Following the Leaders Expands into Ariz.; Madison School District Builds on Successes of Teacher Advancement Program 8/19/2003
From: Kimberly Tulp of the Education Leaders Council, 202-261-2605, e-mail: kbt@educationleaders.org or Mary Cummings of the Madison School District, 602-664-7943, e-mail: mcummings@msd38.org WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 -- A nationwide education initiative committed to providing technology resources and hands-on support to teachers in order to promote student achievement, FTL today announced that Arizona is the first of several new states to join the program. Already recognized as an education leader due to its successful involvement in the Milken Family Foundation's Teacher Advancement Program, the Madison School District in north central Phoenix is expanding its efforts to ensure quality education by joining FTL. "The Madison School District is known for its commitment to improving academic achievement," said Lisa Graham Keegan, CEO of Education Leaders Council. "Through Following the Leaders, Madison will enhance its focus on providing professional development and new classroom tools to teachers, arming them with the information necessary to ensure that no child is left behind, and setting a strong example for districts across the state and the nation to follow." Developed by Education Leaders Council and its partners, Following the Leaders currently operates in six states, including: Alaska, Illinois, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia. For the 2003-04 school year, the second year of the program, it will expand in existing states and into four additional states to benefit approximately 100,000 students in 500 schools from 10 states. "Following the Leaders puts all the elements of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation into action in schools," said Lew Solmon, executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation and director of the Teacher Advancement Program. "Linking student performance to state standards, classroom curriculum and teacher training, as well as increasing communications between all the stakeholders in a child's education are core to this program." "While TAP has been an outstanding resource for Madison -- professionalizing the working environment for our teachers and driving student learning gains -- we did not want to stop there," said Bob Jones, superintendent of Madison School District. "The opportunity to receive the support of federally-funded resources and lead both Arizona and the nation, all while improving education in our community is tremendously valuable." FTL Resources Include: -- Achievement Technologies: FTL works with Achievement Technologies to provide schools with its SkillsTutor technology. SkillsTutor is a proven, research-based instructional program designed to improve student achievement with remediation and enrichment lessons and tutorials, accessible from school and home. Achievement Technologies also offers all schools in participating states access to the Achieve Resource Center, an online library of more than thousands of curriculum resources linked to state standards. -- The Princeton Review: As part of the partnership with FTL, The Princeton Review, a leading provider of test preparation and admissions services, offers Homeroom.com, a Web-based subscription service designed to help teachers build classroom assessments, identify individualized needs and report student progress. Homeroom.com enables schools to align textbook resources to state standards and annual tests, adding new efficiencies in classroom planning. -- The Milken Family Foundation: FTL also partners with The Milken Family Foundation to focus on teacher quality and introduce the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) in select schools. TAP works to draw more talented people to the teaching profession - and keep them there - by making it more attractive and rewarding to be a teacher. -- AccountabilityWorks: As part of its ongoing work with FTL, AccountabilityWorks provides a cost analysis of No Child Left Behind for states, as well as technical assistance to optimize state and local resources. These solutions help FTL fulfill its mission of providing the technology and tools necessary for rapid implementation of No Child Left Behind. By offering proven resources and support to schools, districts and states, Following the Leaders helps to address the goals of the new legislation - to improve student achievement, increase accountability and enhance communications. Through FTL, schools will continue to demonstrate to the nation that the changes required under the law can and must be put into active practice to ensure that all children learn. About FTL FTL is a nationwide education initiative with expansion planned to more than 200,000 students in 10 states. Providing technology tools, educational resources and hands-on support, FTL allows teachers to better address individual student needs and effectively communicate with everyone involved in a child's education. FTL is a project of Education Leaders Council in partnership with Achievement Technologies, The Princeton Review, AccountabilityWorks, the Milken Family Foundation and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. For more information, visit http://followingtheleaders.org. About ELC ELC is a member-based organization comprised of advocates for accountability in education. This has been the cornerstone of the organization since its founding in 1995 and it remains critical to our students today. A nonprofit "action tank" based in Washington, DC, ELC believes that when teachers, administrators, parents and politicians are dedicated to success and contribute to education, all students can learn. This is why we are committed to advancing education and related policy at the grassroots and national levels to make education work better for students. For more information, visit us at http://www.educationleaders.org. To learn more about Following the Leaders, please call 202-261-2600 or visit the Web site at http://www.followingtheleaders.org. Following the Leaders is a project of Education Leaders Council and its partners. |