Jason Greenberg Motamedi

(503) 275-9494

Associated IES Content

resource Other Resource

Strategies for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Grow-Your-Own Teacher Programs for Secondary Students

Washington state vibrant teaching force alliance meeting materials from July 2018.
Jun 16, 2022
Blog

Using Data and Research to Support Policy Creation about Teacher Diversity in Washington State

Like many other states, Washington is facing a teacher shortage across subject areas, geographic locations, and demographics.1 This shortage has been evident for several years, becoming more acute around 2014.2 Washington's Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is an agency responsible for policies and oversight relating to educator preparation, certification, assignment, and development in Washington state. To get an accurate picture of the state's educator workforce shortages and ...
Date published:
Dec 13, 2021
resource Training Material

Pathways to Teaching: Teacher Diversity, Testing, Certification, and Employment in Washington State

The number and percentage of students of color continues to grow in Washington state, yet the teacher workforce remains largely White. To better understand the state's shortage of teachers of color, REL Northwest investigated where teacher candidates---especially candidates of color---are most likely to leave the Washington teacher preparation and career pathway. We provided coaching to Washington partnership members and REL Northwest Governing Board members on the study to increase their cap...
Dec 13, 2021
resource Fact Sheet/Infographic/FAQ

Pathways to Teaching: Teacher Diversity and Testing in Washington State

To increase the diversity of the state's teacher workforce, the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board and the Teacher Testing Barriers Workgroup are creating practices and policies to support and retain candidates of color along the teacher preparation and career pathway. These stakeholders asked the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest to study where teacher candidates, especially candidates of color, are most likely to drop out or leave the pathway. This infographic hi...
Jul 01, 2021
report Descriptive Study

Pathways to Teaching: Teacher Diversity, Testing, Certification, and Employment in Washington State

The number and percentage of students of color are growing in Washington state, yet the teacher workforce remains largely White (non-Hispanic). This means that few students of color have teachers who share their race or ethnicity, which could have consequences for student achievement and wellbeing. To better understand the state's shortage of teachers of color, this study investigated six steps in the teacher preparation and career pathway at which teacher candidates and teachers are likely t...
Jun 01, 2021
Blog

How to Support Newcomer Immigrant and Refugee Students in Secondary School

Every newcomer immigrant or refugee student arrives in the United States with a distinct story. Students come from different countries for different reasons. They speak various home languages and represent a range of English proficiency, informed by diverse experiences with formal education. Along with their families, each student also holds different dreams and aspirations for their future education and career. Given this great diversity, how can schools ensure that they leverage each newco...
Date published:
Feb 26, 2021
resource Fact Sheet/Infographic/FAQ

Helping Newcomer Immigrant and Refugee Students Register for Secondary School

A clear, comprehensive secondary school registration process can ensure that newcomer immigrant and refugee students receive appropriate supports, credits, and course placements.
Feb 01, 2021
resource Training Material

Welcoming, Registering, and Supporting Newcomer Students: A Toolkit for Educators of Immigrant and Refugee Students in Secondary Schools

Meeting the unique educational and social needs of newcomer students (students who were born outside of the United States and have arrived in the country within the past three years) is an ongoing challenge for educators and community stakeholders across the country. This resource toolkit is intended to help educators and other stakeholders identify and use research-based practices, policies, and procedures for welcoming, registering, and supporting newcomer immigrant and refugee students who...
Feb 01, 2021
Blog

The Potential Role Limited Certificated Teachers Can Play in Addressing Teacher Shortages

Many states and districts face teacher shortages and struggle to find and hire qualified teachers. Additionally, many states, including Washington, calculate teacher shortages by using the number of teachers in their schools who do not have full certification or are teaching outside of their endorsement area(s) as a proxy for unfilled positions. Put another way, the number of limited certificated teachers is a direct indicator of teacher shortages. In 2017, there were nearly 2,000 ...
Date published:
Feb 06, 2020
report Descriptive Study

Limited certificated teachers in Washington: Barriers to becoming fully certificated and needed supports

Many states, including Washington, are attempting to reduce teacher shortages by encouraging limited certificated teachers to become fully certificated. Before investing in further support for these teachers to seek full certification, Washington policymakers want to understand the interest of limited certificated teachers in becoming fully certificated, the barriers they face to doing so, and the supports they report needing in order to pursue full certification. This study presents the resu...
Dec 01, 2019
resource Fact Sheet/Infographic/FAQ

9 Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Teachers

Recruiting, hiring, and retaining diverse teachers is possible when schools and districts use data-driven, targeted strategies to inform their outreach efforts. This infographic shows 9 evidence-based strategies that focus on what schools and districts can do to recruit, select, hire, onboard, and retain teachers of color.
Nov 01, 2019
resource Other Resource

Educator Recruitment and Retention Evidence Blast

Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) partnerships in all five Northwest states are using data and research evidence to address the teacher shortage and increase educator diversity. Efforts in Pasco, Washington to attract and keep an effective teaching force are examples of how one district is addressing this high-priority regional issue. For this Evidence Blast, we searched the literature for recent, publicly available studies on teacher recruitment, training, and retention, with special att...
Apr 29, 2019
Blog

Increasing Diversity in the Teacher Workforce: The Importance and Potential Impact of Authentic Change

A school's culture is perceptible in many ways--how visitors are greeted, the artwork on the walls, the languages heard in the hallways and classrooms. Beyond these tangible factors, there is simply the way a school makes you feel. Do you feel welcomed? Do you feel like you belong? For schools that seek to create a positive, welcoming culture for all students and staff members, it is essential to have an educator workforce that reflects the diversity of the students and communities they se...
Date published:
Feb 08, 2019
Blog

Tackling Stakeholder-Generated Research Questions and Spurring Data-Driven Decisions to Increase the Diversity of Washington's Teaching Force

In Washington state, REL Northwest is working with representatives from the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) and various school districts to understand the state's teacher shortage. For the past two years, through the Washington State Vibrant Teaching Force Alliance, we have been partnering with stakeholders to identify and develop strategies to recruit, train, and retain a diverse and skilled teaching force that reflects the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of Washington...
Date published:
Dec 03, 2018
resource Video

Improving Language Acquisition Among English Learners: Four Powerful Evidence-Based Activities

How can teachers help English learners build their language skills while they learn complex grade-level content? This REL Northwest instructional video illustrates four evidence-based practices teachers can incorporate into their classrooms. These practices, which are found in the 2014 Institute of Education Sciences practice guide Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School, are demonstrated by a real classroom teacher
Feb 01, 2018
resource Training Material

Identifying Evidence-Based Practices for Recruiting, Training, and Retaining a Diverse Educator Workforce

REL Northwest has been providing training and consultation to the Washington State Vibrant Teaching Force (VTF) Alliance to identify and develop strategies to recruit, train, and retain a diverse and skilled teaching force that reflects the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of Washington's students and is responsive to their learning needs. As part of this work, alliance members asked what the research says about specific strategies for developing a diverse educator workforce, includin...
Oct 01, 2017
report Descriptive Study

Advanced course enrollment and performance in Washington state: Comparing Spanish-speaking students with other language minority students and English-only speakers

Students who take advanced courses in high school are more likely to enroll and persist in college. This report describes patterns in advanced coursetaking among three groups of students in Washington state: Spanish-speaking students, other language minority students whose primary or home language is not Spanish, and English-only speakers. This study examined four research questions: (1) How many advanced courses do Spanish-speaking students, other language minority students, and English-only...
Jan 01, 2017
report Descriptive Study

Advanced course enrollment and performance among English learner students in Washington state

Taking advanced high school courses (for example, honors, Advanced Placement, and dual-credit courses that offer college credits in high school) can help prepare students for postsecondary education and careers. English learner students, however, face unique obstacles to taking advanced courses because they must divide their time between acquiring English proficiency and learning academic content. This descriptive study examines patterns in advanced coursetaking among current and former Engli...
Nov 01, 2016
resource Other Resource

Getting It Right: Reference Guides for Registering Students With Non-English Names

Getting a student's name right is the first step in welcoming him or her to school. Staff members who work with student-level data also know the importance of accurately and consistently recording a student's name in order to track student data over time, to match files across data sets, and to make meaning from the data. For students whose home language is not English, properly recording their information can be more difficult. School personnel who register students may not be familiar with ...
Jun 01, 2016
report Descriptive Study

English Learner Student Characteristics and Time to Reclassification: An Example From Washington State

How long does it typically take English learner students to develop English language proficiency? And how does this time vary by student characteristics such as English proficiency at entry to kindergarten, gender, and home language? The answers to these questions can provide valuable information to districts and schools. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest in partnership with the Road Map Project undertook the study presented in this report to help its members understand more abo...
Mar 01, 2016
report Descriptive Study

Time to Reclassification: How Long Does It Take English Learner Students in Washington Road Map Districts to Develop English Proficiency?

This Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest descriptive study examines how long it took English learner students to gain English proficiency and reclassify as former English learner students at elementary schools in seven Seattle-area school districts. Analyzing test scores of 17,733 students, the study found that the average time to reclassification as a former English learner student was 3.8 years. Students who entered elementary school in earlier grades were able to reclassify as former...
Aug 01, 2015