U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced a five-year, $35 million grant to the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (American Board), the first national alternative route to full teacher certification. The American Board will use the grant to dramatically expand the number of academic areas for which it offers certification.

"The American Board's program offers practical solutions to challenges school districts face in filling classrooms with highly qualified teachers," Paige said. "Teachers in small rural communities without access to local college campuses can realize their career goals through this exciting program."

The American Board is creating a new pathway to full teacher certification that helps states identify qualified individuals with the knowledge necessary to impact student academic achievement. Based on rigorous standards for professional teaching knowledge and subject matter expertise, the American Board offers certification for both new and experienced teachers. The two certification tracks are:

• "Passport to Teaching Certification" for aspiring teachers with a bachelor's degree in any field; and

• "Master Teacher Certification" to recognize experienced teachers for their exceptional subject-area proficiency and the strong achievement gains by their students.

The American Board began its program with three subject area tests for elementary education, mathematics and English, and one test of professional teaching knowledge. The award will enable the American Board to expand its course offerings to include: biology, civics, chemistry, early childhood education, economics, earth science, general science, geography, government, physics, reading, special education, and U.S. and world history. The grant will also allow the board to improve offerings for English language learners and high-need students in urban and rural areas.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, all teachers of core academic subjects must be highly qualified by the end of the 2005-06 school year. The American Board process is designed to make it both possible and practical for states to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements by lowering barriers that keep many talented people out of the classroom while, at the same time, maintaining high academic standards.

Secretary Paige awarded a $5 million grant to the National Council on Teacher Quality and the Education Leaders Council (ELC) to launch the American Board in September 2001. The National Council is a nonprofit organization working to bridge the gap between research and policy on teacher issues; the ELC is an organization that provides a national voice for reform-minded state education leaders.

The grant is awarded through the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) under the Office of Innovation and Improvement. The FIE supports activities that stimulate reform and improve teaching and learning.

###

Top

Back to October 2003