Master Teacher Corps Act

To amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Master Teacher Corp program. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Master Teacher Corps Act 2. Findings The Congress finds as follows: (1) As stated in The Heart of the Matter, a report published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, our need for a broadly literate population is more urgent than ever. (2) As citizens, we need to absorb an ever-growing body of information and to assess the sources of that information. (3) As workers, we need to adapt to an ever-accelerating rate of technological change and to reflect on the implications of these changes. (4) As members of a global community, we need to look beyond our borders to communicate and interact with individuals from societies and cultures different from our own. (5) As a Nation, we need to provide an educational foundation for our future stability and prosperity—drawing on all areas of knowledge. (6) Good teachers matter. Students with highly skilled teachers can gain an additional year’s worth of learning compared to their peers in other classrooms. Moreover, having an effective teacher for three to four years in a row can erase the income-based achievement gap. (7) Attrition among new teachers is exceptionally high. As many as 50 percent of new teachers leave within their first five years teaching. Moreover, many of those leaving are the highly performing new teachers. (8) Short-term, in-service professional development has not been found to be effective. Rather, successful professional development is extensive, sustained, focused on content, and embedded in the day-to-day work of teachers. (9) Teacher induction and mentoring programs increase job satisfaction and retention among new teachers. Furthermore, research shows that additional young people would consider teaching if the profession offered more opportunities for advancement and collaboration. (10) Programs that provide teachers with opportunities to lead and grow, and to be recognized and compensated for their leadership, are key to keeping talented teachers in the classroom. (11) A Master Teacher Corps will provide schools a way to use their human capital to improve student achievement by providing their best teachers with an opportunity to share best practices and support other teachers. 3. Master teacher corps (a) In general Part A of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq. 6 Master teacher corps 2161. Definition In this subpart, the term eligible entity (1) a consortium of— (A) 2 or more local educational agencies; (B) 2 or more State educational agencies; or (C) 2 or more local educational agencies and 1 or more State educational agencies; acting in partnership with (2) 1 or more— (A) institutions of higher education; or (B) nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated record of success in preparing or improving the effectiveness of teachers. 2162. Grants authorized (a) In general The Secretary shall establish a Master Teacher Corps program by awarding, on a competitive basis, 1 or more grants of not less than $10,000,000 each to eligible entities to establish the program in accordance with section 2164. (b) Duration of grant A grant awarded under this subpart shall be for a period of not more than 5 years. (c) Matching requirement (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), an eligible entity that receives a grant under this subpart shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to not less than 30 percent of the amount of the grant, which may be provided in cash or in-kind, to carry out the activities supported by the grant. (2) Exception (A) In general The Secretary may waive the 30 percent matching requirement under paragraph (1) for an eligible entity that the Secretary determines is unable to meet such requirement. The Secretary shall set a matching requirement for such eligible entities according to the sliding scale described in subparagraph (B). (B) Sliding scale The amount of a match under subparagraph (A) shall be established based on a sliding fee scale that takes into account— (i) the relative poverty of the population to be targeted by the eligible entity; and (ii) the ability of the eligible entity to obtain such matching funds. (3) Consideration The Secretary shall not consider an eligible entity's ability to match funds when determining which eligible entities will receive grant awards under this subpart. (d) Administrative expenses Each eligible entity receiving funds under this subpart for a fiscal year may use not more than 5 percent of such funds for the cost of administering this subpart. 2163. Application (a) In general An eligible entity desiring a grant under this subpart shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (b) Contents An application submitted under this section shall include— (1) a description of the Master Teacher Corps program that the eligible entity intends to carry out, including the number of Corps members the entity intends to select, the intended distribution of subjects and grade levels taught, the geographic and economic characteristics of the local educational agencies that are part of the eligible entity; (2) a description of the types of activities and responsibilities with which the corps members will be involved, which— (A) shall include— (i) roles around school, local educational agency, or State policymaking; (ii) mentoring and supporting beginning teachers within subject area; (iii) sharing best practices and resources; (iv) networking of master teachers; and (v) support for master teachers; and (B) may not include typical building administrator roles that are not related to teacher development or student achievement; (3) a description of strategies the applicant will use to measure impact, such as observations, learning objectives, and student achievement data. (4) a description of the roles and responsibilities that each higher education or nonprofit institution will have with the eligible entity. (5) a clear plan for research-based professional development that includes instruction regarding— (A) mentoring and supporting adults; (B) opportunities to improve knowledge of content area; (C) opportunities to learn how to analyze data in ways that can impact instruction; and (D) instructional leadership training; (6) an explanation of how master teachers will be afforded dedicated time, authority, and resources to fulfill requirements, and how other teachers will be afforded time to interact with master teachers, since master teachers may have hybrid roles teaching part-time and engaging in master teacher responsibilities part-time; (7) a demonstration that the entity has sufficient capacity to carry out the activities described in the application and measure the impact of the program; and (8) a description of how the grant funds will be financially managed. (c) Criteria for awarding grants The Secretary shall award grants under this subpart on the basis of merit considering, at a minimum, the following: (1) The extent to which the local educational agencies that are part of the eligible entity are committed to integrating the program into existing school, local educational agency, State, and regional structures. (2) The quality of the proposed professional development, corps member activities, and leadership roles for master teachers. (3) The capacity of the eligible entity to effectively carry out the program. (4) Proposed logistical and scheduling measures that will allow for master teachers to participate. (5) The diversity of proposed grade levels, subjects, content areas, and skill sets covered by the types of teachers proposed to be selected for the corps. (6) The geographic and economic diversity of schools proposed to participate in the applicant’s program. (7) The extent that various stakeholders, including teachers, school leaders, administrators, were involved in the process of creating the structure for a master teacher corps in the application. 2164. Required uses of funds (a) In general An eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall use grant funds for the following: (1) Selecting teachers into the Master Teachers Corps. (2) Financially compensating corps members. (3) Providing research-based professional development. (4) Assisting with coordination of instructional leadership, mentorship, training, and coaching roles of corps members, includes hiring substitute teachers to fill the role of the master teacher if the teacher is working with other teachers. (5) Facilitating efforts for master teachers to be involved in policy decisions at the local educational agency, State, and regional levels. (6) Defraying school and local educational costs associated with corps members fulfilling their responsibilities. (7) Tracking the effectiveness and impact of the program. (8) Supporting other activities that advance the purpose of this subpart. (b) Selecting members of the Master Teacher Corps (1) Selection criteria for corps members (A) Experience Corps members must have at least 5 years of full-time experience as a public or private elementary or secondary school teacher. (B) Ratings Corps members must have earned the highest rating on their State- or locally-developed evaluations for a majority of their teaching years prior to their application to be part of the corps. (C) Other criteria Corps members will be selected based on the teacher’s— (i) ability to improve and enhance student achievement; (ii) ability to focus on individual student learning needs and tailor instruction to those needs; (iii) ability to address adult learners in professional development; (iv) ability to successfully collaborate with teachers, school leaders, and staff; (v) skill in promoting teacher reflection through formative assessment processes, including using evidence of student learning and student practice; (vi) strong interpersonal and oral and written communication skills; (vii) record of leadership in the teacher’s school; (viii) participation in student extracurricular activities and professional and school outreach activities; (ix) record of teaching students not on grade level or not on track to graduate college- and career-ready; and (x) measurable ability using various indicators, including National Board Certification, assessments of content knowledge and pedagogical skills, and practical professional experience outside of the classroom (such as previous work in a content-related industry). (2) Overall corps membership requirements An eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall ensure that not more than 20 percent of the teachers who teach in the participating area are members of the Corps. (3) Prohibition A local educational agency shall not change the status of a teacher from full-time to part-time if that teacher becomes a corps member and is teaching while simultaneously fulfilling the responsibilities of a corps member. (4) Participation of private school teachers An eligible entity may select teachers who teach at private schools in the participating area to be members of the Master Teacher Corps, except that— (A) a private school teacher must meet the same requirements and accountability standards as a public school teacher; and (B) a private school teacher is not eligible to receive monetary compensation under subsection (c) and their school is not eligible to receive funds to defray the costs associated with affording the teacher time to fulfill the teacher’s duties as a Corps member. (c) Compensation (1) In general An eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall use grant funds to provide compensation to each teacher who is selected and serves as a member of the Master Teacher Corps, in recognition of the teacher's teaching accomplishments, leadership, and increased responsibilities, which amount shall— (A) supplement, and not supplant, the teacher's base salary; and (B) be equal to $10,000 per year for each year the teacher serves as a member of the Corps; (2) Withholding compensation for noncompliance (A) Monitoring compliance Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this subpart shall monitor whether each teacher the entity selects to be a member of the Master Teacher Corps is in compliance with the Corps member requirements. (B) Withholding payment A teacher selected to be a member of the Master Teacher Corps may not receive the additional compensation provided for a school year to the eligible entity if— (i) the entity finds the teacher not in compliance with the Corps member requirements and the entity determines the teacher should no longer be a member of the Corps for such year; or (ii) the teacher withdraws during such year from membership in the Corps without an accepted excuse, as determined by the eligible entity. 2165. Reports and evaluation (a) Reports to the Secretary Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall provide an annual report to the Secretary that— (1) summarizes the activities assisted under the grant and program outcomes; and (2) includes, with respect to each member of the Master Teacher Corps, the following: (A) The name of the member. (B) The school at which the member teaches and the location of such school. (C) The subject or skill area the teacher teaches. (D) The grade level the teacher teaches. (b) IES Evaluation The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, shall— (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of the program under this subpart, particularly with regard to the program’s success in achieving the goals of this subpart; (2) identify successes, best practices, and areas for improvement; and (3) disseminate findings from the evaluation and make the findings publicly available. (c) Reports to Congress Not later than 4 years after the establishment of the program under this chapter, and not later than 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report that summarizes— (1) the activities assisted under the program under this chapter; (2) the outcomes of the program; and (3) any recommendations regarding changes to, the termination of, or the continuation and expansion of the program. . (b) Funding Section 2103 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6603 (c) Master teacher corps Of the amount appropriated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall set aside such sums as may be necessary to carry out subpart 6. . (c) Table of contents The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2151 the following: Subpart 6—Master Teacher Corps Sec. 2161. Definition. Sec. 2162. Grants authorized. Sec. 2163. Application. Sec. 2164. Required uses of funds. Sec. 2165. Reports and evaluation. . 4. Construction This Act shall not be construed to increase the amount of appropriations that are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year.

Summary: Master Teacher Corps Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to consortia of local educational agencies (LEAs), states, or LEAs and states, acting in partnership with institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations to establish a Master Teacher Corps program. Requires the grants to be used to: select exemplary elementary and secondary school teachers for membership in the program; provide master teachers with compensation that supplements their base salary; provide research-based professional development; coordinate master teachers' instructional leadership, mentorship, training, and coaching roles, including by hiring substitute teachers to fill-in for master teachers who are working with other teachers; facilitate efforts to involve master teachers in policy decisions at the LEA, state, and regional levels; defray the educational costs associated with master teachers fulfilling their responsibilities; track the program's effectiveness and impact; and support other activities that advance the program. Requires teachers selected as master teachers to: (1) have at least five years of full-time experience as elementary or secondary school teachers, and (2) have earned the highest rating on their state or local evaluations for the majority of their teaching years. Requires master teachers to be selected based on their: ability to enhance student achievement and tailor instruction to individual student needs; ability to address adult learners in professional development; ability to successfully collaborate with teachers, school leaders, and staff; skill in promoting teacher reflection through formative assessment processes; strong interpersonal and oral and written communication skills; record of school leadership; participation in student extracurricular activities and professional and school outreach activities; record of teaching students not on grade level or not on track to graduate college and career-ready; and measurable ability, using various indicators. Requires grantees to ensure that not more than 20% of the teachers in their participating area are members of the Corps. Provides for the participation of private teachers as master teachers, but makes them ineligible for compensation under the program. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to: (1) evaluate the Master Teacher Corps program; (2) identify successes, best practices, and areas for improvement; and (3) disseminate the evaluation's findings.