Area Educators Named To State Board

Fri., July 14, 2000

From Staff

Three Spokane-area educators have been appointed by Gov. Gary Locke to the newly created Professional Educator Standards Board.

Spokane School District 81 Superintendent Gary Livingston; Karen Rademaker Simpson, a speech and language pathologist for District 81; and Dennis Sterner, dean of the School of Education at Whitworth College, will serve on the 19-member state board.

The board is charged with improving teaching standards and implementing the state’s new teacher-testing requirement.

The creation of the board and a new teacher testing system were approved by the Legislature this past spring.

Beginning in September 2002, prospective teachers must pass a basic-skills test for admission into a teacher training program. The following year, newly trained teachers must pass a test in the subjects they plan to teach in order to get a teaching certificate.

In addition to developing and implementing the new assessment tests, the new board also will advise state education officials and lawmakers on issues related to teacher certification, including teacher recruitment, professional development, mentoring and evaluation.

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