in the Culminating Seminar may have completed the other requirements in any one of Western’s Professional Certificate Programs. Most Culminating Seminars provide the opportunity for discussion with colleagues from a variety of school districts.
Are there other requirements for earning the Professional Certificate?
Candidates for the Professional Certificate must also meet Washington State’s requirement for a course in “issues of abuse.” Residency teachers who completed a Washington State teacher preparation program after 1992 met this requirement through their teacher preparation program. Additional information about this requirement is available through Western’s Certification Officer.
What happens at the conclusion of the seminar?
Once you have successfully completed the Culminating Seminar, the Office of University-School Partnerships will forward your file to Western’s Certification Officer. The Certification Officer will send you a Professional Certificate Application Packet to complete and return. Upon verification that certificate application requirements have been met, the Certification Officer will issue a 180-day Professional teacher permit and recommend you to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Professional Certificate. The Professional Certificate will be mailed to the Certification Officer within about 10 weeks and forwarded on to you.
What happens once I receive my Professional Certificate?
The
Professional
Certificate
is valid
for five
years
and can
be
renewed
for
five-year
periods
by
completing
150
clock
hours or
equivalent
college/university
credits
that
address
these
criteria:
• Clock
hours /
coursework
related
to one
of the
five
state
salary
criteria
identified
in RCW
28A.415.023
• Clock
hours /
coursework
related
to one
of the
three
standards
required
for the
Professional
Certificate
(Effective
Teaching,
Professional
Development,
or
Professional
Contributions).
Professional
Development
is a
continuum
that
spans a
teacher’s
career.
Some
teachers
will
choose
to
complete
a
Master’s
Degree
once
they
have
earned a
Professional
Certificate.
Some may
choose
to seek
National
Board
Certification.
Both of
those
options
are
voluntary.
Once you
have
earned a
Professional
Teaching
Certificate
it is
possible
to
maintain
a
current
teaching
certificate
by
completing
15
university
credit
or 150
clock
hour
credits
(or a
combination
of the
two)
every
five
years
for the
lifetime
of your
career.
A
National
Board
Certification
is valid
for ten
years
and is
an
alternative
to the
Professional
Certificate
renewal
process
for that
ten year
period.
