PROGRESS Project 2026

Professional Resources and Opportunities for Growth in Specialized Services (PROGRESS)

The PROGRESS Project is a statewide network for teacher leaders and ESAs dedicated to strengthening the professional growth of special education teachers. Its purpose is to build leadership learning communities where educators share ideas, apply effective practices, and support one another in the ongoing work of improving outcomes for students.

The PROGRESS Project is hosting the third annual PROGRESS Conference, a statewide professional development program based on curriculum that is designed to build content and experiential expertise among teacher and ESA leaders.

This year’s PROGRESS Conference will focus on instruction for multilingual learners, math instruction, and reading intervention – key areas of knowledge needed to implement Response to Intervention in schools.

Questions about the PROGRESS Project can be directed to ecselinfo@uw.edu.

Professional Development Opportunity – PROGRESS Conference

The Enhancing Capacity for Special Education Leadership (ECSEL) program, with support from OSPI, and the PROGRESS Project are sponsoring two free one-day professional development conferences for teacher leaders and ESAs who support the professional growth of special education teachers and ESA staff. This professional development opportunity is for individuals in teacher/ESA leadership positions (coach, program specialist, educational specialist, etc.) who want to grow their effectiveness in supporting staff at the school level and build their professional community with colleagues in similar positions in their region. We encourage participants to attend the conference with teams/colleagues.

This year, the PROGRESS Conferences will offer two focused learning opportunities:

• March 20, 2026 – Tacoma, WA: Reading intervention and supports for multilingual learners within an RTI framework. Presenters include Dr. Chris Lemons (Stanford University) and Dr. Lillian Duran (University of Oregon).
  NOTE: The Tacoma PROGRESS Conference has reached capacity and registration is now closed. Click here to register for the Tacoma conference wait list, or consider registering for the Spokane conference on March 27, 2026.
  
• March 27, 2026 – Spokane, WA: Supports for multilingual learners within an RTI framework and math instruction. Presenters include Dr. Lillian Duran (University of Oregon) and Dr. Sarah Powell (University of Texas – Austin).

At both events, And Still We Rise will help ground the work in ensuring the Least Restrictive Environment for students.

Each one-day conference will also emphasize leadership and coaching for teacher and ESA leaders to support schools, special education staff, students, and families. Participants may choose to join three post-conference professional learning communities to explore the topics more deeply and connect with teacher and ESA leaders statewide.

Participants will gain knowledge in: 

• Evidenced-based practices that strengthen instruction
• Best practices for MTSS/RTI
• Supporting implementation at school, classroom, and student level 

The PROGRESS Conference will provide support to participants to include books or other learning resources, eligibility for professional development credits, and limited reimbursement of travel costs for those traveling beyond 100 miles round-trip.

PROGRESS Conference Information

PROGRESS Conferences are being developed to meet the needs of Special Education Teacher- and ESA-Leaders by regional affiliations (East and West side of WA State), acknowledging the differences in job expectations of teacher- and ESA-leaders due to size of district and affiliated infrastructure, and proximity/accessibility of available resources. Space is limited and registration will close when we reach capacity for each location.

The conference will begin at 8:00 am and end at 4:00 pm. Breakfast and lunch provided.

Conference Venues:

Address: 1320 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402

Lodging: We have secured a limited number of guestrooms for the nights of March 19 and 20 at a block rate of $136 per room, plus appropriate state and local taxes. Attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. To receive the discounted rate, use this reservation link: PROGRESS Conference. Reservations must be made before February 27 to receive the discounted rate.

Friday, March 27, 2026
Spokane Club, Spokane, WA

Address: 1002 W Riverside Ave, Spokane, WA 99201

Lodging: We have secured a limited number of guestrooms at the Spokane Club for the nights of March 26 and March 27 at a block rate of $139 per room per night, plus appropriate state and local taxes. Attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. To receive the discounted rate, please call the hotel front desk and mention group code “PROGRESS Conference”, (509) 838-8511. The deadline to reserve at this discounted rate is March 10, 2026.