Grant Details

The TQP Grant Program aims to increase student achievement by improving the quality of prospective and new teachers through enhanced preparation of prospective teachers and professional development activities for new teachers; holding teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education (IHEs) accountable for preparing teachers who meet applicable State certification and licensure requirements; and recruiting individuals with strong content knowledge or a record of professional accomplishment, including minorities and individuals from occupations other than education, into the teaching force.

In the FY 2024 TQP competition, the department will support the development of school leader programs in conjunction with new pre-baccalaureate and teacher residency models that emphasize the creation or expansion of comprehensive pathways into the classroom. Additionally, the Department is interested in strengthening professional development for early elementary educators and school leaders to ensure more early grade students experience early school success. For FY 2024, there are four absolute priorities, four competitive priorities, and two invitational priorities. Applicants may only address one of the four absolute priorities.

Absolute Priority 1-Partnership Grants for the Preparation of Teachers Under this priority, an eligible partnership must carry out an effective pre-baccalaureate teacher preparation program or a fifth-year initial licensing program that includes all of the following:

• Program Accountability- Implementing reforms within each teacher preparation program , and as applicable, each preparation program for ECE programs to hold each accountable for (a). preparing new or prospective teachers to meet the applicable State certification and licensure requirements, including any requirements for certification obtained through alternative routes to certification; and (b) promoting strong teaching skills and, as applicable, techniques for early childhood educators to improve children's cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
• Required Reforms. Reforms shall include:
  • Implementing teacher preparation program curriculum changes that improve, evaluate, and assess how well all prospective and new teachers develop teaching skills;
  • Using empirically-based practice and scientifically valid research, where applicable, about teaching and learning so that all prospective teachers and, early childhood educators can- (a) Understand and implement research-based teaching practices in classroom instruction; (b) Have knowledge of student learning methods; (c) Possess skills to analyze student academic achievement data and other measures of student learning and use such data and measures to improve classroom instruction; d) Possess teaching skills and an understanding of effective instructional strategies across all applicable content areas that enable general education and special education teachers and early childhood educators to meet the specific learning needs and differentiate instruction for all students.
  • Effectively participate as a member of the individualized education program team;
  • Can successfully employ effective strategies for reading instruction using the essential components of reading instruction.
  • Ensuring collaboration with departments, programs, or units of a partner institution outside of the teacher preparation program in all academic content areas to ensure that prospective teachers receive training in both teaching and relevant content areas in order to meet the applicable State certification and licensure requirements;
  • Developing and implementing an induction program;
  • Developing admissions goals and priorities aligned with the hiring objectives of the high-need LEA in the eligible partnership; and
  • Implementing program and curriculum changes, as applicable, to ensure that prospective teachers have the requisite content knowledge, preparation, and degree to teach Ap or IB courses successfully.
• Clinical Experience and Interaction. Developing and improving a sustained and high-quality preservice clinical education program to further develop the teaching skills of all prospective teachers and, as applicable, early childhood educators involved in the program.
• Induction programs for new teachers. Creating an induction program for new teachers or, in the case of an ECE program, providing mentoring or coaching for new early childhood educators.
• Support and training for participants in ECE programs. In the case of an eligible partnership focusing on early childhood educator preparation, implementing initiatives that increase compensation for early childhood educators who attain associate or baccalaureate degrees in ECE.
• Teacher recruitment. Developing and implementing effective mechanisms (which may include alternative routes to State certification of teachers) to ensure that the eligible partnership is able to recruit qualified individuals to become teachers. This may include recruiting individuals from underrepresented populations, individuals to teach in rural communities and teacher shortage areas, and or mid-career professionals from other occupations.
• Literacy training. Strengthening the literacy teaching skills of prospective and, as applicable, new elementary school and secondary school teachers

Absolute Priority 2—Partnership Grants for the Establishment of Effective Teaching Residency Programs: A teaching residency program under this priority is a program based upon models of successful teaching residencies that serve as a mechanism to prepare teachers for success in the high-need schools in the eligible partnership. An eligible partnership must carry out an effective teaching residency program that includes all of the following activities:

• Supporting a teaching residency program for high-need subjects and areas, as determined by the needs of the highneed LEA in the partnership.
•  Placing graduates of the teaching residency program in cohorts that facilitate professional collaboration, both among graduates of the teaching residency program and between such graduates and mentor teachers in the receiving school.
• Ensuring that teaching residents who participate in the teaching residency program receive (a)Effective pre-service preparation; (b) teacher mentoring; (c) induction support as the teaching residents enter the classroom as new teachers; and (d) preparation.

Absolute Priorities 3 and 4, place an emphasis on school leadership. Absolute Priority 3 supports the development of school leader programs in conjunction with the preparation of pre-baccalaureate teachers under Absolute Priority 1. Absolute Priority 4 supports the development of school leader programs in conjunction with the residency model under Absolute Priority 2.

• Under both absolute priorities, priority will be given to applications from eligible partnerships that propose to carry out an effective school leadership program that will prepare individuals enrolled or preparing to enroll in those programs for careers as superintendents, principals, ECE program directors, or other school leaders (including individuals preparing to work in LEAs located in rural areas who may perform multiple duties in addition to the role of a school leader). An eligible partnership may carry out the school leadership program either in the partner high-need LEA or in further partnership with an LEA located in a rural area. 

Competitive Preference Priority 1— Increasing Educator Diversity (Up to 4 Points) Under this priority, applicants must develop projects that are designed to improve the recruitment, outreach, preparation, support, development, and retention of a diverse educator workforce through adopting, implementing, or expanding one or both of the following:

• High-quality, comprehensive teacher preparation programs in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, or other Minority Serving Institutions that include one year of high-quality clinical experiences (prior to becoming the teacher of record) in high need schools and that incorporate best practices for attracting, supporting, graduating, and placing underrepresented teacher candidates.
• Reforms to teacher preparation programs to improve the diversity of teacher candidates, including changes to ensure underrepresented teacher candidates are fully represented in program admission, completion, placement, and retention as educators.

Competitive Preference Priority 2— Supporting a Diverse Educator Workforce and Professional Growth To Strengthen Student Learning (Up to 3 Points). Projects that are designed to increase the proportion of well-prepared, diverse, and effective educators serving students, with a focus on underserved students, through increasing the number of teachers with certification or dual certification in a shortage area, or advanced certifications from nationally recognized professional organizations.

Competitive Preference Priority 3— Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs (Up to 2 Points) Projects that are designed to improve students' social, emotional, academic, and career development, with a focus on underserved students, through creating a positive, inclusive, and identity-safe climate at institutions of higher education.

Competitive Preference Priority 4— Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities (Up to 2 Points). Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the applicant proposes a project designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunities for underserved students in one or more of the following educational settings- (a) early learning programs; (b) elementary school; (c) middle school; (d) high school; (e) career and technical education programs; (f) out-of-school-time settings; (g) alternative schools and programs