The Office of Vocational and Adult Education today announced the award of 14 new five-year grant awards under the Tech-Prep Demonstration Program (TPDP) in the amount of $9.9 million. The awardees are tech-prep consortia that include public or private non-profit institutions that award two-year certificates or degrees; local education agencies; intermediate education agencies; area vocational schools; and businesses. The grants uphold the tenets of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in the areas of increasing options for students, improved student achievement, and greater program accountability. TPDP grants will specifically address school dropout prevention and reentry, as well as the needs of special populations, and will provide education and training in career areas or skills in which there are significant shortages.

In an effort to increase the number of highly qualified teachers in every classroom, the teaching faculties of TPDP programs must meet the following requirements: 1) all secondary teachers teaching core academic subjects will meet the definition of "highly qualified," as detailed in section 9101(23) of ESEA and amended by the NCLB; and 2) all postsecondary teachers teaching core academic subjects must meet State standards for community college faculty.

As a requirement for funding, grantees must provide for the involvement of a secondary school physically located on the site of a community college that provides academic and technical coursework that meets the State requirements for high school graduation. In addition, grantees must implement an evaluation process that determines the impact of the project on a comprehensive set of student outcomes that includes: academic and technical achievement, high school graduation; enrollment in and completion of postsecondary education; and labor market entry, among others.

The TPDP is authorized under section 207 of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-332 – "Perkins III").

The following is a list of grantees and local contact information.