Faculty: Dr. Krissy Kim, Angela Blums, Leesa Thomas (FS)

The need for certificated teachers and baccalaureate prepared early childhood educators continues to grow in Washington State. The Bachelor of Applied Science in Teaching builds on our strong professional technical program in early childhood education. With an Associate of Applied Science-Transferable (AAS-T) degree in ECE, graduate can seamlessly transition into the BAS-T program which is designed to prepare students to teach in a variety of setting serving children ages prenatal through third grade. This degree leads to a Washington State Residency Certificate and both P-3 endorsements in Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE).

To apply for the program, students must have an early childhood associate degree or demonstrate competency of the AAS-T program outcomes with a minimum of 90 college level credits including 40 core credits in English, math, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. They must complete the BAS-T application (see BAS-T website for application deadlines), provide evidence of good moral character and personal fitness as required by law, and meet the entry testing requirements outlined below.

ENTRY TESTING
All teacher candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing and math prior to acceptance into a teacher preparation program in the State of Washington. This can be accomplished through the Washington Educator Skills Test-Basic (WEST-B), the SAT or ACT. Candidates entering a Washington approved teaching preparation program may substitute a passing score on one or more sections of the SAT or ACT for the equivalent passing scores on the WEST-B. The adopted passing scores for SAT and ACT are listed below.

CUT SCORE COMPARISON TABLE

Subject	WEST-B	SAT (prior to 3/1/16)	SAT (prior to 3/1/16)	ACT (prior to 9/15/15)	ACT (prior to 9/1/15)
Math	240	515	530	22	22
Reading	240	500	27	22	22
Writing	240	490	28	8	23

More information on the WEST-B, including how to register for the exams, can be found on the West-B Testing website.

In the event that there are more applicants who meet the entry requirements than spaces available in the cohort of 24, a committee will evaluate the applications to rank them for admission into the program.

Once enrolled in the program, students will complete 45 credits of coursework. This coursework prepares them for the required content exams for endorsements in Washington State. There are two exams required:

The Washington Educator Skills Test- Endorsement (WEST-E) in Early Childhood Special Education (071) and the National Evaluation Series (NES) in Early Childhood Education (101)

Students earn the remaining 45 credits for a bachelor degree by completing a one-year residency in the public school system. During the winter residency, students must submit their edTPA , which is a performance-based, portfolio assessment required for teacher licensure in Washington State.

Successful completion of coursework earns graduates a BAS-T. Successful completion of coursework with a minimum of a 2.0 grade in all ECED courses plus passing scores of the WEST-E, NES, and edTPA earn graduates a Residency Certificate and endorsements in ECE and ECSE.

Graduates of this program are well qualified for employment in a variety of general and special education settings such as primary schools, preschools, child care programs, Head Start, Early Head Start, ECEAP, home visiting, early intervention programs, etc. They are also eligible for admission into graduate programs to continue their study of early childhood education or educational leadership.