Short answer
How do LWSD teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
LWSD has four lanes: Staff A (BA), Staff B (BA+45), Staff C (MA or BA+90) and Staff D (MA+45). College work is measured in quarter hours, and every 10 approved clock hours add one credit. Everything must be earned and on file by October 1; pay is then retroactive to the first day of assignment.
Source: LWSD-LWEA agreement 2023-2027, Sections 20 and 21, Lake Washington School District. Checked .
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How is the LWSD teacher salary schedule organized?
The LWEA salary schedule for 2026-27, effective August 11, 2026, is built on index factors. One base figure is multiplied by a factor for every cell, and the daily rate equals base salary divided by 180 work days. Lanes and their step ranges:
- Staff A, BA: steps 0 to 5.
- Staff B, BA + 45: steps 0 to 10.
- Staff C, MA/BA+90: steps 0 to 16.
- Staff D, MA+45/BA+135*: steps 0 to 16.
The asterisk on Staff D carries a firm note: "It is not possible to achieve this level for a BA+135 as of 9/94." Today a teacher reaches Staff D only through a master's plus 45. Those already in Staff D on the BA+135 route who later finish a master's stay where they are. An earned doctorate is paid as a stipend of 0.10 of base salary rather than as a fifth lane.
Three informational schedules ride along with base pay and follow the same placement: eight LEAP days, a Responsibility contract and an Attract and Retain payment. The last is the one that rewards lane position most directly. It is flat for Staff A and B, then higher for Staff C and D from step 10 and higher again at step 16. Our article on salary lane names covers why districts label lanes by letter, degree or credit total.
Which units count toward an LWSD column change?
Section 21.1.2 builds your credit total from your highest degree plus academic and in-service credits not used for that degree, all earned after your first bachelor's. A quirk helps master's holders: when a degree program requires more than 45 credits, the excess counts. A 60-credit master's therefore gives 15 "in-excess" credits toward Staff D.
Academic credits must be 100-level or higher and usable toward a bachelor's or higher degree. The college must be accredited under WAC 250-61-050, and electronic transcripts are accepted. LWSD counts in quarter hours; semester hours are converted. Under Washington's renewal rule a semester credit is worth 15 clock hours and a quarter credit 10, so three semester credits become 4.5 quarter credits. The district rounds totals to one decimal.
Clock hours count when they meet four conditions:
- dated after August 31, 1987, and later than your first bachelor's;
- completed by October 1;
- from a provider the Professional Educator Standards Board has approved (WAC 181-85-200);
- at least one hour per session (sessions before August 24, 2019 needed three).
Section 21.1 also accepts hours from approved state agencies outside the PESB list, naming the Washington State Department of Health as an example. Ten clock hours equal one credit. Internships with approved businesses or industries also convert, at 40 hours for each in-service credit, with a limit of two credits a year and 15 over a career, and career and technical education clock hours also convert at 10 to 1.
Credits the district does not recognize one year are not lost for good. Section 21.1.2 allows later recognition if the qualifying criteria change, for example a new assignment, a new school plan or a PESB rule change. For situations the agreement did not foresee, a hold-harmless clause sends the question to Labor Management, using the 2017-2018 S-275 Personnel Reporting Handbook as the guide.
Does LWSD require approval before you take a course?
No pre-approval form appears in the agreement. Lake Washington decides at filing time, applying the tests above. If you disagree with how your credits were counted, the agreement routes the question to SPARC, the Salary Placement and Advancement Review Committee, which hears placement appeals.
That review-after model puts the risk on the teacher, so check a course's level, transferability and provider approval before enrolling. Our guide to units that count lists the usual sticking points.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
One date runs the whole year. Section 20.3 ties both experience increments and educational advancement to what is on file on October 1, and Section 20.3.1 requires all credit to be filed by then. Late hires, those who start after the first school day, get until October 15 or 30 days from hire, whichever is later.
Section 21.1 then pays the new placement retroactively to the first day of assignment. Credit filed on October 2 waits a full year; the agreement defers it to the next school year rather than to a mid-year adjustment.
Worked example: a Staff A teacher holds 38 quarter credits beyond the bachelor's. Over the summer they complete 30 approved clock hours (3 credits) and a three-semester-credit course (4.5 quarter credits), and file both in September. The new total of 45.5 qualifies for Staff B, paid from the first day of assignment. The following move needs a master's or BA+90; our page on a master's versus stacked credits compares both routes.
Do the same units count toward Washington license renewal?
Clock hours from PESB-approved providers are the shared currency. The same hours that move an LWSD teacher across the grid generally count toward the 100 the state requires every five years, including the 15-hour equity-based school practices piece, though each hour applies to only one renewal requirement. Details are in the renewal section of our Washington state guide.
Where can LWSD teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, LWSD 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 LWSD'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 Lake Washington's decision, so ask human resources in writing before you enroll; section 21.1.2 reviews credit only after it is earned.
| Question | What LWSD says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | LWSD: Quarter hours plus PESB clock hours; clock hours convert 10 to 1 | 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 | LWSD: October 1; new hires: October 15 or 30 days | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | LWSD: None in the agreement; appeals go to SPARC | 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)
- Dominican CA Online: self-paced, units through Dominican University of California; $477 for 3 credits (price notes)
- For Teachers By Teachers: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo or UMass Global; $285 CSU Pueblo for 3 credits (price notes)
- Fresno Pacific University CE: self-paced, up to 1 year, units through Fresno Pacific University; ≈$475 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Graduate Credit Courses: self-paced, units through Cal Poly Humboldt; $570 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 LWSD has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
LWSD salary questions teachers ask
Does Lake Washington accept clock hours for salary?
Yes, at 10 hours per credit, when the hours come from a PESB-approved program, postdate both August 31, 1987 and your first bachelor's, and are on file by October 1.
When is the LWSD deadline to turn in credits?
October 1. New hires who start after the first day of school have until October 15 or 30 days after hire, whichever is later. Pay for the new lane is retroactive to the first day of assignment.
Can I reach Staff D with 135 credits and no master's?
No. The schedule notes that BA+135 placement has not been possible since September 1994, so Staff D now requires a master's plus 45 credits.
Do extra credits from my master's program count in LWSD?
Credits beyond 45 in a degree program count as in-excess credits. A 60-credit master's adds 15 credits toward the next lane.
Where can LWSD teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
LWSD 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, Dominican CA Online, For Teachers By Teachers, Fresno Pacific University CE and Graduate Credit Courses. 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 Lake Washington School District #414 and Lake Washington Education Association, 2023-2027, Lake Washington School District. Checked
- LWEA Salary Schedule for 2026-27, Lake Washington School District. Checked
- Clock hours, Washington Professional Educator Standards Board. Checked
- WAC 181-85-030, Washington Administrative Code. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error