Shared Best Practices
A working community of instructors trading what works in the classroom and the lab.
Western Academy Support & Training Center
Training and Support for Cisco Academy Educators Across the West
WASTC gets ICT educators qualified to teach the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum, and keeps their skills current long after. Behind every member is a regional community of instructors teaching the same curriculum, most of them for a decade or more.
Serving Cisco Academies since 2011
Arizona, California, Nevada & beyond · Cisco Premier+ ASC & ITC recognition · In partnership with Diablo Valley College
What WASTC Does for ICT Educators
Shared practices, training, budget help, events: all of it exists to keep the region’s Cisco Academy instructors ready to teach.
Instructor Training & PD
Required instructor training and ongoing professional development on the core Cisco curriculum.
Growing High Schools
Helping more high schools stand up and sustain Cisco Networking Academy programs.
Lab-Budget Guidance
Helping academies make the most of limited lab-equipment budgets when they buy.
Webinars & Retooling
Sponsored webinars and in-person retooling sessions to refresh skills on current technology.
Conference & FDWs
The annual Winter ICT Educators’ Conference and summer Faculty Development Weeks.
2026-2027 Instructor Training Is Open
The courses that qualify you to teach the core Cisco Networking Academy curriculum. Nine courses across four tracks, every session fully online on Saturday mornings, offered with Diablo Valley College.
Four tracks
CCNA · CCNP · Cybersecurity · DevNet
Format
Fully online · Saturday mornings
Cost
$600 standard · $100 member refresher
Faculty development for ICT/DM instructors would be virtually nonexistent if not for WASTC training.
Dr. Olivia Herriford
Consultant, Career Ladders Project
Recognized by Cisco, Year After Year
Cisco names its top-performing academies Premier+ Networking Academy Partners. WASTC has held the designation as both an Academy Support Center and an Instructor Training Center every year since 2018.
- 2023-2024 Premier+ ASC & ITC
- 2022-2023 Premier+ ASC & ITC
- 2021-2022 Premier+ ASC & ITC
- 2020-2021 Premier+ ASC & ITC
- 2019-2020 Premier+ ASC & ITC
- 2018-2019 Premier+ ASC & ITC
Join the ICT Educator Community
New academy or veteran instructor, the next step is the same: email Karen and she’ll get you aligned, enrolled, and connected.