U.S. Department of Education: Teacher Quality Partnership Grants

The Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Grant Program aims to increase student achievement by improving the quality of new prospective teachers by enhancing the preparation of prospective teachers and the professional development activities for current teachers; holding teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education (IHEs) accountable for preparing highly qualified teachers; and recruiting effective individuals, including minorities and individuals from other occupations, into the teaching force.

The TQP Grant Program supports partnerships among (i) IHEs, (ii) high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), and (iii) high-need schools served by such LEAs or high-need early childhood education (ECE) programs. These partnerships must implement (a) teacher preparation programs at the pre-baccalaureate or ‘‘fifth-year’’ level that include specific reforms in IHEs’ existing teacher preparation programs; (b) teacher residency programs for individuals with strong academic or professional backgrounds but without teaching experience; or (c) both.  In this competition, the Department is especially interested in supporting partnership programs that prepare teachers to teach subjects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Amount: Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000,000—$2,000,000. Estimated Average Size of Awards: $1,500,000 for the first year of the project. Funding for consecutive years is subject to the availability of funds and the approval of continuation awards. Estimated Number of Awards: 20.

Eligibility: An eligible applicant must be an ‘‘eligible partnership,” which means an entity that—

• Shall include: (i) A high-need LEA; (ii) A high-need school or consortium of high-need schools served by the high-need LEA, or as applicable, a high-need ECE program; (iii) A partner institution; (iv) A school, department, or program of education within such partner institution, which may include an existing teacher professional development program with proven outcomes within a four-year IHE that provides intensive and sustained collaboration between faculty and LEAs consistent with the requirements of title II of the HEA; (v) A school or department of arts and sciences within such partner institution; and
• May include:(i) The Governor of the State; (ii) The State educational agency; (iii) The State board of education; (iv) The State agency for higher education; (v) A business; (vi) A public or private nonprofit educational organization; (vii) An educational service agency; (viii) A teacher organization; (ix) A high-performing LEA, or a consortium of such LEAs, that can serve as a resource to the partnership; (x) A charter school (as defined in section 5210 of the ESEA); (xi) A school or department within the partner institution that focuses on psychology and human development; (xii) A school or department within the partner institution with comparable expertise in the disciplines of teaching, learning, and child and adolescent development; (xiii) An entity operating a program that provides alternative routes to State certification of teachers. Any of the mandatory or optional entities in the partnership may be the fiscal agent of the grant.

Link: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-05-28/pdf/2014-12346.pdf

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