20 U.S.C. § 1102g — Professional development academies

(a) Authority; definitions

(1) Authority

From amounts reserved pursuant to section 1102(b)(2)(B)(ii)(II) of this title, the State educational agency is authorized to make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to plan, establish, and operate professional development academies.

(2) Definitions

For purposes of this section—

(A) the term “Academy” means school-based teacher training operated as a partnership between one or more elementary or secondary schools and one or more institutions of higher education that provides prospective and novice teachers an opportunity to work under the guidance of master teachers and college faculty members. Such Academy shall be established for the purpose of—

(i) the training of prospective and novice teachers (including preschool and early childhood education specialists, where appropriate) under the guidance of master teachers and teacher educators;

(ii) the continuing development of experienced teachers;

(iii) research and development to improve teaching and learning and the organization of schools;

(iv) public demonstration of exemplary learning programs for diverse students; and

(v) dissemination of knowledge produced in the research and development process;

except that such term—

(i) does not mean a physical facility; and

(ii) does not require a separate location from another Academy or other training program; and

(B) the term “eligible entity” means a partnership that includes one or more local educational agencies and one or more institutions of higher education and may include teachers and the business community.

(b) Awards and renewals

An award made under this section may be in the form of a one-year planning grant. Such award may be renewed for implementation purposes without further competition annually for 4 additional years, upon submission of an evaluation of the project to the State educational agency and assurances that the recipient—

(1) has achieved the goals set out in its application for the original term;

(2) shows promise of continuing its progress;

(3) will meet its share of the project costs; and

(4) has developed a plan for continuing the Academy after Federal funding is no longer available.

(1) In general

Each eligible entity desiring to operate an Academy under this section shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the State educational agency may reasonably require.

(2) Contents

Each application submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall describe—

(A) what schools within the local educational agency and what institutions of higher education shall participate in the partnership or otherwise participate in the program;

(B) the goals of the Academy and the steps that shall be taken to evaluate the extent to which the Academy reaches such goals;

(C) a plan for monitoring progress and evaluating the effectiveness of the Academy in meeting the goals it has developed for teacher and student performance;

(D) a description of the partnership's plan for systemic change in education, and a description of the activities and services for which assistance is sought;

(E) ways in which the professional development programs shall cover course content in key academic subjects, methods of instruction, and classroom and school-based management skills;

(F) plans to involve prospective and novice teachers in the programs offered by the Academy, including outreach efforts to identify and attract—

(i) minority group members;

(ii) individuals with disabilities; and

(iii) individuals from areas with large numbers or concentrations of disadvantaged students; and

(G) estimates of the number of prospective and beginning teachers to be trained in the Academy in each year of the project and assurances that a significant number of prospective and beginning teachers will be trained in the Academy in each year of the project.

(3) Assurances

Each application submitted pursuant to this subsection shall contain assurances that—

(A) professional development programs at the Academy shall be designed and conducted by faculty members from institutions of higher education and teachers from local schools of demonstrated excellence;

(B) in establishing the Academy, the applicant has consulted with teachers, administrators, and parents who will be affected at the teaching school site;

(C) participating faculty from institutions of higher education shall include faculty members who are experts in the key academic subjects; and

(D) the activities, services and programs offered by the Academy shall be of sufficient length and comprehensiveness to significantly improve participants’ knowledge.

(4) Priorities

In making awards under this part, the State educational agency shall give priority to applicants that—

(A) select Academy sites based on need, as evidenced by such measures as a high rate of teacher attrition or a high proportion of the student body at risk of educational failure;

(B) propose projects that demonstrate the strong commitment to or previous active support for educational innovation;

(C) propose projects that demonstrate collaboration with other educational organizations, social or human service agencies, other community organizations, and the business community in the teaching school's operation;

(D) demonstrate potential for a significant impact on the quality of the future education work force; and

(E) demonstrate the long-term feasibility of the partnership.

(5) Special rules

Each such application shall describe—

(A) how the local educational agency will address the need to change or waive a local rule or regulation that is found by an Academy to impede the school's progress in achieving its goals; and

(B) how partners that are institutions of higher education will involve the School of Education, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Technology or Engineering and any other department of the institution.

(d) Use of allotted funds

(1) Permitted uses

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall use such funds to meet the operating costs of carrying out the activities described in subsection (e) of this section, which may include reasonable startup and initial operating costs, staff development, purchase of books, materials, and equipment, including new technology, costs associated with release time, payment of personnel directly related to the operation of the Academy, and participation in the activities of a network of Academies.

(2) Limitations

The Secretary may limit the amounts of funds that may be used for minor remodeling and the purchase of equipment under this part.

(e) Authorized activities

Each eligible entity receiving a grant to operate an Academy under this section may use such grant funds for—

(1) training and internship activities for prospective or novice teachers in a school setting under the guidance of master or mentor teachers and faculty from institutions of higher education, especially faculty who are experts in key academic subjects;

(2) mentoring and induction activities for prospective and novice teachers, including such teachers seeking to enter teaching through alternative routes;

(3) participation of experienced teachers in the internship training and assessment of prospective and beginning teachers;

(4) teaching skills and strategies to increase the ability of prospective, novice and experienced teachers to teach disadvantaged students, students with disabilities (including students with severe and multiple disabilities and students with lesser known or newly emerging disabilities), students who are limited-English proficient, and students from diverse cultural backgrounds;

(5) programs to enhance teaching and classroom management skills, including school-based management skills, of novice, prospective and experienced teachers;

(6) experimentation and research to improve teaching and learning conducted in the Academy by teachers and university faculty;

(7) activities to integrate academic and vocational education;

(8) training and other activities to promote the continued learning of experienced teachers, especially in their subject matter knowledge and how to teach it;

(9) participation of expert practicing teachers and administrators in the university-based education studies of prospective teachers;

(10) activities designed to disseminate information about the teaching strategies acquired through the Academy with other teachers in the district's schools;

(11) organizational restructuring, including the introduction of new roles and staffing patterns in the school and university;

(12) activities intended to address the effects of chronic community violence, such as violence counseling and conflict resolution training; and

(13) other activities proposed by the applicant and approved by the Secretary.

(f) Cost-sharing

Funds received under this section may be used to pay 100 percent of the cost of a planning grant and not more than 75 percent of the cost of operating an Academy in the first 2 years an eligible entity receives a grant under this subpart and not more than 50 percent of such cost in such third and fourth years. The remaining share shall be provided from non-Federal sources, and may be in-kind, fairly valued.