1.Teachers professional
development institutes
(a)Part A of title II of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
6Teachers
professional development institutes
2161.This subpart may be
cited as the Teachers Professional Development Institutes
Act
.
2162.
(a)Congress
makes the following findings:
(1)Teaching is central to the educational
process and the ongoing professional development of teachers in the subjects
they teach is essential for improved student learning.
(2)Attaining the goal
of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110)—having a classroom
teacher who is highly effective in every academic subject the teacher
teaches—will require innovative approaches to improve the effectiveness of
teachers in the classroom.
(3)The Teachers
Institute Model focuses on the continuing academic preparation of
schoolteachers and the application of what the teachers study to their
classrooms and potentially to the classrooms of other teachers.
(4)The Teachers
Institute Model was developed initially by the Yale-New Haven Teachers
Institute and has successfully operated in New Haven, Connecticut, for more
than 30 years.
(5)The Teachers
Institute Model has also been successfully implemented in cities larger than
New Haven.
(6)In the spring of
2009, a report entitled An Evaluation of Teachers Institute
Experiences
concluded that—
(A)Teachers
Institutes enhance precisely those teacher qualities known to improve student
achievement;
(B)Teachers
Institutes exemplify the crucial characteristics of high-quality teacher
professional development; and
(C)Teachers Institute
participation is strongly related to teacher retention in high-poverty
schools.
(b)The
purpose of this subpart is to provide Federal assistance to support the
establishment and operation of Teachers Institutes for local educational
agencies that serve significant low-income student populations in States
throughout the Nation, in order to—
(1)improve student
learning; and
(2)enhance the
quality and effectiveness of teaching and strengthen the subject matter mastery
and the pedagogical skills of current teachers through continuing teacher
preparation.
2163.In this subpart:
(1)Significant
low-income student populationThe term significant low-income
student population means a student population of which not less than 40
percent of the students included are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches
under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
(2)The term
Teachers Institute means a partnership or joint venture—
(A)between or among—
(i)1 or more institutions of higher education;
and
(ii)1 or more local educational agencies that
serve 1 or more schools with significant low-income student populations;
and
(B)that improves the effectiveness of teachers
in the classroom, and the quality of teaching and learning, through
collaborative seminars designed to enhance both the subject matter and the
pedagogical resources of the seminar participants.
2164.
(a)The Secretary is authorized to award grants under this
subpart in order to encourage the establishment and operation of Teachers
Institutes.
(b)The Secretary may
reserve not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this
subpart to provide technical assistance to facilitate the establishment and
operation of Teachers Institutes. The Secretary may contract with the Yale-New
Haven Teachers Institute to provide all or part of the technical assistance
under this subsection.
(c)In selecting Teachers Institutes to support through
grants under this subpart, the Secretary shall consider—
(1)the extent to
which a proposed Teachers Institute will serve schools that have significant
low-income student populations;
(2)the extent to which a proposed Teachers
Institute will follow the understandings and necessary procedures described in
section 2166;
(3)the extent to
which each local educational agency participating in the Teachers Institute has
a high percentage of teachers who are unprepared or underprepared to teach the
core academic subjects the teachers are assigned to teach; and
(4)the extent to
which a proposed Teachers Institute will receive a level of support from the
community and other sources that will ensure the requisite long-term commitment
for the success of a Teachers Institute.
(d)
(1)In evaluating applications using the criteria under
subsection (c), the Secretary may request the advice and assistance of the
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute or other Teachers Institutes.
(2)If the Secretary receives 2 or more applications for
grants under this subpart from local educational agencies within the same
State, the Secretary shall consult with the State educational agency regarding
the applications.
(e)The fiscal agent for the receipt of grant funds under this
subpart shall be an institution of higher education participating in the
partnership or joint venture, as described in section 2163(2)(A), that is
establishing or operating the Teachers Institute.
(f)A
grant under this subpart—
(1)shall provide
grant funds for a period of not more than 5 years; and
(2)shall be in an
amount that is not more than 50 percent of the total costs of the eligible
activities supported under the grant, as determined by the Secretary.
2165.Grant funds under
this subpart may be used—
(1)for the planning,
development, establishment, and operation of a Teachers Institute;
(2)for additional
assistance to an established Teachers Institute for its further development and
for its support of the planning, development, establishment, and operation of a
Teachers Institute under paragraph (1);
(3)for the salary and necessary expenses of a
full-time director for a Teachers Institute to plan and manage the Teachers
Institute and to act as a liaison between all local educational agencies and
institutions of higher education participating in the Teachers
Institute;
(4)to provide
suitable office space, staff, equipment, and supplies, and to pay other
operating expenses, for the Teachers Institute;
(5)to provide a stipend for teachers
participating in the collaborative seminars conducted by the Institute in the
sciences and humanities and to provide remuneration for members of the faculty
of the participating institution of higher education leading the seminars;
and
(6)to provide for the dissemination, through
print and electronic means, of curriculum units prepared in the seminars
conducted by the Teachers Institute.
2166.Understandings
and proceduresA grantee
receiving a grant under this subpart shall abide by the following
understandings and procedures:
(1)The
essential relationship of a Teachers Institute is a partnership between a local
educational agency and an institution of higher education. A grantee shall
demonstrate a long-term commitment on behalf of the participating local
educational agency and institution of higher education to the support,
including the financial support, of the work of the Teachers Institute.
(2)A
Teachers Institute sponsors seminars led by faculty of the institution of
higher education partner and attended by teachers from the local educational
agency partner. A grantee shall provide participating teachers the ability to
play an essential role in planning, organizing, conducting, and evaluating the
seminars and in encouraging the future participation of other teachers.
(3)A seminar described in paragraph (2) uses a collaborative
process, in a collegial environment, to develop a curriculum unit for use by
participating teachers that sets forth the subject matter to be presented and
the pedagogical strategies to be employed. A grantee shall enable participating
teachers to develop a curriculum unit, based on the subject matter presented,
for use in the teachers' classrooms.
(4)Eligibility and
remunerationSeminars are open to all partnership teachers with
teaching assignments relevant to the seminar topics. Seminar leaders receive
remuneration for their work and participating teachers receive an honorarium or
stipend upon the successful completion of the seminar. A grantee shall provide
seminar leaders and participating teachers with remuneration to allow them to
participate in the Teachers Institute.
(5)The
operations of a Teachers Institute are managed by a full-time director who
reports to both partners but is accountable to the institution of higher
education partner. A grantee shall appoint a director to manage and coordinate
the work of the Teachers Institute.
(6)A
grantee shall annually review the activities of the Teachers Institute and
disseminate the results to members of the Teachers Institute’s partnership
community.
2167.Application,
approval, and agreement
(a)To receive a grant under this subpart, a Teachers
Institute, or a partnership or joint venture described in section 2163(2)(A)
that is proposing to establish a Teachers Institute, shall submit an
application to the Secretary that—
(1)meets the
requirement of this subpart and any regulations under this subpart;
(2)includes a
description of how the applicant intends to use funds provided under the
grant;
(3)includes such
information as the Secretary may require to apply the criteria described in
section 2164(c);
(4)includes
measurable objectives for the use of the funds provided under the grant;
and
(5)contains such
other information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
(b)The
Secretary shall—
(1)promptly evaluate
an application received for a grant under this subpart; and
(2)notify the
applicant, within 90 days of the receipt of a completed application, of the
Secretary’s determination.
(c)Upon
approval of an application, the Secretary and the applicant shall enter into a
comprehensive agreement covering the entire period of the grant.
2168.
(a)Each
grantee under this subpart shall report annually to the Secretary on the
progress of the Teachers Institute in achieving the purpose of this
subpart.
(b)Evaluation and
disseminationThe Secretary shall evaluate the activities funded
under this subpart and submit an annual report regarding the activities
assisted under this subpart to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives. The Secretary shall broadly disseminate successful practices
developed by Teachers Institutes.
(c)If
the Secretary determines that a grantee is not making substantial progress in
meeting the purposes of the grant by the end of the second year of the grant
under this subpart, the Secretary may take appropriate action, including
revocation of further payments under the grant, to ensure that the funds
available under this subpart are used in the most effective manner.
2169.Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated for grants (including planning grants) and
technical assistance under this subpart—
(1)$4,000,000 for
fiscal year 2011;
(2)$5,000,000 for
fiscal year 2012;
(3)$6,000,000 for
fiscal year 2013;
(4)$7,000,000 for
fiscal year 2014; and
(5)$8,000,000 for
fiscal year
2015.
.
(b)The table of contents of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 2151 the following:
SUBPART 6—Teachers professional development
institutes
Sec. 2161. Short title.
Sec. 2162. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 2163. Definitions.
Sec. 2164. Program authorized.
Sec. 2165. Eligible activities.
Sec. 2166. Understandings and procedures.
Sec. 2167. Application, approval, and agreement.
Sec. 2168. Reports and
evaluations.
.