CORE VALUE: ENGAGEMENT
Community is Central for CWU Teacher Academies Goal 1: Amplify and elevate the university’s relationship with local and regional communities. Initiative 1.1: Integrate our strategic planning and activities with the cities within Kittitas County and with the county as a whole, as well as with other cities and counties in our region. Initiative 1.2: Integrate our planning and activities at the Centers with the communities local to the Centers and include the Centers with campus-wide initiatives. The CWU Teacher Academies program partners with high schools across Washington State to recruit and retain the next generation of teachers. Our goals our to develop an educator workforce that is more reflective of their students and communities and ease the teacher shortage in underserved communities. The Teacher Academies program connects with communities to provide support to future teachers when they are in high school, recruit them to CWU, and support their success while attending CWU. Currently we partner with over 30 high schools, and our strongest partnerships are in the central Washington region and near our Centers. The Teacher Academies program furthers Engagement and Initiatives 1.1 and 1.2 in several ways. First, it provides an avenue for CWU staff and faculty to travel to and engage with local communities. Four academic advisors and several faculty liaisons travel to partner high schools or engage with the high school students in the academies. Our lead faculty also provide training and professional development to the high school teachers. Second, the program facilitates cross- unit coordination of tailored campus visits for the Teacher Academies students. This academic year, 10 high schools have visited CWU. Two of those visits were to CWU Des Moines. The visits to CWU Des Moines should be highlighted, because they also included extra activities, such as a career fair, student panels, and opportunities to connect with both the community college (Highline) and CWU programs. Third, the Teacher Academies program supports connections between communities, Centers programs, and CWU through high impact practices in CWU courses. For example, Dr. Eric Hougan integrates collaboration between his college student education majors and high school teacher academies students into his courses. These are just a few examples of the work that Teacher Academies supports important activities in central Washington and around the Centers, as well as creates a system of connection among these entities around developing the educator workforce, which is an essential part of community development and strategic planning. Contributors : Jennifer Dechaine, Dawn Harry, Eric Hougan, Doug Jensen
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