Short answer
How do Kent teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Kent pays across eight columns, from a plain BA up to MA+90. Credits and clock hours count under WAC 392-121 and the 2017-18 S-275 reporting guidelines. Returning teachers must finish coursework by October 1 and register documentation with Human Resources before November 1 to advance that school year.
Source: Kent School District and KEA agreement, Section 6.1, Kent School District. Checked .
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How is the Kent teacher salary schedule organized?
The district publishes the KEA Salary Schedule 2026-27 as five exhibits, each including a 3.60% increase effective September 1, 2026:
- Exhibit G-1, the base salary schedule;
- Exhibit G-2, Principal Effectiveness Education (PEE), three days paid by timesheet;
- Exhibit G-3, Professional Learning Enrichment (PLE), a supplemental-contract stipend;
- Exhibit G-4, the per diem hourly rate;
- Exhibit G-5, a total salary schedule combining the pieces.
All five share the same grid. Experience runs from 0 to 15 as single years, then a 16-19 band and a 20+ row. Columns shorten at the low end. The BA column stops rising after year 8, BA+15 after year 9, BA+30 after year 10 and BA+45 after year 12, while the four upper lanes, BA+90 through MA+90, continue through 20+, so the lane you hold decides whether long service keeps paying.
The 3.60% figure comes from Section 6.1.A, which for 2026-27 raises each base cell and the PLE stipend by 1.0% plus the state's inflationary adjustment. The base contract is 185 days. Stipend schedules like G-2 and G-3 sit on top of base pay; our walkthrough on reading a salary schedule shows how the layers add up.
Which units count toward a Kent column change?
Kent does not write its own list of acceptable courses. Section 6.1.C places employees using the experience and education criteria in Chapter 392-121 WAC and OSPI's reporting guidelines for the S-275 report for the 2017-18 school year, except where the agreement modifies them. In practice that means:
- credit must be documented on official transcripts registered with Human Resources;
- clock hours count: the new-hire rule speaks of "all course credit, including clock hours," and the seniority provisions refer to clock hour credits that meet the salary criteria;
- education the district recognized for placement before the 2018-19 school year continues to be recognized.
For converting hours, the state's continuing-education rule, WAC 181-85-030, sets 10 clock hours equal to one quarter credit and 15 equal to one semester credit. Our article on units that count covers the content tests Washington applies to credits earned after September 1, 1995.
The agreement makes one historical exception. Employees who worked for Kent in 2017-18 and held a bachelor's plus 135 credits before January 1, 1992 are placed in the MA+45 column. Everyone else reaches MA+45 through a master's and 45 further credits.
Kent also lowers the cost of some units. Section 7.4 makes district clock hours available to employees at no cost, offers college credit whenever possible at the designated university's rate, and has the district pay materials and tuition for college extension or district courses that administration requires, except fifth-year requirements.
Does Kent require approval before you take a course?
Kent's agreement has no pre-approval form. Section 6.1.D says simply that no advancement happens until the appropriate documentation, meaning certification, degree, official transcripts and experience verification, is registered in Human Resources. The review is of what you submit, measured against the state reporting criteria.
Since there is no sign-off up front, ask Human Resources about anything unusual before you enroll. For the questions to put in writing, see will my district accept it.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
For returning employees, Section 6.1.D sets two conditions. All necessary course credit must be completed on or before October 1, and the documentation must reach Human Resources before November 1. Advancement then counts for that school year. The agreement adds that salary advancement will not be credited after November 1 unless you can show the delay was beyond your control.
New hires have a different clock: documentation of all course credit, clock hours included, must be registered within 90 calendar days of the first day of work. Anything that arrives later applies the following school year.
Worked example: a BA+45 teacher at year 12 has reached the top of that column. Completing 45 more credits, say a mix of summer coursework and approved clock hours, by October 1 and filing transcripts in October moves them to BA+90, where steps continue through 20+. A course that ends in mid-October would wait a year. The transcript deadlines article explains how posting delays can push a filing past the cutoff.
Do the same units count toward Washington license renewal?
Mostly, because both systems rely on approved clock hours and accredited credit. PESB renewal for most certificates takes 100 clock hours per five-year cycle, 15 of them on equity-based school practices. Kent's free district clock hours can help with both, though each hour counts toward only one renewal requirement. See our Washington state guide for the renewal rules.
Where can Kent teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Kent included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Kent's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Before you enroll: Pacific describes these professional development units as "not applicable for a degree at Pacific" but transferable "at the discretion of your institution." Whether that meets the transferable-or-degree-applicable test is Kent's decision, so ask human resources in writing before you enroll, and ask whether a course would count as academic credit or only as clock hours under the S-275 rules Kent follows.
| Question | What Kent says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Kent: Credits and clock hours under WAC 392-121; 2017-18 S-275 guidelines | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Kent: Before November 1; coursework done by October 1 | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Kent: None in the agreement; HR reviews registered documents | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
- VESi: self-paced online, 2- or 3-unit courses on special-needs instruction, units through University of the Pacific; $444 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Kent has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Kent salary questions teachers ask
What is the Kent School District deadline for salary advancement?
Coursework must be completed by October 1 and documentation submitted to Human Resources before November 1. New hires have 90 calendar days from their first day of work.
Does Kent count clock hours for a column change?
Yes. Kent places teachers under WAC 392-121 and the 2017-18 S-275 guidelines, and the agreement treats clock hours as course credit for placement.
Does Kent charge for district clock hours?
No. Section 7.4 makes clock hours available to employees at no cost. College credit is offered when possible at the designated university's rate.
Where does the Kent salary schedule stop for BA+45?
At year 12. The BA+90 and master's columns continue through the 20+ row.
Where can Kent teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Kent decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, Teaching Channel, TLC Graduate Credits, Upward Teachers and VESi. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Agreement between Kent School District and Kent Education Association, 2024-2027, Kent School District. Checked
- KEA Salary Schedule 2026-27, Kent School District. Checked
- Clock hours, Washington Professional Educator Standards Board. Checked
- Kent Education Association (KEA) contracts and salary schedules, Kent School District. Checked
- WAC 181-85-030, Washington Administrative Code. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error