Bridge to College

2025 Teacher Institute

The annual Teacher Summer Institute will take place at Everett Community College from August 5-7, 2025. The Institute will be split into two sessions:

• New Teacher Institute: August 5-7, 2025
• Returning Teacher Institute: August 6-7, 2025

Teachers will receive invitations to register in May, but only if their district has registered them as a Bridge to College teacher for the 2025-26 school year.

While we highly encourage in-person attendance, virtual options will also be available for those unable to attend in person. Details for the virtual Institutes will be shared in July.

Annual Per Teacher Registration Fees

The Bridge to College courses are fully self-supporting, with fees funding the professional development infrastructure and continuous updates to instructional and assessment materials.

Annual Costs:

• $2,000 for new Bridge to College teachers
• $850 for returning Bridge to College teachers
• Please note: Teachers who attend the New or Returning Teacher Institutes but do not teach the Bridge to College course during the school year will still be charged to cover the costs associated with the Institute.

What the Fees Cover:

• Registration, some meals, and accommodations for the required Summer Teacher Institute
• Access to all curriculum materials, as well as ongoing support and technical assistance
• 20 hours of professional learning meetings or curriculum workshops in a Community of Practice format during the school year (required for new teachers, optional for returning teachers)

Additional District Responsibilities:
School districts are responsible for covering travel, time, substitutes, and supplies for teachers attending the August Teacher Institute as well as other professional learning activities during the school year.

Registration is now open. Districts are encouraged to register by June 2, even if teacher assignments are not finalized. 

After the school year begins, districts will receive an invoice for the professional development and access to the curriculum fees for each teacher registered to teach the Bridge to College course in 2025–26. 

About Bridge to College English

This course develops students’ college and career readiness by building skills in critical reading, academic writing, speaking and listening, research and inquiry, and language use as defined by the Common Core State Standards. Students read complex nonfiction and fiction texts focusing on issues of both current and enduring importance. Students learn to evaluate the credibility of information, critique others’ opinions, and construct their own opinions based on evidence.

By the end of the course, students are able to use strategies for critical reading, argumentative writing, and independent thinking while reading unfamiliar texts and responding to them in discussion and writing. The course also develops essential habits of mind necessary for student success in college, including independence, productive persistence, and metacognition.

Benefits of Offering Bridge to College English

• Students who earn a B in one semester of the course qualify for placement into English 101 at any community college in Washington and at Eastern Washington University.
• All public baccalaureate institutions recognize BTCE as a senior English credit.
• Earning 1.0 credit in Bridge to College English (BTCE) fulfills the Transition Course Graduation Pathway
• Students completing the course as juniors could then qualify to take a dual-credit College Composition course as seniors.

About Bridge to College Math

The Bridge to College mathematics course is designed to prepare students for entrance into non-calculus pathway introductory college level mathematics courses. The course curriculum emphasizes modeling with mathematics and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice. Topics include building and interpreting functions (linear, quadratic and exponential), writing, solving and reasoning with equations and inequalities, and summarizing, representing, and interpreting data. This course must be taught using the Bridge to College mathematics curriculum. If you are interested in reviewing the actual course materials, please follow the instructions at this web page.

Benefits of Offering Bridge to College Math 

• Students who earn a B in the second semester of the course qualify for placement into Math in Society (MATH 107) or Statistics (MATH 146) at any community college in Washington and at Eastern Washington University
• All public baccalaureate institutions recognize Bridge to College Math (BTCM) as a senior-year quantitative course that satisfies one of the College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADRs)
• Earning 1.0 credit in BTCM fulfills the Transition Course Graduation Pathway for mathematics

Teachers consistently report that professional learning through Bridge to College training is essential for successful course implementation and offers opportunities to experience adaptive, up-to-date curriculum and rich communities of professional learning. 

The program’s summer training and ongoing professional learning opportunities:

• Deepen teachers’ understanding of curriculum and assessment.
• Provide collaborative, job-embedded learning focused on improving student performance and college readiness.

Districts are required to register both new and returning teachers to ensure access to the most recent instructional materials and rigorous learning experiences for students.

Addressing the College Readiness Gap

Before 2014, more than one-third of Washington’s high school graduates were unprepared for college-level coursework, often requiring remedial classes that added time and cost to their education while lowering their chances of earning a degree.

To address this challenge, Washington took two key steps:

1. Statewide Placement Agreement (2014): Washington’s community and technical college system adopted a policy allowing students to be placed directly into college-level courses based on their 11th-grade Smarter Balanced Assessment scores—helping many bypass placement tests and remedial coursework.
2. Bridge to College Transition Courses (2015): Recognizing that not all students reached college-ready scores, SBCTC and OSPI developed Bridge to College courses in math and English Language Arts. These courses, designed for high school seniors, help students build the skills needed for college success.

Developed collaboratively by high school teachers, college faculty, and curriculum specialists, Bridge to College courses align with Washington’s Common Core standards. With funding from College Spark Washington, the program launched in the 2015-16 school year, with 116 high schools participating in its first year.

For over a decade, Bridge to College has helped students transition successfully to higher education by:

• Reducing the need for college remediation.
• Strengthening the alignment between K-12 and college curricula.
• Fostering partnerships between schools and colleges.

Today, Bridge to College continues to prepare students for success in higher education.

For more information about the history of Bridge to College, including research, data, or details about the College Spark grant, please email Kristen at kjaoui@sbctc.edu.