The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a number of grants to help improve the quality of education at schools facing difficulties.
The $43 million in Teacher Quality Partnership grants will go to 28 recipients and will focus on better preparing teachers and improving the instruction they will provide to high-need schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted that the grants show the Obama administration’s support for the nation’s educators.
"The Teacher Quality Partnership grants will improve student academic achievement by strengthening teacher preparation, training and effectiveness and help school districts attract potential educators from a wide-range of professional backgrounds into the teaching profession," Duncan said.
The 28 programs receiving grant money, 12 will use it to start residency programs for teachers and nine will focus on reforming teacher preparation programs. The remaining seven will focus on both residency and preparation programs.
Along with the announced grants, Duncan will take part in three events that are slated to take place in October. Two of the events will involve speaking to teachers, while during the final one Duncan will deliver an address about preparing teachers for the classroom.
Another set of grants for the program will be announced in 2010 and will come care of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Teacher Quality Partnership program was formed through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Through the ESEA, around 2.9 billion in formula grants are available for states in order to help improve the quality of teaching in their school districts.
The Obama administration also recently launched a new program that offers more than $4 billion in grants to states that are willing to improve educational standards and practices. Through the Race to the Top program, states will be able to compete for the federal grant dollars.