I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2617 

To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to high-need local 

educational agencies to establish teaching residency programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. EMANUEL (for himself, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. EHLERS, 

Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE

of Texas, and Mr. JEFFERSON) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to 

high-need local educational agencies to establish teaching 

residency programs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preparing Excellent 

5 Teachers Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The shortage of qualified teachers in the 

9 United States has reached critical levels. 


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1 (2) Education experts agree that looming teach2 er retirement and shortages of effective teachers in 

3 low-performing schools create a great demand for 

4 quality teachers. 

5 (3) Nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave in 

6 the first 5 years. 

7 (4) These numbers have a direct impact on the 

8 quality of the education of the children of the United 

9 States. 

10 (5) Inexperienced teachers are less effective 

11 than teachers with several years of experience. Suc12 cessful teacher preparation programs, providing on13 going support, can make novice teachers effective 

14 more rapidly. The majority of new teachers lack 

15 such support, and so leave the profession before be16 coming effective. 

17 (6) Teacher candidates must see expert prac18 tices modeled and must then practice them with on19 going mentoring support. Teacher preparation often 

20 fails to provide the opportunity to learn under the 

21 direct supervision of expert teachers working in 

22 schools that effectively serve high-need students. 

23 Student teaching is too often conducted in class24 rooms that do not model effective practice, or in 

25 classrooms that do not serve high-need students, and 


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1 the lessons learned do not generalize to effective 

2 teaching in high-need schools. 

3 (7) It is critical to develop programs that in4 crease the probability recruits will succeed and stay 

5 in the high-need classrooms where they are needed. 

6 Because many teacher candidates choose to teach 

7 where they grew up or went to college, it is impor8 tant to have strong programs in hard-to-staff urban 

9 and rural locations. Teacher residency programs ef10 fectively build teacher supply, since they recruit and 

11 prepare candidates in the districts that sponsor 

12 them. Teacher residency programs have dem13 onstrated the capacity to recruit, prepare, retain, 

14 and provide effective support for teachers in high15 need schools. 

16 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of title II of the Elemen18 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘Subpart 6—Teacher Residency Programs 

21 ‘‘SEC. 2371. GRANTS FOR TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

23 carry out this section, the Secretary shall make grants to 

24 high-need local educational agencies to assist such agen25 cies to establish and support teacher residency programs. 


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1 Such agencies are encouraged to work with non-profit 

2 community-based organizations that have experience in 

3 teacher residency programs. 

4 ‘‘(b) TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘teacher residency program’ means a 

7 school-based teacher preparation program in which a 

8 prospective teacher— 

9 ‘‘(A) teaches alongside a teacher of record 

10 (who is designated as the mentor teacher) for 

11 at least 1 academic year; 

12 ‘‘(B) receives coursework in the teaching of 

13 the content area in which the teacher will be14 come certified to teach; 

15 ‘‘(C) receives instruction in planning, con16 tent, pedagogy, student learning, and assess17 ment, management of the classroom environ18 ment, and professional responsibilities, includ19 ing interaction with families and colleagues and 

20 use of assessment data to modify and improve 

21 instruction; 

22 ‘‘(D) attains full State certification to 

23 teach prior to completion of the program; and 

24 ‘‘(E) receives a midpoint review. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DESIGN.—To receive assistance under this 

2 section, a teacher residency program shall be de3 signed to meet the following characteristics of suc4 cessful programs: 

5 ‘‘(A) Teacher residency programs integrate 

6 pedagogy and classroom practice by partnering 

7 with institutions of higher education to ensure 

8 residents engage in rigorous master’s level 

9 coursework while undertaking a guided teaching 

10 apprenticeship. Lessons learned from the resi11 dency program will be used to inform teacher 

12 training at the institution of higher education. 

13 ‘‘(B) Residents teach alongside an experi14 enced mentor teacher. Experienced mentor 

15 teachers complement the residency program so 

16 that classroom clinical practice is tightly 

17 aligned with coursework. Experienced mentor 

18 teachers may receive additional compensation 

19 for participating in the program. 

20 ‘‘(C) Experienced mentor teachers shall 

21 have extra responsibilities as teacher leaders of 

22 the teacher residency program, as mentors for 

23 residents, and as teacher coaches during the in24 duction of novice teachers. These responsibil25 ities include establishing, within the program, a 


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1 learning community in which all individuals are 

2 expected to continually improve their capacity 

3 to advance student learning. 

4 ‘‘(D) The director of the teacher residency 

5 program shall establish and publish clear cri6 teria for selection of experienced mentor teach7 ers based on measures of teacher effectiveness 

8 and the appropriate subject area knowledge. 

9 Evaluation of teacher effectiveness shall be 

10 based on observation of domains including each 

11 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) Planning and preparation, includ13 ing demonstrated knowledge of content, 

14 pedagogy, and assessment, including the 

15 use of formative assessment to improve 

16 student learning. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Appropriate instruction that en18 gages students with different learning 

19 styles. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Collaboration with colleagues to 

21 improve instruction. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Appropriate and fair analysis of 

23 gains in student learning. When feasible, 

24 this shall include valid and reliable objecVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:35 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2617.IH H2617

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1 tive measure of the influence of teachers 

2 on the rate of student academic progress. 

3 ‘‘(E) Teacher residency programs group 

4 teacher candidates in cohorts to facilitate pro5 fessional collaboration among residents. 

6 ‘‘(F) Teacher residency programs admis7 sions goals and priorities are developed in con8 cert with the hiring objectives of the local edu9 cational agency, which commits to hire grad10 uates from the residency program. Residents 

11 learn to teach in the same district in which they 

12 will work, learning the instructional initiatives 

13 and curriculum of the district. 

14 ‘‘(G) Teacher residency programs support 

15 residents once they are hired as teachers of 

16 record. Residencies continue to provide profes17 sional development and networking opportuni18 ties to support residents through their first 

19 years of teaching. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXPERIENCED MENTOR TEACHER DE21 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘experienced men22 tor teacher’ means a teacher who— 

23 ‘‘(A) has at least five years teaching expe24 rience teaching in a school in the high-need 


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1 local educational agency that is the recipient of 

2 a grant under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(B) has a masters degree in education or 

4 teaching. 

5 ‘‘(c) PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE.—To be 

6 eligible to participate in a teacher residency program 

7 under this section, a mid-career professional or recent col8 lege graduate shall become enrolled simultaneously in a 

9 masters degree program in education or teaching in a uni10 versity or college that— 

11 ‘‘(1) has entered into a written agreement relat12 ing to such program with the high-need local edu13 cational agency that is the recipient of a grant under 

14 this section; and 

15 ‘‘(2) is accredited by the Council of Higher 

16 Education Accreditation and the accrediting agency 

17 in the State in which the high-need local educational 

18 agency is located, if any. 

19 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPANTS TO RECEIVE PRACTICAL EXPE20 RIENCE.—A participant in a teacher residency program 

21 under this section shall, under the supervision of an expe22 rienced mentor teacher, complete not fewer than ten 

23 months teaching a class containing not more than 30 stu24 dents in a school chosen by the high-need local educational 

25 agency that is the recipient of a grant under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPANT TO AGREE TO BE PLACED IN A

2 SCHOOL.—A participant in a teacher residency program 

3 under this section shall agree in writing to be placed, after 

4 successfully completing the program, as a teacher in a 

5 school chosen by the high-need local educational agency. 

6 Such placement shall be for a period of at least 5 academic 

7 years beginning with the academic year that begins after 

8 the participant successfully completes the program. The 

9 school chosen for the placement shall be in a high-need, 

10 underserved area. A participant who fails to complete the 

11 period of the placement (or the first 5 academic years of 

12 the placement, if the period is more than 5 academic 

13 years) is required to pay back the cost of the training. 

14 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT, NUMBER, AND DISTRIBUTION OF

15 GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT.—A grant under this section 

17 shall be for a period of three years, and shall include 

18 $2,500,000 for the first year, $1,500,000 for the 

19 second year, and $1,000,000 for the third year. 

20 ‘‘(2) NUMBER.—The Secretary may not make 

21 more than ten such grants each fiscal year, begin22 ning with fiscal year 2008. 

23 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.—A high-need local edu24 cational agency may receive not more than one grant 

25 in each fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this 

2 section, a high-need local educational agency shall submit 

3 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such man4 ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 

5 prescribe. 

6 ‘‘(h) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award grants 

7 under this section on a competitive basis. 

8 ‘‘(i) EVALUATION.—Of the amounts appropriated to 

9 carry out this section, the Secretary shall reserve up to 

10 5 percent for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the pro11 gram established under this section, in relation to the ef12 fectiveness of other programs that prepare teachers for 

13 employment with high-need schools and high-need local 

14 educational agencies, including, where feasible, value15 added measures of learning gains of students taught by 

16 graduates of each teacher residency Program, to be con17 ducted by the Institute of Education Sciences, the Na18 tional Science Foundation, or the National Academy of 

19 Sciences, at the direction of the Secretary. Not later than 

20 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section, 

21 the Secretary shall make the results of the evaluation pub22 lic. 

23 ‘‘(j) MATCHING FUNDS.—A high-need local edu24 cational agency that receives a grant under this section 

25 shall provide matching funds in an amount equal to 50 


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1 percent of grant funds provided to the agency under this 

2 section to carry out the activities supported by the grant, 

3 which may be provided by community partners, institu4 tions of higher education, or others. 

5 ‘‘(k) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DE6 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘high-need local edu7 cational agency’ means a local educational agency— 

8 ‘‘(1) that is among the highest 20 percent of 

9 local educational agencies in the State in terms of 

10 percentage of students from families with incomes 

11 below the poverty line (as defined in section 

12 9101(33) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(33))); 

14 ‘‘(2) that is among the lowest 20 percent of 

15 local educational agencies in the State on assess16 ments required under part A of title I, or, where fea17 sible, the lowest 20 percent of local educational 

18 agencies in the State in terms of measures of teach19 ing effectiveness; and 

20 ‘‘(3) for which there is a high percentage of 

21 classes taught by teachers not teaching in the aca22 demic subjects or grade levels that the teachers were 

23 prepared to teach. 

24 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 


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1 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 

2 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated are au3 thorized to remain available until expended, and may be 

4 used by the Secretary to make additional grants, in ac5 cordance with this section, in a fiscal year beginning with 

6 fiscal year 2013.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 for that Act is amended by inserting after the item relat9 ing to section 2368 the following: 

‘‘SUBPART 6—TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAMS

‘‘Sec. 2371. Grants for teacher residency programs.’’. 

Æ 


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