The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced today that it has
awarded a $2.95 million Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant to National-Louis
University’s (NLU) Institute for Urban Education and the Academy
for Urban School Leadership (AUSL). The grant funds an urban teacher
residency (UTR) training program that partners NLU and AUSL with Chicago
Public Schools (CPS).
The grant award is particularly significant because it marks the first
year that teacher residency training programs were eligible to apply for
the DOE TQP grants. Teacher quality is widely acknowledged as the most
significant factor in achieving improved student performance, and urban
teacher residencies are an innovative training approach that is uniquely
successful in urban school districts like Chicago.
“This grant will allow us to build on our track record of success in
urban teacher preparation and school turnaround and move forward with
innovations to give our children access to the best education we can
deliver,” said Alison Hilsabeck, Ph.D., dean, National College of
Education at NLU. “Years ago, AUSL and NLU formed a partnership to
design the first urban teacher residency – and our commitment to teacher
preparation is nationally recognized. This grant will allow us to expand
the data-guided, teacher mentoring programs for which the National
College of Education at NLU has become well known. We are excited and
ready to get to work.”
The AUSL-NLU-CPS TQP grant will expand and improve the urban teacher
residency program, an intense, full-year apprenticeship with a mentor
teacher at a Chicago public school in which graduates earn their
Illinois teaching certification and a master’s degree through NLU. The
$2.95 million award funds the first year of a five-year TQP grant.
“AUSL is delighted that the Department of Education has entrusted our
urban teacher residency program with this grant,” said Martin J. “Mike”
Koldyke, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, AUSL. “Since 2001 we have
trained and placed hundreds of new teachers in high need CPS schools.
Our 14 schools have provided remarkable classroom improvement for
thousands of Chicago children.”
Over the past nine years, more than 300 teachers have graduated from the
urban teacher residency program, helping to improve the academic
achievement of CPS’ most vulnerable students. AUSL-trained teacher
retention is significantly better than the national average, with over
87 percent of the program’s total graduates since 2001 still working in
education today. Nationally, half of all new teachers leave the
profession within five years.
“This grant is, dollar for dollar, likely to be one of the most powerful
means of boosting student performance,” said Congressman Danny K. Davis
(7th District of Illinois).
AUSL’s innovative urban teacher residency program has been held up by
President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan as a model
that can help transform urban schools throughout the nation. Through
this grant, NLU and AUSL will further improve student achievement in
Chicago by expanding the number of well-qualified and diverse teachers
this program can provide to CPS, and by improving the residency program
to better prepare teachers for their challenging work in
chronically-failing schools.
The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) [www.ausl-chicago.org]
is a not-for-profit that partners with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to
transform chronically under-performing schools, typically in
high-poverty areas.
National-Louis University (NLU) [www.nl.edu]
has been a force for change in American education since its founding in
1886. Known for nearly a century as the National College of Education,
it is nationally renowned for its programs in teacher preparation, urban
school reform and educational leadership.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) [www.cps.edu]
serves approximately 407,000 students in 666 schools. It is the nation’s
third-largest school district.
Media Contacts:
Jeanne
Hartig, NLU
312-261-3021
or
Allison
Cortes, AUSL and PCI
312-558-1770