Ford Foundation Gives $2.5 Million for Teacher Education

8/1/2002

From: Ngozi Amu of the Ford Foundation, 212-573-4821

NEW YORK, N. Y., Aug. 1 -- As part of a broader effort to improve the quality of teaching and education in the United States, the Ford Foundation today announced a grant to the Academy for Educational Development of $2.5 million for a new initiative, Teachers for a New Era.

The initiative, led by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and involving several other foundations, seeks to strengthen K-12 teaching by investing in a set of colleges and universities around the country to establish strong programs that can produce competent, caring and qualified teachers. The programs are expected to set new standards for excellence and serve as models for the field. So far, four higher education institutions have been invited to submit proposals: Bank Street College of Education in New York City; California State University, Northridge; Michigan State University and the University of Virginia.

Another four universities will be selected to participate in the initiative over the next two years for a total of eight by 2004. Each university will be granted up to $5 million over a period of five years, an amount which should be matched by the institution. Additional funds will also be made available to allow the awardee institutions to share their experiences with other teacher training institutions.

"Most teacher education programs are not implementing what we know to be best practice and are inadequately funded to do a quality job," says Joe Aguerrebere, deputy director of the foundation's Education, Knowledge and Religion program. "To improve student achievement we have to improve the quality of teaching in the classroom, and we see this initiative as a good opportunity to strengthen and expand the best programs out there."

The foundation has a longstanding commitment to improving the quality of education and teaching in the U.S. It includes support for programs that promote educational equity, enhance teacher preparation and nurture family-school partnerships.

Selection of the participants was based on the quality of their current teaching programs and faculty and their capacity to serve as leaders in the field. They were required to submit proposals that reflected three concepts: superior clinical teaching practice; partnership between faculties of liberal arts and education; and a commitment to promote schools of education within the university community. The goal is to help these institutions become exemplars of effective teacher education programs.

To date, Carnegie has committed more than $30 million to the initiative and the Annenberg Foundation has contributed $5 million. Funds from the Rockefeller Foundation will support an ongoing external evaluation of the initiative. In addition to its initial commitment of $2.5 million, the Ford Foundation anticipates an additional contribution of $3.25 million over the next five years. The Academy for Educational Development, an independent nonprofit research and training organization, will administer the funds.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia. Further information about the foundation is available on its Web site at http://www.fordfound.org