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2011 Texas Grantee Abstracts

Grantee Name:YES Prep Public Schools, Inc.
Project Name:Teaching Excellence Alternative Certification Program (TEACP)
Project Director:Jennifer Hinesa  713-967-9019
Partner Districts/LEAs:YES Prep, KIPP Houston

PROJECT ABSTRACT

YES Prep Public Schools (YES Prep) requests a Transition to Teaching (TTT) grant to recruit, select, place, train, certify, and grow 750 talented individuals to become highly-qualified teachers in high-need schools through an enhanced and expanded Teaching Excellence Alternative Certification Program (TE ACP). The project will target recent college graduates and highly-qualified mid-career professionals and train and certify them while they teach in high-need, urban schools in the YES Prep district and its partner district, KIPP Houston. The goal is to increase the number of new certified teachers and retain them in the teaching profession in high-need schools in the YES Prep and KIPP Houston districts for at least three years.

Objective 1: To select 150 high-quality eligible interns per year for five years (750 total) to teach in high-need schools.

Objective 2: To select a corps of interns that is comprised of 70 percent members of traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, minorities, and people of non-U.S. national origin.

Objective 3: To decrease the number of STEM teacher vacancies in high-need schools.

Objective 4: To provide project services to interns that will facilitate them in completing their certification in 12 months.

Objective 5: To provide project services to teachers (formerly interns) that will motivate them to remain with the LEA for three years or longer.

Objective 6: To increase student achievement at high-need schools.

The high-need subjects are core subjects and STEM subjects. TE ACP will redefine the notion of what is possible in teacher development and retention and consequently transform the lives of children in under-resourced communities.


Grantee Name:Education Service Center Region XIII
Project Name:Educator Quality Academic Services
Project Director:Karan Wester  512-919-5353
Partner Districts/LEAs:Gonzales ISD, Del Valle ISD, Elgin ISD, Llano ISD, Austin ISD, Waelder ISD, Nixon/ Smiley ISD, Marble Falls ISD

PROJECT ABSTRACT

The Educator Certification Program at Education Service Center Region XIII is applying for a FY 2011 Transition to Teaching Local Project (84.350A) Grant under Competitive Priorities 1 and 2. The Language Leaders (L2) in ESC Region XIII project brings together a collaborative of high need Local Education Agencies and a nationally-recognized Educator Certification Program to successfully train, place, and support Bilingual, Bilingual Special Education and teachers of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) in classrooms across nine districts in the Central Texas Region. Of the nine, three are rural, one is a major urban district, and five are non-metropolitan, independent towns. Three key features highlight the Language Leaders Project. First, teacher interns who successfully complete training will form a corps that will be prioritized for hiring for a period up to two years following completion of the ECP program created specifically to address the program requirements and competitive priorities of the FY 2011 Transition to Teaching Grant. Collaborating high-needs districts participating in the L2 Project will select from among this corps to fill their vacant Bilingual, Bilingual Special Education and teachers of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) teaching positions.

Second, the Educator Certification Program will actively broker candidates and open positions to promote job sharing as needed among the collaborating districts. Third, the newly-placed teacher corps will be supported in their positions for a period up to three years through face-to-face and technology-driven mentoring, training, and technical assistance. Texas school districts and charter schools face unprecedented fiscal uncertainties and constraints as the state grapples with biennial budget reductions in public education of $4 to $8 billion. The teacher corps, placement and brokering services, and face-to-face and technology-driven teacher training and support, delivered by a proven and highly successful Educator Certification Program will successfully adapt the FY11 Transition to Teaching Grant to local conditions while ensuring that the requirements of the grant are addressed.


Grantee Name:The University of Texas at El Paso
Project Name:Taking the LEAP (Local Education Agencies Partnership)
Project Director:Darlene N. Brown  915-747-5333
Partner Districts/LEAs:Alpine, Clint, El Paso, Fabens, Georgetown, San Elizario, Socorro, Tornillo, Tyler, Ysleta

PROJECT ABSTRACT

The Colleges of Education and Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) propose to collaborate with the El Paso Community College (EPCC) and partner Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with the goal of creating an innovative program that (1) produces, (2) nurtures, (3) sustains, and (4) professionally develops teacher-engineers. The outcome of the program will be to change the face of teacher education through: (1) recruitment, (2) training, (3) induction and (4) steady clinical advancement of a new cadre of highly qualified STEM teachers who will provide outstanding service to our 7 partner LEAs Clint, El Paso, Fabens, San Elizario, Socorro, Tornillo and Ysleta Independent School Districts (ISDs), located in rural/urban areas of the Upper Rio Grande Region (URGR). Additionally, through an Online Alternative Teacher Certification Program, UTEP will collaborate with at least 10-20 of the rural and urban districts now participating across the state, including Alpine, Georgetown and Tyler ISD.

The UTEP-led consortium of actively partnering institutions, which includes 10 high-need LEAs, proposes to: strongly advance, promote and support Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education that will change the face of teacher education in the URGR. The project features: (A) providing highly qualified teacher staffing in identified high-needs STEM subjects for rural LEAs; (B) new strategies for selecting, recruiting and retaining talented individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups, notably minorities and women; (C) a model trans-disciplinary (engineering and education) infrastructure, rigorous curriculum and active learning process for teachers to become certified in key high-need areas (STEM and particularly engineering and mathematics), and (D) a comprehensive post graduation ATCP professional development system provided for teachers to nourish and enhance career growth.


Grantee Name:Intercultural Development Research Association
Project Name:Teachers Today for Tomorrow (T3)
Project Director:Robledo Montecel Maria   210-4440-1710
Partner Districts/LEAs:Caldwell County, Durham County, Gates County, Harnett County, Johnston County, McDowell County, Polk County, Rockingham County, Rowan- Salisbury County, Rutherford County, Swain County, Transylvania County

PROJECT ABSTRACT

The Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) submits this application to implement the T3 project (Teachers for Today and Tomorrow), a statewide Transition to Teaching (TTT) culturally and linguistically responsive program that will certify 150 bilingual, ESL, STEM (math and science) and special education teachers through an accelerated university-based teacher preparation program. The project will impact English learners, low-income and minority students in Texas. IDRA brings 38 years of experience with PreK-20 education and has for ten years successfully collaborated with Texas LEAs in statewide accelerated route certification efforts. As a result, more than 500 bilingual-ESL, math and science, and special education teachers are serving Texas high need school districts today, the most of any TTT program to date. This T3 project differs from prior TTT efforts by targeting seven new high need districts that have never received services through an IDRA TTT program; expanding the candidates’ pool to include paraprofessionals, a basic feature of a “grow your own” teacher recruitment approach; featuring a global statewide teacher pool where high-need schools can fulfill their teacher shortage needs through a single source; and providing prospective teacher candidates with an array of teaching preparation programs to address multiple and combined certification approaches. Priority 1 is addressed as a consortia of high-need LEAs; Priority 2, by promoting STEM education; the Invitational Priority by serving rural and urban high-need LEAs (Rio Grande ISD, George Gervin Academy, Lubbock ISD, Plainview ISD, Eagle Pass ISD, Lamesa ISD, and Higgs Carter King Charter School); providing strategies for selecting, recruiting and retaining competent teachers in multicultural settings who have a passion for teaching and making a difference; developing a curriculum to certify teachers in STEM subjects in mostly Latino communities; and providing a comprehensive online and personalized support system to retain teachers for a minimum of three years.


 
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Last Modified: 10/04/2011