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Welcome to the TQ Update, a quarterly newsletter dedicated to providing information and resources on teacher quality related issues.

Teaching Quality Policy Center News
ECS' new TEACHING QUALITY POLICY CENTER provides information, guidance and technical assistance to state policymakers and other education leaders who want to improve the quality of teaching across the country. Meet the staff and see how they can help you.
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/40/34/4034.doc

What does the RESEARCH ABOUT TEACHING QUALITY say and mean? Through an Office for Educational Research and Improvement grant, ECS is working on a four-part assessment of the research available on teacher preparation, teacher recruitment and retention (including induction and mentoring), certification and licensure, and professional development. The reports will help policymakers, educators and foundation officials improve the quality and supply of the teacher workforce, and help researchers strengthen the knowledge base undergirding policy recommendations.
http://www.ecs.org/html/ProjectbySubject.asp?issueID=129

An ECS-appointed review panel has concluded that a Tennessee study of the impact of teachers certified by the NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS (NBPTS) is based on inadequate data and provides no evidence either for or against the efficacy of NBPTS.
http://www.ecs.org/html/special/nbpts/letter.htm

With support from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, ECS is soliciting proposals from state and regional organizations interested in improving TEACHER MOBILITY as a strategy to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Awards will help such organizations build public support for new policies to give teachers the freedom of movement enjoyed by other professionals. The first awards were made in September (see item below). A second round of grants will be awarded in January 2003. For more information or applications, see:
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/40/38/4038.doc

The first round of GRANTS in ECS' TEACHER MOBILITY project has been awarded to regional and national organizations interested in allowing teachers to move from one district or one state to another without losing seniority and benefits.
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/40/63/4063.doc

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded ECS a one-year $150,000 PLANNING GRANT to build out a comprehensive agenda for the new ECS Teaching Quality Policy Center. An essential part of the planning process will be a spring meeting of the National Advisory Committee for the Teaching Quality Policy Center. More information about this process will appear in future issues of TQ Update.

New Center Publications
A new Teaching Quality Policy Center report focuses on TEACHER SHORTAGES in various geographic regions, with a focus on models being used to recruit and retain qualified teachers in HARD-TO-STAFF and/or LOW-PERFORMING schools. This report looks at state legislation and policies concerning teacher supply and quality in these schools.
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/39/16/3916.doc

The federal NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND Act contains several provisions relating to teaching quality, including certification, content mastery, paraprofessional qualifications and professional development. ECS' analysis examines the likely impact on states.
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/34/63/3463.pdf

Upcoming Center Meetings/Events
The ECS POLICYMAKER/RESEARCHER MEETING will take place in Washington, D.C., on October 29-30. Policymakers, researchers and U.S. Department of Education officials will take part in discussions around the need for high- quality education research; policy and practice-responsive research; policymaker-accessible research information; and building a stronger consensus among states, researchers and policymakers to support research. Michael Allen, Teaching Quality Policy Center program manager, will convene this meeting.


The MINNESOTA P-16 COUNCIL will hold its first organizational meeting near St. Paul, Minnesota, on October 31. This meeting will include representatives from the public schools, the State Board of Teaching, public and private higher education, Education Minnesota, the governor's office and the business community. Organizers hope the P-16 Council will help make important decisions about the development and implementation of new policies and programs that will elevate teaching and learning in the state. ECS Teaching Quality Policy Center Executive Director Charles Coble will be the featured speaker.

What States Are Doing
IDAHO's MOST (Maximizing Opportunities for Students and Teachers) has released "Idaho Teacher Supply & Demand 2000-2010." The group's Web site also features a supply/demand "calculator tool."
http://www.sde.state.id.us/MOST/

IOWA Governor Vilsack and the Iowa General Assembly approved landmark legislation on student achievement and teacher quality in May 2001. Perfecting amendments were passed during the 2002 legislative session as a result of lessons learned during the first seven months of implementation. The six major components of this initiative include: (1) mentoring and induction programs, (2) Iowa Teaching Standards, (3) career paths, (4) evaluation, (5) professional development and (6) pilot team-based variable pay.
http://www.state.ia.us/educate/ecese/tqt/tc/index.html

Good Reads
New from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), "Moving Past the Politics: How ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION Can Promote Comprehensive Teacher Development Reforms" attempts to bring a truce to the opposing camps that support traditional means of teacher licensure and those that promote a more open-market approach to expand the labor pool. "Most of the alternative certification debate has confused the process of teacher preparation with the product of teacher preparation," the report states.
http://www.nasbe.org/alt_cert_report.pdf

The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) has published criteria to help states define "HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS." The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to develop a definition that aligns with federal guidelines, if they wish to be eligible to receive funding.
http://www.nctaf.org/whatsnew/index.html

TEACHING QUALITY

To read more about Teaching Quality, visit the ECS Issue Site on Teaching Quality.