Update for
Department of Education - ED
Recovery Act Implementation
March 23, 2009
Teacher Quality Partnership Competition
Approximately $100 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA) funds and $43 million in FY 09 funds will be available for an undermined number of five-year awards. This will be the program's first competition since FY 04. The application announcement is expected in late spring with a deadline date 30-45 days thereafter.
The following questions may be of interest to potential applicants:
What is an eligible partnership?
Will ARRA funding and FY 09 funding be kept separate?
What are the required and optional activities?
For the Pre-Baccalaureate Program, particular areas of interest include special education, rural education, teacher recruitment, and early childhood education. However, grant funds cannot be used for scholarships.
For the Master Residency Program, a "livable wage" stipend must be paid to students. In turn, students must complete a three-year service obligation in a high need school to repay the stipend. Students must repay the institution if the obligation is not met.
Optional activities include but are not limited to preparing school leaders and administrators (but not guidance counselors) and developing digital education content.
Interested applicants, particularly past grantees, must read the upcoming announcement carefully because many of the requirements and definitions have been changed from the last competition.
Visit the TQP Program's current website for updates when available, including a move to its new home. It will soon be housed in ED's Office of Innovation and Improvement and not the Office of Postsecondary Education as in previous years.
An eligible partnership must include a public, private, or independent IHE that has a teacher preparation program, a school of Arts and Sciences, and a high-need LEA. Any of these entities may be the lead applicant and can apply for more than one TQP Program grant as long as different partners participate. Also, other educational entities can participate in the partnership, such as community colleges, state agencies, teacher organizations, and public or private nonprofit educational organizations. Priority will be given to projects with broad support including community organizations.
Yes. ARRA funding recipients will have different requirements and must file quarterly expense and accountability reports. However, all grantees must be able to meet the 100 percent matching requirement, although a waiver can be obtained from the ED Secretary.
Each partnership must have either a Pre-Baccalaureate Program or a one-year Master's Residency Program. A partnership can have both, or even a five-year master's program where, upon graduation, a student will have both bachelor's and master's degrees.
