Archived Information

U.S. Department of Education

Richard W. Riley

*Secretary*

Teacher Quality Initiative

Terry Dozier

*Senior Advisor on Teaching*

Candace Bertotti

*Special Assistant*

November 2000

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[**www.ed.gov/teacher**](http://www.ed.gov/inits/teachers)quality

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this publication in an
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Department's Alternate Formats Center at (202) 205-8113.

Contact us at:

U.S. Department of Education

Candace Bertotti

400 Maryland Avenue, SW Room 7W229

Washington, DC 20202-0103

Telephone: (202) 260-1187

Fax: (202) 401-0596

Introduction

# 

Educators, parents, and policymakers agree that every child deserves a
caring, competent, and qualified teacher. Research shows that the
quality of teaching in our classrooms is the most important in-school
factor in improving student achievement.[^1] That is why policymakers at
all levels are focusing on teacher quality--specifically on the issues
of teacher recruitment, preparation, licensing and certification
standards, and professional development.

# The Role of the U.S. Department of Education

One role of the U.S. Department of Education is to support and encourage
state and district efforts to improve teaching in America. This
objective is addressed through targeted grant programs, the reporting of
data on teacher quality, sponsorship of research on effective teaching
practices, and dissemination of information about these practices. To
help raise awareness of the nation's teacher-quality challenges, the
Department has published an information kit entitled *A Talented,
Dedicated, and Well-Prepared Teacher in Every Classroom.* This kit
outlines the challenges that states and districts face in ensuring
excellent teaching and provides the most current national data regarding
teacher quality. (To order, call toll-free at 1-877-4ED-PUBS, or see a
copy online at: www.ed.gov/teacherquality/invest.)

#### Policy and Practice Barriers 

Many states and districts know these challenges all too well. However,
despite increased awareness of our teacher-quality challenges and
earnest efforts to address them, we, as a nation, are still far from
having a caring and competent teacher in every classroom. One reason we
have not made sufficient progress toward our goal is that the problems
we face in ensuring high-quality teaching--far from being eradicated by
state and local policies and practices--are often created or exacerbated
by these policies and practices. They stand as unnecessary barriers to
improving teaching in America and make the challenges we face more
difficult. Failure to understand these barriers and the root causes of
our teacher-quality challenges often has led to inappropriate or
inadequate policy decisions.

For example, many policymakers are aware of disturbing statistics that
show large percentages of teachers do not have even a minor in the
subjects in which they are teaching.[^2] Many policymakers assume the
cause of these disturbing statistics is that prospective teachers major
in education, a major they view as devoid of subject-specific content.
As a result, a number of state and federal legislators are urging
enactment of laws that would require all teachers to have an academic
degree. The reality, however, is quite different. Consider high school
teachers: Almost all (95 percent) have a major in either an academic
field or in education in a specific subject area.[^3] In fact, the
fundamental cause of high school teachers not having even a minor in the
subjects in which they teach is not the lack of an academic major, but
the practice of assigning teachers to teach out-of-field. Thus, creating
policies that require all teachers to have an academic major will have
limited impact on this serious problem.

# Eliminating the Barriers to Improving Teaching 

## Eliminating the barriers to quality teaching will require a strong commitment to address the fundamental causes of our teacher-quality challenges and a willingness to think "outside of the box." The following pages examine a wide range of policies and practices that are all too frequent barriers to quality teaching. While your community may not face each of these barriers, we urge you to use this guide to identify those that it does face and to begin finding ways to address them.

## The following pages also include examples of programs and activities designed to eliminate specific barriers to quality teaching. We do not necessarily endorse each of these examples; indeed, some may be very controversial. However, we hope these examples will stimulate thought and discussion among those seeking creative, effective ways to overcome existing barriers to better teaching. By working together, educators and policymakers can eliminate these barriers and develop thoughtful, comprehensive policies and practices that will ensure a talented, dedicated, and well-prepared teacher in every classroom.

Note: In this book, some interrelated issues will appear in more than
one section. We do this in order to make each section independent and
comprehensive.

## **Contents**

## 

## Eliminating the Barriers to Improving Teaching

## 

**Introduction** iii

**Recruitment of Quality TeachersWhy Is Action So Urgently Needed?** 1

Barrier 1: Lack of Incentives to Teach 2

Barrier 2: Low Standards for the Profession 3

Barrier 3: Bureaucratic Practices 4

Barrier 4: Inadequate Assessment of Needs 5

Barrier 5: Lack of Comprehensive Strategies 6

**Preparation of Quality TeachersWhy Is Action So Urgently Needed?** 7

Barrier 1: Lack of Rigorous Standards 8

Barrier 2: Inadequate Support and Status 9

Barrier 3: Lack of Accountability 10

Barrier 4: Lack of Collaboration 11

Barrier 5: Inadequate and Poorly Structured Curriculum 12

**Certification of Effective TeachersWhy Is Action So Urgently Needed?**
13

Barrier 1: Low Standards 14

Barrier 2: Bureaucratic Practices 15

**Professional Development for TeachersWhy Is Action So Urgently
Needed?** 17

Barrier 1: Inadequate Funding 18

Barrier 2: Insufficient Time 19

Barrier 3: Lack of Results-Driven Professional Development 20

**Retention of Quality TeachersWhy Is Action So Urgently Needed?** 21

Barrier 1: Lack of Opportunities to Advance 22

Barrier 2: Poor Working Conditions 23

Barrier 3: Lack of Respect for Teachers as Professionals 24

Barrier 4: Weak School Leadership 25

**Development of Effective LeadersWhy Is Action So Urgently Needed?** 27

Barrier 1: Ineffective Training Programs 28

Barrier 2: Weak, Bureaucratic Requirements 29

Barrier 3: Inadequate Compensation and Authority 29

Barrier 4: Little Focus on Recruiting Qualified Principals into
High-Needs Schools 30

Barrier 5: Unclear and Overwhelming Responsibilities 31

Barrier 6: Lack of Professional Support 32

**Questions and Strategies for State Policymakers** 33

**U.S. Department of Education\'s Major Grant Programs for Improving
Teaching** 37

**Resources** 39

**Endnotes** 41

## **Recruitment of Quality Teachers**

**Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?**

-   **Enormous Need for More Classroom Teachers.** School districts in
    the United States need to hire 2.2 million teachers within the next
    decade.[^4]

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-   **Thousands of Qualified Teachers Choosing Not to Teach.** For
    example, only 42 percent of 1992-93 college graduates who prepared
    to teach applied for a teaching job between 1994 and 1997.[^5]

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-   **Acute Shortages of Qualified Teachers in Key Subject Areas.** Of
    schools with vacancies in certain fields, over 50 percent found
    those in the following fields difficult to fill: special education,
    English as a Second Language (ESL)/bilingual education, foreign
    language, physical science, and mathematics.[^6]

-   **Lack of Diversity.** Minority students comprise 36 percent of our
    nation's student population[^7], but only 13 percent of our teachers
    are minorities.[^8]

# Recruitment of Quality Teachers

**Barrier 1: Lack of Incentives to Teach**

-   **Low salaries**

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-   **Noncompetitive benefits as compared with other fields**

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-   **Lack of portability of credentials, pensions, and credited years
    of experience**

###### PROMISING ALTERNATIVES 

-   Create additional opportunities for pay increases based on
    knowledge, performance, and skills.

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-   Offer higher salaries to those with dual certification who agree to
    teach both fields if at least one is a high-needs subject area.

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-   Consider raising salaries by making teaching a year-round
    profession.

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-   Offer student loan forgiveness, relocation benefits, signing
    bonuses, and/or tax incentives.

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-   Permit the hiring of retired teachers in critical shortage
    areas---allowing retired teachers to maintain full retirement
    benefits, while also earning a full salary.

    **EXAMPLES**

In 1986, Connecticut made an investment of more than \$300 million in
raising standards for teacher education and licensing while increasing
teacher salaries to the highest in the nation. As a result of this
foresight, teacher shortages have been eliminated across the state, even
in the cities.

Several states, such as Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee, have
enacted legislation to allow retired teachers to be rehired in critical
shortage areas while maintaining their full retirement benefits.

When Gwinnett County schools, a district of metropolitan Atlanta,
observed many teacher applicants turning down job offers, they decided
to survey area principals and find out why. Survey results found 90
instances where applicants refused interviews or job offers because of
the county's policy giving veteran teachers half credit on the pay scale
for their years of classroom experience. As a result, Gwinnett County
changed its policy and now gives full credit for years of experience on
the salary schedule.

Cincinnati public schools, in collaboration with the teachers' union,
ratified plans to change their traditional pay schedule to one based on
classroom performance. Teachers advance up a four-step career ladder by
meeting district goals. In addition to undergoing comprehensive reviews,
teachers must submit portfolios that include logs of parent contacts,
sample lesson plans and student work, and a list of professional
development activities.

**Recruitment of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 2: LOW STANDARDS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A**

**LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE PROFESSION**

## **Lack of rigor in many teacher preparation programs** 

###### Lack of a set of standard qualifications for entering the profession that are based on the ability to teach

###### PROMISING ALTERNATIVES

-   Create demanding and challenging curriculum that shows evidence of
    producing quality teachers.

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-   Develop rigorous, performance-based assessments to license teachers
    based on the content knowledge and teaching skills teachers need to
    be effective, and enforce strictly.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Teacher Projectan alliance among Maryland, the
District of Columbia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delawareraised the
ceiling on teacher quality by recommending to state policymakers a core
set of assessments for high-performing education graduates, setting
optional higher cut scores for designation as a Meritorious New Teacher,
and granting Meritorious New Teachers full reciprocity of credentials
among states and regions. Meritorious New Teachers may also be eligible
for higher starting salaries.

**Recruitment of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 3: BUREAUCRATIC PRACTICES**

-   **Late budget decisions**

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-   **Hiring and personnel practices that**

**- unnecessarily delay notices of job openings;**

**- fail to generate timely responses to inquiries from potential
applicants;**

**- lose job applications; and**

**- tolerate disorganized interviewing and candidate selection.**

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Streamline hiring practices. Evaluate budgets and school needs in
    late winter in order to recruit the most talented teachers early.

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-   Pool regional resources to create an interstate, user-friendly,
    Web-based hiring process. This system would post job notifications,
    perform searches for applicants with specific qualifications,
    promptly respond to requests for information, and track
    applications.

    **EXAMPLES**

The New Haven Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area
created a computerized applicant-tracking system that can be searched
based on multiple criteria. For example, a principal could search for a
teacher with a special education credential and 10 years of experience
who also can coach women's basketball. The district also uses video
technology to expand its interviewing capabilitiesholding interactive
videoconferences with applicants from around the world.

Recruiting New Teachers Inc. operates the National Teacher Recruitment
Clearinghouse Web Site
[www.recruitingteachers.org](http://www.recruitingteachers.org/)a
one-stop source of information for recruiters, teachers seeking jobs,
prospective teachers, and school districts seeking ways to retain
teachers.

**Recruitment of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 4: INADEQUATE ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS**

#### Failure to collect the data needed to assess statewide teacher supply-and-demand needs

-   **Lack of evaluation of state and local investments in recruitment**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

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-   Develop a statewide comprehensive plan to examine sources of
    teachers, rates of attrition, and numbers of teacher vacancies by
    district, grade level, and subject area. Gather information from
    other states as well; recruitment strategies may be strengthened by
    adopting a regional approach.

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-   Create a systematic evaluation system that regularly assesses the
    effectiveness of state recruitment efforts and informs future
    decisions about funding.

    **EXAMPLE**

In the Public Education Network's Teacher Quality Initiative,
community-based, nonprofit organizations in high-poverty communities
nationwide are collecting data on the qualifications of teachers in
their districts. Data will be used to engage the public in improving the
quality of teaching available to the most disadvantaged children in
their communities and to spearhead community-based strategic planning
processes to address the disparities between the qualifications of
teachers in high- and low-poverty schools.

**Recruitment of Quality Teachers**

##### 

**Barrier 5: LACK OF COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES**

##### 

##### Lack of statewide strategies to address teacher shortages 

#### No focus on special shortage areas

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Fund the education of individuals who go into critical shortage
    areas.

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-   Go beyond level funding and allocate more to schools that serve poor
    children. This would enable districts to pay more to teachers to
    work in more challenging settings and reverse the current drain of
    qualified teachers from places where they are needed most.

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-   Invest in people who currently live in high-needs communities; adopt
    a "grow-your-own" approach to recruiting new teachers.

    **EXAMPLE**

Answering Georgia's call for more diversity among teachers, the Pathways
to Teaching Careers partnership among Armstrong Atlantic State
University, Savannah State University, and Savannah/Chatham County
Schools enlists noncertified school district employeesparaprofessionals,
secretaries, substitute teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria managerswho
have exemplary work records, better-than-average-grades, and a sincere
commitment to teaching. These individuals are offered tuition and other
support so they can earn degrees leading to teacher certification. The
program's 60 graduates have a collective grade point average of 3.0, a
96 percent retention rate, and 24 have been named Teacher of the Year
for their schools.

####### Preparation of Quality Teachers

###### Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?

-   **New Teachers Not Ready For Today's Classrooms.** Fewer than 30
    percent of new teachers report feeling \"very well prepared\" to
    integrate technology into instruction, meet the needs of diverse
    students and those with limited English proficiency, address the
    needs of special education students, and implement curriculum and
    performance standards.[^9]

-   **Teacher Education Faculty Too Removed from Today's Classrooms.**
    More than 50 percent of teacher educators report that it has been
    more than 15 years since they were K-12 teachers.[^10]

-   **Too Little Insistence That Teacher Education Programs Meet High
    Standards.** For example, unlike academic training programs for
    other professions, fewer than 40 percent of teacher education
    programs are nationally accredited.[^11]

    **Preparation of Quality Teachers**

    **Barrier 1: LACK OF RIGOROUS STANDARDS**

#### Minimal or nonexistent requirements for entry into teacher education programs

-   **Less academic rigor than required for other college programs**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

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-   Develop specific standards, such as a minimum grade point average
    (GPA) and a successful interview to enter teacher education
    programs.

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-   Implement standards for ensuring effective teacher preparation that
    is rigorous and challenging, strictly apply those standards, and
    carefully evaluate programs based on the standards.

    **EXAMPLE**

Prerequisites for applying to the University of Washington's Masters in
Teaching program include: a 3.0 GPA, two letters of recommendation, a
writing composition course, a course on the education needs of an ethnic
group, and a minimum of 60 hours of experience in an instructional
setting with students at the age level the applicant wishes to teach.
After meeting these basic requirements, strong applicants are selected
by an admissions committee to undergo an interview with faculty and are
asked to write a short, extemporaneous essay on a general topic.

In addition to having competitive admissions standards (average SAT
score of admitted students is 1240), the Peabody College of Education at
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, wanted to ensure that
standards for its programs were comparable to those of other highly
respected programs on campus. Peabody conducted a study comparing the
grades of students in its college with the grades of students in
Vanderbilt's College of Arts and Sciences; it found no
difference---demonstrating that the average grades of education students
are comparable to those in arts and sciences.

**Preparation of Quality Teachers**

##### 

**Barrier 2: INADEQUATE SUPPORT AND STATUS**

## **Unequal distribution of university resources; allotment of dollars per student often much less for education majors**

-   **Inferior, second-class status of schools of education on
    university campuses**

######## PROMISING ALTERNATIVES

-   Identify costs involved in making teacher preparation programs high
    quality and reprioritize budget expenditures.

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-   Increase the stature of schools of education on university campuses.

    **EXAMPLES**

Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, operates under a system
called "Responsibility Centered Management," where each department keeps
and manages the funds that it generates; under this system, school
officials report that their School of Education is one of the most
efficient and highly productive on campus. In addition, the president of
the university consistently pledges money from his office's
discretionary fund to the School of Education---giving high profile to
projects such as the 21^st^ Century Teacher's Project, which focuses on
bringing together the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of
Education, and Pre K-12 school personnel.

Xavier University, in New Orleans, moved its department of education to
the signature building on campus, enhancing the department's status and
making a powerful statement to both the community and the institution
regarding the importance of teacher education.

**Preparation of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 3: LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY**

#### Lack of accountability for high-quality teacher preparation

-   Lack of responsibility taken by entire institutions of higher
    education for preparing teachersviewed as responsibility of only the
    teacher preparation programs

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-   Failure of institutions of higher education to be responsive to
    state and district teacher supply-and-demand issues

    PROMISING ALTERNATIVES

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-   Determine measures of the effectiveness of teacher preparation
    programs and report results to the public. At a minimum, require
    institutions to report their pass rates on certification and
    licensing examinations and to disaggregate the rates by race and
    ethnicity.

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-   Change funding formulas to reward teacher education institutions
    that increase the number of teachers they produce in high-needs
    subject areas.

    **EXAMPLES**

In Texas, universities and colleges with teacher preparation programs
are being held accountable for their own success in preparing students.
Colleges with pass rates on teacher certification tests below 70 percent
(soon to be 75 percent) lose the right to prepare teachers. To ensure
that teacher education programs educate all prospective teachers to high
standards, the 70 percent pass rate must also be met by the programs'
individual racial/ethnic subgroups70 percent of all black graduates,
Hispanic graduates, etc.

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) provides a Teacher
Warranty on all of its newly prepared teachers. Any first-year teacher
(holding a preliminary credential from CSULB and assigned to teach in
his or her field) or the employer may contact the College of Education
to request support or assistance. The College of Education will meet
with the school district representative and the new teacher to determine
whether there is a need for support and, if so, to develop an
individualized plan of assistance from the College of Education for the
new teacher. This service is free to the new teacher and the school
district.

**Preparation of Quality Teachers**

### 

**Barrier 4: LACK OF COLLABORATION**

#### Isolated departments of education; absence of formal linkages between schools of education and other instructional units on campus that are involved in preparing teachers

#### 

#### Few incentives for professors to collaborate with local schools and teachers

#### 

#### Little collaboration between institutions of higher education and K-12 educators

###### PROMISING ALTERNATIVES

-   Increase communication and collaboration among faculty of arts and
    sciences and education to ensure that prospective teachers learn
    their subject matter and the methods for teaching it well.

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-   At a minimum, ensure that arts and sciences faculty, as well as
    education faculty, receive and understand the K-12 student content
    and performance standards for his or her discipline.

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-   Revise tenure and promotion policies to include teaching and service
    in K-12 schools as forms of scholarship.

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-   Require university faculty to teach and observe in K-12 schools.

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-   Teach methods courses in teams that include university professors
    and K-12 master teachers on the campuses of elementary and secondary
    schools.

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-   Appoint K-12 educators to university teams that design, implement,
    and evaluate teacher education programs.

    **EXAMPLE**

Recognizing the necessity of collaboration with all key players in
teacher education, New Jersey's Montclair State University created a
Center of Pedagogy bringing university faculty in education, university
faculty in the arts and sciences, and public school faculty under one
umbrella. The center requires full participation of what they term the
"tripartite\" in conceptualizing, planning for, implementing, and
studying the education of educators and the education of students in the
schools.

**Preparation of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 5: INADEQUATE AND POORLY STRUCTURED**

**CURRICULUM**

#### Lack of consensus on a core curriculum for teacher education

#### Disjointed curriculumteaching theory separate from practice

-   Inadequate field experiences that come too late in a teacher
    education program, are too short to provide adequate teaching
    practice, and are not focused on preparing teachers to teach where
    they are needed most

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-   **Lack of selection criteria and training to ensure high-quality
    supervising teachers for student teachers**

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-   **Little incorporation of state K-12 student content and performance
    standards in teacher education core curricula**

###### PROMISING ALTERNATIVES

-   Establish a set of core courses in the arts and sciences that
    college freshman and sophomores are required to take in order to be
    admitted into a teacher education program.

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-   Adopt a rigorous, core curricula in pedagogy based on the best
    research into how students learn and on the content-specific
    teaching methods shown to be effective with students.

-   Address state K-12 student standards and school performance
    expectations as

a central focus of the curricula in teacher education programs.

-   Link the theory taught in education courses to practical teaching
    experiences.

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-   Require early field experiences in a variety of K-12 classrooms,
    including at least one field experience in an urban or high-poverty
    school before student teaching.

-   Extend student teaching time to provide a meaningful learning
    experience

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-   Establish standards for supervising teachers, train them to
    effectively mentor student teachers, and compensate them for their
    extra responsibilities.

    **EXAMPLE**

A partnership among the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public
Schools, and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers offers a five-year
training program to prospective teachers that culminates in a paid,
year-long internship.

####### Certification of Effective Teachers

## **Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?**

-   **Too Many Students With Uncertified Teachers.** Nationwide, 30
    percent of new public school teachers are hired without full
    certification.[^12]

-   **States Feel Compelled to Disregard Their Own Certification
    Standards.** At least 43 states report that they grant waivers so
    that school districts can hire teachers who are not fully
    certified.[^13]

-   **Expectations for Students Often Greater Than Expectations for
    Their Teachers.** Studies suggest that basic literacy, content
    knowledge, and skill levels that many states require of teachers is
    significantly below what they require of students on high school
    graduation tests.[^14]

    **Certification of Effective Teachers**

    **Barrier 1: LOW STANDARDS**

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-   Low and inappropriate standards for teacher certification that do
    not substantiate an ability to perform in the classroom (e.g.,
    certifying teachers via a norm-referenced exam or setting very low
    cut scores to ensure a large pool of candidates)

#### Lack of accountability or repercussions for hiring unqualified teachers

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Develop rigorous, performance-based assessments to license teachers
    based on the content knowledge and teaching skills teachers need to
    be effective.

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-   Create an interstate coalition and work with those neighboring
    states to collectively raise standards.

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-   Insist that districts notify parents when their child is taught by
    an uncertified teacher and publicly report the percentage of
    uncertified teachers by subject, grade level, and poverty level of
    the school.

    **EXAMPLES**

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Consortiuman alliance among Delaware,
Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvaniarecommended regional action to implement a three-tiered
licensure system that recognizes teachers for their increased
effectiveness in the classroom.

Thirty-two states are working together through the Interstate New
Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) to develop standards
and assessments for what new teachers should know and be able to do.
Indiana and Connecticut are currently piloting these standards in math
and English.

New York created a state policy requiring that by 2004 there will be no
uncertified teachers in the state school system and after September
1999, only certified teachers will be hired in New York City's 97 lowest
ranked schools.

Texas passed legislation that parents will be notified in writing within
two weeks of the assignment of their child to an uncertified teacher
(including long-term substitutes).

####### Certification of Effective Teachers

**Barrier 2: BUREAUCRATIC PRACTICES**

#### Complicated and restrictive licensure systems that discourage talented people from becoming teachers

#### 

#### Restrictive, state-specific certification systems that serve as barriers to qualified out-of-state teacher applicants

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Evaluate the components of certification and ask: \"Do these
    criteria really promote quality?\" Eliminate unnecessary \"hoops\"
    and make the system more outcomes-focused.

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-   Accept out-of-state licenses and honor previous years of service on
    salary schedules, but require out-of-state teachers to undergo a
    rigorous performance review during the first year.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Teacher Projectan alliance among Maryland, the
District of Columbia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delawareraised the
ceiling on teacher quality by working together as a region: It
recommended full regional reciprocity, with portable pension and salary
credits, for those who meet "exemplary" performance levels, and it gave
priority listing to these candidates on a regional "electronic hiring
hall."

**Professional Development**

**for Teachers**

###### Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?

-   **Too Much of the Wrong Kind of Professional Development.** For
    example, while approximately 85 percent of teachers report receiving
    less than eight hours a year of professional development in a
    specific area, teachers report and research confirms that
    professional development of longer duration is more effective.[^15]

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-   **Too Little Attention to Real-World Problems Teachers Face.** Only
    one in five teachers report feeling \"very well prepared\" to
    address the needs of diverse students and those with disabilities,
    and to integrate technology into instruction.[^16]

###### Low Priority for Investing in Quality Professional Development. Communities often cut corners in spending for professional development despite evidence that such spending produces greater gains in student learning than other uses of budgeted funds.[^17] 

###### 

**Professional Development**

**for Teachers**

##### 

##### Barrier 1: INADEQUATE FUNDING

#### Lack of priority for funding professional development; cutting those funds first when budgets are tight

#### 

#### PROMISING ALTERNATIVES 

-   Make professional development a priority, consistently dedicating a
    significant percentage of state and local education budgets to
    high-quality professional development.

-   Supply matching funds for districts that significantly increase
    their professional development investments.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Boston school system is overhauling the way it organizes and
finances professional development, based on a joint report by the Boston
Plan for Excellence and the Boston Public Schools that showed that most
teacher-training efforts are not coordinated with district goals. For
example, immediately following this report, the superintendent
redirected \$3 million in professional development funds from "scattered
programs," those not linked with district goals, to finance new math
coaches---on-site experts who support and train teachers and thereby
further a major goal of the district in the area of math education.

**Professional Development**

**for Teachers**

**Barrier 2: INSUFFICIENT TIME**

#### Fragmented and insufficient time for teachers to engage in professional development activities

#### 

#### Lack of built-in time for team planning and collaboration

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Create job-embedded, collaborative, content-focused professional
    development opportunities sustained throughout the school year.

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```
-   Implement year-round contracts for teachers to provide extra time
    for professional development, curriculum planning, and collaboration
    to improve student learning.

```{=html}
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```
-   Restructure the school day and/or week to provide longer,
    uninterrupted periods of planning time.

```{=html}
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```
-   Rearrange teachers' daily schedules to allow regular back-to-back
    planning periods or a planning period coupled with a lunch hour, and
    create common planning periods for teachers on the same team or
    grade level to collaborate, observe, and coach one another.

```{=html}
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```
-   Provide summer institutes that allow teachers to \"recharge their
    intellectual batteries\" through intensive exploration in their
    field. Investigate ways to make the summer institutes accessible to
    a statewide teacher audience---such as the use of distance learning
    technology.

    **EXAMPLE**

In Bellevue, Washington, district schools ensure that all teachers have
time each week to engage in professional development and to work
together as a faculty to address student needs. By "banking
time"lengthening four school days of each week and granting an early
dismissal to students on the fifth the schools guarantees an extra block
of time for all teachers.

**Professional Development**

**for Teachers**

##### Barrier 3: LACK OF RESULTS-DRIVEN PROFESSIONAL

#####  DEVELOPMENT

-   **Failure to evaluate professional development to see if it is
    effective and relevant to needs**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Inappropriate recertification requirements that focus on
    attendance in workshops and graduate courses and fail to enhance
    knowledge and skills for improving student learning**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

```{=html}
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```
-   Evaluate professional development based on improving teaching,
    improving student learning, and narrowing student achievement gaps.
    Eliminate or modify programs that do not show progress in these
    areas.

```{=html}
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```
-   Reexamine requirements for continuing licensure; move beyond
    traditional requirements of graduate course work and degrees, and
    give equal weight to informal standards-based and
    performance-oriented professional development.

```{=html}
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```
-   Redirect professional development funds that are used for tuition
    reimbursements and salary increases for advanced degrees that are
    unrelated to what a teacher is teaching to programs that provide
    more effective professional development and relate directly to a
    teacher's teaching assignment.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Kansas State Board of Education adopted a Quality Performance
Accreditation (QPA) Initiative that requires that professional
development activities demonstrate changes in teachers' instructional
practices and impact student achievement. Lawrence Public Schools
volunteered to pilot this "results-based" accreditation model and
requires its schools to craft a school improvement plan each year that
details the connection among professional development, increased teacher
effectiveness, and student achievement.

**Retention of Quality Teachers**

## 

## **Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?**

-   **High Rate of Attrition Among Beginning Teachers.** 22 percent of
    new public school teachers leave the profession in the first three
    years.[^18]

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```
-   **Too Little Help for Newest Teachers.** Only 44 percent of teachers
    report having participated in formal first-year mentoring programs,
    even though participation in a mentoring program is known to reduce
    the attrition rate by up to two-thirds.[^19]

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```
-   **Teaching Is a Revolving Door.** Teacher turnover accounts for
    66-75 percent of new hires.[^20]

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```
-   **Lack of Respect.** Fewer than 12 percent of public school teachers
    report that they are "very satisfied" with the level of esteem in
    which society holds the teaching profession.[^21]

**Retention of Quality Teachers**

##### Barrier 1: LACK OF OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE

-   Flat salaries that do not increase significantly over time

```{=html}
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-   Lack of compensation for increased knowledge and outstanding
    performance

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```
-   Limited options for teachers to advance without leaving the
    classroom

```{=html}
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```
-   Lack of portability of credentials, pensions, and credited years of
    experience when moving from state to state and district to district

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

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```
-   Create a career ladder for teachers---providing increased
    compensation to exemplary teachers who take on new responsibilities
    and leadership roles.

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```
-   Create multitiered licensure systems based on experience and quality
    teaching and competitive pay schedules based on knowledge and skills
    valued by the school or district.

```{=html}
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```
-   Agree as a region on a core set of licensure requirements and
    assessments to enable portability of credentials. At a minimum,
    create full portability of years

> of experience, credentials, and pensions among different districts and
> states for highly accomplished teachers who achieve advanced
> certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching
> Standards.

**EXAMPLES**

The Rochester Career in Teaching Program, designed by teachers in
Rochester, New York, established four career development stages: intern,
resident, professional, and lead teacher. Lead teachers receive
substantial stipends, from 5-15 percent of their salaries, for their
growing leadership roles in areas such as designing curriculum,
mentoring new teachers, and facilitating special projects.

Thirty-nine states and nearly 200 school districts now provide financial
incentives to teachers who become National Board Certified. Many states
and districts are using these teachers in leadership roles and granting
them full portability of credentials.

The Milken Family Foundation\'s Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) is an
education reform strategy that applies five interrelated principles:
multiple career paths; market-driven compensation; performance-based
accountability; ongoing, applied professional growth; and expanding the
supply of high-quality educators. Five TAP demonstration schools are now
open in Arizona, and several states plan to open TAP schools in fall
2001.

Cincinnati public schools, in collaboration with the union, ratified
plans to change their traditional pay schedule to one based on classroom
performance. Teachers advance up a four-step career ladder by meeting
district goals. In addition to undergoing comprehensive reviews,
teachers must submit portfolios that include logs of parent contacts,
sample lesson plans and student work, and a list of professional
development activities.

####### Retention of Quality Teachers

**Barrier 2: POOR WORKING CONDITIONS**

-   **Overwhelming workloads, especially for new teachers who are**

**- given the most challenging students;**

**- asked to teach multiple subjects;**

**- assigned the responsibility of extracurricular activities; and**

**- asked to teach classes for which they are not certified.**

-   **Failure to provide teachers with basic supplies needed to do their
    job such as paper, text books, office supplies, and access to
    telephones; teachers n often expected to buy their own supplies**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Lack of formal induction program for new teachers with an
    effective, high-quality mentor**

#### Large, unmanageable class sizes

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Encourage schools to assign first-year teachers reduced teaching
    loads. End the practice of assigning teachersespecially new
    teachersto classes that are out of their field. Give more
    challenging students and extracurricular activities to veteran
    teachers and appropriately compensate them for their extra
    responsibilities.

```{=html}
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```
-   Phase in smaller class sizes, taking the time to ensure there are
    enough qualified, well-trained teachers.

```{=html}
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```
-   Create and foster programs that provide effective mentoring in which
    mentors are carefully selected, trained and compensated.

    **EXAMPLE**

California's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program (BTSA),
which provides a variety of support services and professional
development opportunities for first-year and second-year teachers,
reduced the attrition rate of beginning teachers from 37 percent to 9
percent in five years. As a result, the California legislature has
mandated and funded induction programs for all new teachers.

**Retention of Quality Teachers**

**Barrier 3: Lack of Respect for Teachers as**

**Professionals**

-   **Disregard for teachers' expertise; forcing teachers to teach
    out-of-field**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Failure to consult teachers on issues that impact the classroom:
    little respect for professional judgment**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Micromanagement of teachers and their time**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Inappropriate administrative and clerical assignments for
    teachers**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

```{=html}
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```
-   Analyze tasks teachers are required to do and determine those (such
    as collecting fees, issuing books, etc.) that could be handled by
    volunteers or clerical staff.

```{=html}
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```
-   Analyze the root causes for the need to assign teachers out-of-field
    and consider creative ways to alleviate that need; consider
    permitting and even encouraging job-sharing or other part-time
    arrangements for qualified, well-trained teachers.

```{=html}
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```
-   Appoint exemplary teachers to state and local education advisory
    boards

    **EXAMPLE**

The South Carolina Teacher Forum provides opportunities for district
Teachers of the Year to dialogue with key leaders and policymakers about
education issues and to participate in discussions on national, state,
and local educational issues. Forum teachers serve as advisors to the
state superintendent and other policymakers.

####### Retention of Quality Teachers

**Barrier 4: WEAK SCHOOL LEADERSHIP**

-   Few principals who understand how to be instructional leaders and
    how to support teachers and students in their learning

###### High turnover rate among principals, leading to instability, inconsistency, and ineffectiveness in school leadership

###### Inability to remove ineffectual teachers and administrators, leading to low staff morale

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Develop comprehensive approach to recruiting, preparing, and
    supporting principals who can serve as instructional leaders.

```{=html}
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```
-   Work with unions to establish clear standards for the granting of
    tenure and to incorporate peer review into teacher and principal
    evaluation.

    **EXAMPLE**

    Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education is creating a
    new Principal's Academy that focuses primarily on the principal's
    role as a leader of learning. Coursework includes intense study of
    how people learn and of how to organize schools around key issues of
    learning.

In collaboration with the teachers' union, schools in Toledo, Ohio,
instituted peer review in which teachers are responsible for supporting,
evaluating, and counseling their colleagues. As a result, about 10
percent of the new teachers are not rehired as compared to about 1-2
percent under traditional procedures. Approximately one-third of
teachers referred to intervention each year have left teaching by the
end of the year through resignation, retirement, or dismissal.

#######   {#section-15 .unnumbered}

####### Development of Effective Leaders

## **Why Is Action So Urgently Needed?**

-   **Severe Shortage of Qualified Principals.** Fifty percent of school
    districts report a shortage of qualified candidates for the
    principal positions they were attempting to fill.[^22]

```{=html}
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```
-   **Few Districts with "Grow-Your-Own" Programs.** Only 27 percent of
    school districts report having programs to recruit and prepare
    principal candidates from among current staff, such as experienced
    teachers or assistant principals.[^23]

```{=html}
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```
-   **Too Little Support for New Principals.** Just under half (46
    percent) of school districts report the existence of a formal
    induction or mentoring program for new principals.[^24]

```{=html}
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```
-   **Mistaken Priorities.** Despite the key role that instruction plays
    in increasing student achievement, only 10 percent of all teachers
    "strongly agreed" that their principal talked to them frequently
    about instructional practices.[^25]

    **Development of Effective Leaders**

##### 

##### Barrier 1: INEFFECTIVE TRAINING PROGRAMS

-   Weak and noncompetitive selection criteria in administrator training
    programs

```{=html}
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```
-   Lack of focus on recruiting candidates who would make effective
    school leaders

#### Low standards, minimal academic rigor

####  

#### Administrator training programs rarely built on state K-12 achievement goals and the need for principals to identify and promote good instruction

#### Lack of formal induction programs and mentoring opportunities

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Develop specific standards, such as a minimum GPA, a successful
    interview, and evidence of successful classroom experience, for
    entry into administrator education programs.

-   Aggressively recruit experienced, exemplary teachers to become
    principals.

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```
-   Develop state standards that define the critical components of
    effective administrator education programs and rigorously evaluate
    programs based on these standards.

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```
-   Provide alternative paths to principal certification that maintain
    high standards through field-based, performance-oriented preparation
    and evaluation.

```{=html}
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```
-   Ensure that all new principals have the opportunity for high-quality
    induction that includes mentoring and feedback on performance.

    **EXAMPLE**

To be admitted to the University of New Mexico's Educational Leadership
Program, potential students must undertake a daylong series of
interviews and exercises to demonstrate their leadership potential. Once
admitted, students must complete three internships, including one served
under a principal.

**Development of Effective Leaders**

**Barrier 2: WEAK, BUREAUCRATIC REQUIREMENTS**

#### Inadequate state certification requirements based too much on candidates\' transcripts and course attendance

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Revise and streamline certification requirements to include school
    internships and assessments of candidate performance.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC), a consortium
of states and associations formed for the purpose of developing model
standards and assessments for school leaders, created a framework to
better assess principal candidates for licensure and relicensure and to
establish a foundation on which certification programs can be
constructed.

**Barrier 3: INADEQUATE COMPENSATION AND**

**AUTHORITY**

-   Poor salaries, similar to those of experienced teachers, which
    provide little incentive for teachers to pursue the difficult job of
    school principal

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```
-   **Insufficient authority compared to responsibility**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

```{=html}
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```
-   Raise salaries of school principals and make them more competitive
    with leaders in other fields.

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```
-   Give principals authority in hiring their own staff, selecting
    instructional materials, and making independent decisions about
    student discipline while increasing their accountability.

    **Development of Effective Leaders**

    **Barrier 4: LITTLE FOCUS ON RECRUITING QUALIFIED**

    **PRINCIPALS INTO HIGH-NEEDS SCHOOLS**

```{=html}
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```
-   **Lack of a district or statewide comprehensive strategy to get
    strong leaders in the communities where needs are most critical**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

```{=html}
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```
-   Provide various incentives and improve working conditions in
    high-poverty schools to recruit and retain principals who will, in
    turn, recruit and retain good teachers.

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```
-   Encourage and support "grow-your-own" approaches to recruitment in
    high-needs communities.

    **EXAMPLE**

    The Willard School District, in Willard, Missouri, faced great
    difficulties in filling its administrator positions. To address this
    problem, the district created the Administrator Apprentice Programa
    "grow-your-own" approach to recruiting and preparing school leaders.
    A current teacher may apply to the program and, once accepted, he or
    she is paired with a mentor principal, becomes involved in school
    and district policymaking, shadows and eventually fills in for area
    principals, and takes on a major improvement project for the
    district. Apprentices receive extended release time and a stipend
    for their increased responsibilities.

    **Development of Effective Leaders**

    **Barrier 5: UNCLEAR AND OVERWHELMING**

    **RESPONSIBILITIES**

#### Fractionalized and expansive scope of work that prevents principals from focusing on instructional leadership

#### Unclear standards and lack of accountability

**PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

-   Establish a set of standards for what it means to be an effective
    principal and require periodic evaluations according to the
    knowledge, skills, and dispositions defined in those standards.

```{=html}
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```
-   Consider the effects of new policies on the workload of principals
    with an eye to streamlining their scope of work.

```{=html}
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```
-   Create multiple positions to effectively address the dual roles of
    school manager and instructional leader.

```{=html}
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```
-   Encourage shared or distributive leadership that extends authority
    and cultivates collaboration with teachers, students, and support
    staff by including their input in principal evaluations.

    **EXAMPLE**

Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, established a
shared-leadership administration team comprised of six principals. Each
principal has a distinct role: a curriculum principal who deals strictly
with instruction and works with teachers, a principal for each of the
four grade levels who follows a class through to graduation and deals
with student and parent issues, and an executive principal that oversees
day-to-day school operations and coordination of the entire team.

**Development of Effective Leaders**

**Barrier 6: LACK OF PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT\
**

#### Lack of resources needed to help teachers meet standards and achieve expected results

-   Isolation as a result of few opportunities to collaborate with
    teachers in the school and other leaders outside the school

```{=html}
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```
-   **Lack of job security; availability of only short-term contracts
    even for principals with proven effectiveness**

    **PROMISING ALTERNATIVES**

```{=html}
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```
-   Provide resources necessary to meet expectations (e.g., money for
    after-school tutors, teacher aides, classroom resources, guidance
    counselors, etc.).

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```
-   Adjust the organization of the school day or extend the school year
    to create times when teachers, administrators, and outside experts
    can meet to talk about practice.

-   Create a network of outstanding principals who support each other's
    work and mentor aspiring school leaders.

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```
-   Grant three-year renewable contracts and some protection from
    removal to allow principals to focus on long-term goals without fear
    of political fallout. With this job security however, principals
    must regularly demonstrate their ability to meet state standards.

    **EXAMPLE**

The Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Channel recognized the
importance of instructional leadership in the principal role and aired a
free series of professional development workshops entitled "Principles
for Principals." Focusing on improving student achievement in
mathematics and science, workshops such as "Math/Science Skills: What's
Important?" and "Changing Pedagogy" could be viewed live or taped for
later use. Supplementary materials were distributed, and e-mail
listservs encouraged further discussion among peers.

**Questions and Strategies**

**for State Policymakers**

Removing the barriers to quality teaching will require the efforts of
leaders at all levels of our educational systemfrom principals to
university presidents. State policymakers, however, play a critical role
in this effort by providing both pressure and support for educators to
make needed changes.

Below we provide some questions and proactive strategies that state
policymakers can use towards reaching their teacher-quality goals. We
encourage state policymakers to think of these individual suggestions in
terms of a larger, comprehensive, and cohesive state policy
strategy---one that establishes a framework for sustained efforts to
ensure a talented, dedicated, and well-prepared teacher in every
classroom.

**Collect Data and Report Statistics**

-   Do we base our policy decisions on facts or on assumptions about our
    teacher quality challenges? It is difficult to address specific
    needs if the problems have not been accurately assessed. For
    example, to successfully address teacher shortages, examine your
    state's sources of teachers, rates of attrition, numbers of teacher
    vacancies by district, grade level and subject area. Find out why
    teachers are leaving the classroom. Having accurate data will give
    you credibility and help you to garner support for your reform
    efforts. Reporting statistics related to teacher quality will help
    hold your system accountable and maintain momentum for positive
    change.

    **Fund Research**

```{=html}
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```
-   Do we really know the answers to important questions? Seek answers
    to critical questions related to teaching. Fund research on what
    works. For example, Tennessee wanted to know the answer to "Does
    reducing class size make a difference for student achievement?" and
    the state funded the sound research that could provide valid
    answers. In relation to improving teaching, one might ask: "Are
    teachers prepared through alternative routes as effective in
    promoting student learning as those prepared in traditional
    settings?"

    **Utilize Existing Research**

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```
-   Is the information that we need already available? Seek existing
    sources of research to save precious resources and avoid
    duplication. Education research funded by the U.S. Department of
    Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)
    includes: the National Research and Development Centers,
    [www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ResCtr.html](http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ResCtr.html);
    the Regional Education Laboratories,
    [www.ed.gov/prog_info/Labs/](http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/Labs/); and
    the National Center for Education Statistics <http://nces.ed.gov/>.
    For more information, check OERI's Web site at:
    [www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/research.html](http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/research.html)

    **Provide Money to Test New Ideas and Approaches**

```{=html}
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```
-   Are we putting financial support behind promising ideas and
    strategies? Are we testing the models we would like to implement
    statewide? Support various pilot projects and evaluate their
    results---from granting year-round teaching contracts to supporting
    knowledge- and skills-based pay.

    **Offer Incentives**

Are we providing incentives to encourage practices that will help
teachers be more effective? For example, offer competitive grants to
those schools and districts that want to set up programs to support new
teachers or to redesign school schedules to provide teachers with
uninterrupted blocks of time to work together collaboratively. Reward
colleges and universities that increase the number of teachers prepared
and willing to teach in high-needs subject areas.

# Identify Models of Excellence and Disseminate Them

Are we recognizing what works and sharing those successes with others?
Identify models in your state of effective recruitment, preparation,
induction, and professional development programs.

# Provide Resources for Necessary Changes

-   Are we providing the necessary resources to make the changes that we
    expect? For example, have teachers been provided the curriculum
    materials and training needed to implement state standards? Avoid
    mandating excellence without necessary supports.

# 

# Use the Bully Pulpit

-   Do we recognize the power of our words and use them to encourage
    needed change? Exhort education leaders and communities to support
    policies and practices that will help teachers be more effective in
    the classroom and end practices that serve as barriers to quality
    teaching.

# Collaborate with Other States and Regions

-   Could we be more effective if we worked with other states? Work with
    other states to develop collaborative strategies to improve
    teaching. For example, agree as a region on a core set of licensure
    requirements and assessments to help facilitate getting teachers
    where they are needed most. Create full portability of years of
    experience, credentials, and pensions among different states and
    districts.

    **Apply for Federal and Private Funds**

```{=html}
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```
-   Are we tapping into all possible resources for funding? Look for
    other sources of funds that can supplement state and local efforts.
    Possible sources include foundations, corporations, and the federal
    government.

    **U.S. Department of Education\'s**

**Major Grant Programs for Improving Teaching**

[*Teacher Quality Enhancement
Grants*](../../../../../../../../offices/OPE/heatqp/)\
Three discretionary grant programs designed to increase student
achievement through comprehensive approaches to improving teacher
quality:

-   *State Grants* to support comprehensive statewide reforms to improve
    teacher quality;

-   *Partnership Grants* to bring about fundamental change and
    improvement in teacher education; and

-   *Teacher Recruitment Grants* to reduce shortages of qualified
    teachers in high-need school districts.

www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/heatqp/

[*Eisenhower Professional Development Federal
Activities*](../../../../../../../../offices/OERI/ORAD/eisenhow.html)\
Discretionary grants to projects of national significance that
contribute to the design and implementation of high-quality professional
development in all core subjects. (The projects currently supported
under this program include the [Eisenhower National
Clearinghouse](http://www.enc.org/), a teaching standards project, and
nine initial teacher professional development projects.)

www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ORAD/eisenhow.html

[*Eisenhower Professional Development State
Grants*](../../../../../../../../pubs/ArtsEd/part5.html)\
Formula grants to states and local school districts that support
high-quality professional development. A portion of the funds is
reserved for competitive subgrants to institutions of higher education
and non-profit organizations to conduct similar activities.

www.ed.gov/pubs/ArtsEd/part5.html

[*Class Size Reduction
Program*](../../../../../../../../offices/OESE/ClassSize/)\
Formula grants to states to help local schools reduce class size in
grades 1-3 to a nationwide average of 18 students per class. Up to 15
percent of district allocations may be used to support professional
development that promotes high-quality teaching, including helping
teachers learn new instructional techniques for smaller classes.

[www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/ClassSize/](http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/ClassSize/)

[*Reading Excellence
Program*](../../../../../../../../offices/OESE/REA/)\
Discretionary grants to states to help improve reading instruction and
help all children read well and independently by the end of third grade.
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/

[*Bilingual Education Professional
Development*](../../../../../../../../offices/OBEMLA/fy2000.html)\
Four discretionary grant programs designed to meet the critical need for
fully certified bilingual ESL teachers and other education personnel to
provide services to limited English proficient (LEP) students:

-   *Teachers and Personnel Grants* to prepare bilingual education and
    ESL specialists

www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/facts-tap.html;

-   *Career Ladder Program* to upgrade the skills and qualifications of
    noncertified educational personnel, especially paraprofessionals;
    and to recruit and train secondary-school students for careers as
    bilingual teachers or other education personnel

www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/facts-cl.html;

-   *Training for All Teachers Program* to incorporate courses and
    curricula on instructional methodologies, strategies, and resources
    specific to the needs of LEP students into preservice and inservice
    professional development programs

www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/facts-tfat.html; and

-   *Graduate Fellowship Program* to assist individuals who are engaged
    in masters,

doctoral, and postdoctoral study related to instruction of LEP children
and youth in such areas as teacher training, program administration,
research and evaluation, and curriculum development

www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/facts-fellows.html.

[*Preparing Tomorrow\'s Teachers to Use
Technology*](../../../../../../../../teachtech/)\
Discretionary grants that support capacity building at
teacher-preparation institutions to ensure that tomorrow\'s teachers can
integrate technology effectively into the curriculum.

www.ed.gov/teachtech/

[*Personnel Preparation to Improve Services and Results for Children
with
Disabilities*](http://web99.ed.gov/GTEP/Program2.nsf/o138d00a617cddfd8525644400514f2d/4a1a82dff6d64e0385256571007bb168?OpenDocument)\
Discretionary grants that (1) help address state-identified needs for
qualified personnel in special education, related services, early
intervention, and regular education, to work with children with
disabilities; and (2) ensure that those personnel have the necessary
skills and knowledge to be successful.

www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/Funding/Funding.html

For more information, also see the Department's Web site at:
[www.ed.gov/funding.html](http://www.ed.gov/funding.html)

####### Resources

# 

# Contact information for the examples in this document are listed below and may be useful in finding more information about efforts to improve teaching.

**Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Channel**

\(202\) 879-9600

**Bellevue School District**

Ann Oxrieder, Director of Communication, Assessment, and Special
Projects

\(425\) 456-4000

The Boston Plan for Excellence\
in the Public Schools - Boston Annenberg Challenge

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ellen Guiney, Executive Director\
  (617) 350-7600

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**The California State Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program
(BTSA)**

Jean Treiman, Consultant for the California Department of Education in
the Professional Development Unit

\(916\) 323-5788

www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/coe/curins/sbtsa/

**California State University, Long Beach**

The College of Education Teacher Warranty Program

\(562\) 985-4109

**Cincinnati Public Schools**

Kathleen Ware, Associate Superintendent

**(513) 475-4803**

**Connecticut State Department of Education**

Dr. Abigail Hughes, Associate Commission of the Division of Evaluation
and Research

\(860\) 566-2092

Dr. Raymond Pecheone, Chief of the Bureau of Program and Evaluation
(860) 566-5352

<http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.asp>

**Faragut High School**

Lovada Ferguson, Curriculum Principal

\(865\) 966-9775

**Gwinnett County** **Public Schools**

Berney Kirkland, Director of Community Relations

\(770\) 822-6508

**Indiana University**

Gerardo M. Gonzalez, Dean of Education

\(812\) 856-8001

Miles Brand, President

\(812\) 855-4613

**Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC)**

Jean Miller, Director

\(202\) 336-7048

www.ccsso.org/intasc.html

**Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC)**

Amy Mast, Senior Project Associate

\(202\) 326-8692 amym@csso.org

www.ccsso.org/isllc.html

**Lawrence Public Schools**

Sandee Crowther, Division Director of Evaluation and Standards

\(785\) 832-5000

**Mid-Atlantic Regional Teacher Project**

Tina Caldwell, Information Services

\(800\) 892-5550

www.temple.edu/lss

**Milken Foundation**

Laura Haughey, Editor

\(310\) 998-2813

**Montclair State University Center of Pedagogy**

Dr. Cynthia Onore

\(973\) 655-4262

www.montclair.edu/Pages/CRC/Pedagogy.html

**National Board for Professional Teaching Standards**

Pat Wheeler, Vice President of Communications

\(202\) 465-2700

Jimmy Minichello, Media Relations Manager

\(202\) 465-2700

**The New Haven Unified School District**

Donna Uyemoto, Assistant Superintendent of Personnel

\(510\) 471-1100

[www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/](http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/)

**Pathways to Teaching Careers Program**

**Armstrong Atlantic State University**

[Dr. Evelyn Baker
Dandy](../../../../../../../../C:/Barriers/Contact%20info.doc)**,**
Program Director

\(912\) 921-2342

www.education.armstrong.edu/pathways/Home.htm

[Savannah State University](http://www.savstate.edu/)

Juanita J. Adams, Director\
(912) 353-3190 www.savstate.edu/adm/aa/pthwy/index.htm

**Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt
University**

Camilla Benbow

\(615\) 322-8407

**Public Education Network's Teacher Quality Initiative**

Dr. William Miles, Director of Policy Initiative

\(202\) 628-7460 wmiles@publiceducation.org

**Recruiting New Teachers Inc.**

Lisa Cella and Deb Mclean, Co-Directors of the Clearinghouse

\(617\) 489-6000

[www.recruitingteachers.org](http://www.recruitingteachers.org/)

**Rochester Career-In-Teaching Program**\
Tom Gillet, Chairperson, Career-In-Teaching Panel\
(716) 546-2681

**South Carolina Teacher Forum**

\(803\) 323-4032

www.scctr.org/teacherforum.asp

**Texas State Board for Educator Certification**

Pamela Tackett, Executive Director

\(512\) 469-3003

**University of New Mexico Educational Leadership Program**

\(505\) 277-0441

**University of Washington**

Shirley Shimada, Elementary Admissions

\(206\) 543-1747

Marge Baylor, Secondary Admissions

\(206\) 685-8691

depts.washington.edu/coe/TEP/prereqs.htm

**Willard School District**

Julie Germann, Principal, Willard Elementary

\(417\) 862-6308

**Xavier University of Louisiana**

Norman Francis, President

\(504\) 483-7541

**Endnotes**

[^1]: Greenwalls, S., Hedges, L.V., and Laine, P.D. (1996, Fall) "The
    Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement," *Review of
    Education Research.*

[^2]: Ingersoll, Richard, M. (1999, March) "The Problem of
    Underqualified Teachers in American Secondary School," *Educational
    Researcher.*

[^3]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1999) *Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and
    Qualification of Public School Teachers.* Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^4]: U.S. Department of Education. (1999) *A Back-to-School Special
    Report on the Baby Boom Echo: No End in Sight.* Washington, D.C.:
    published online at: www.ed.gov/pubs/becho/

[^5]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (2000) *Progress Through the Teacher Pipeline: 1992-93
    College Graduates and Elementary/Secondary School Teaching as of
    1997.* Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^6]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1997) *America's Teachers: Profile of a Profession,
    1993-94.* Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^7]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1999) *Digest of Education Statistics 1998.*
    Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^8]: National Education Association. (1997) *Status of the American
    Public School Teacher, 1995-96: Highlights.* Washington, D.C.:
    Author.

[^9]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1999) *Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and
    Qualifications of Public School Teachers.* Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^10]: Farkas, Stevee and Johnson, Jean with Duffett, Ann. (1997)
    *Different Drummers: How Teachers of Teachers View Public
    Education.* New York: Public Agenda.

[^11]: Art Wise of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher
    Education informed Candace Bertotti of the U.S. Department of
    Education by telephone in November 2000.

[^12]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1999) *1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey.*
    Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^13]: U. S. Department of Education. (1999) The *Initial Report of the
    Secretary on the Quality of Teacher Preparation.* Washington, D.C.:
    Published online at:
    www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/News/teacherprep/initialreport4.pdf.

[^14]: Barth, Patte and Mitchell, Ruth. (1999, Spring) "How Teachers
    Licensing Test Fall Short." *The Education Trust.*

[^15]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. *1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey*.

[^16]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. *Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and
    Qualifications of Public School Teachers.*

[^17]: Ferguson, Ronald. (1991, Summer) "Paying for Public Education:
    New Evidence on How and Why Money Matters," *Harvard Journal on
    Legislation,* v. 28. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School.

[^18]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. *1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey.*

[^19]: Darling-Hammond, L. (1997) *The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for
    Creating Schools That Work*.

    San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

[^20]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1999) *Predicting the Need for Newly Hired Teachers.*
    Washington, D.C.: Author.

[^21]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. *Progress Through the Teacher Pipeline: 1992-1993
    College Graduates and Elementary/Secondary School Teaching as of
    1997.*

[^22]: Education Research Service. (1998) *Is There a Shortage of
    Qualified Candidates for Openings in the Principalship? An
    Exploratory Study.* Alexandria and Reston, VA: National Association
    of Elementary School Principals and National Association of
    Secondary School Principals.

[^23]: Ibid.

[^24]: Ibid.

[^25]: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
    Statistics. (1997) *Condition of Education,* *1997.* Washington,
    D.C.: Author.