Find TQ Center Resources:

FILTER BY TOPIC

(Topic descriptions)
KEYWORD

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center) is a national resource to
which the regional comprehensive centers, states, and other education stakeholders turn for
strengthening the quality of teaching—especially in high-poverty, low-performing, and hard-to-
staff schools—and for finding guidance in addressing specific needs, thereby ensuring highly
qualified teachers are serving students with special needs.

What's New

Save the Date for the Next TQ Connection Discussion

After a summer hiatus, the TQ Connection is back! Mark your calendar for the next online
discussion: Teacher Preparation and Response to Intervention in Middle and High
Schools.

When: September 28–October 2, 2009. Our guest expert will be available to answer questions
from 3 to 4 p.m. Central Time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and 11 to 12 p.m. Central
Time on Thursday and Friday.

Where: http://www.tqsource.org/forum/

Join us starting Monday, September 28, as we discuss teacher preparation and RTI at the
middle and high school levels. Dan Reschly, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University will serve as the week's
expert and will facilitate discussion about the unique challenges of implementing RTI at the middle
and high school levels, including specific examples of scientifically based interventions within all
tiers as well as a review of tools and resources designed to evaluate current teacher preparation
and professional development practices. Come discuss the issues with colleagues, share your
ideas, and have your questions answered.
The TQ Research & Policy Brief, Teacher Preparation for Response to Intervention in Middle and
High Schools, is suggested as a prereading resource.

To check out other RTI discussions, visit http://www.tqsource.org/forum/.

New Resources Relating to Teachers of English Language Learners

The TQ Center has released a suite of resources focused on policy and practice related to the
preparation and certification of ELL teachers. These resources, which help ensure the effectiveness
of the teaching workforce to address the needs of this population, are as follows:

• Teaching English Language Learners: A Complex System

This Policy-to-Practice Brief provides an overview of the different
components necessary for supporting English language instruction. It
focuses on the impact of these components on the preparation and
recruitment of teachers of English language learners.

• Preparing Teachers of English Language Learners

This TQ Connection Issue Paper addresses the challenges of preparing
general education and ELL teachers for classroom contexts that include a
diverse array of languages and cultures. The paper also includes an
Innovation Configuration for evaluating teacher preparation programs and
professional development in this area.

• Certification and Licensure for Teachers of English Language

Learners
This policy database provides an overview of state-level policies related to
ELL teacher certification and licensure currently in place across the country.

New TQ Research & Policy Briefs

Following are the newest TQ Research & Policy Briefs developed by the TQ Center:

• The Distribution of Highly Qualified, Experienced Teachers:

Challenges and Opportunities
This brief offers a discussion of the research base relating to the equitable
distribution of teachers and provides strategies for addressing this
challenge. It includes a discussion of policy responses to equitable
distribution challenges and their relative cost-effectiveness; ways for states
to identify districts and schools needing targeted assistance with attracting
and retaining these teachers; data that states and districts should be
collecting and analyzing to assess the effectiveness of new programs; and
strategies currently being used by states to improve teacher distribution.

• Teacher Preparation for Response to Intervention in Middle and

High Schools
This brief provides an overview of the response to intervention (RTI)
decision-making process and describes its applications in middle and high
school schools. It also emphasizes preparing preservice and inservice
teachers to use the RTI process to improve classroom and school results.
Announcing the Fourth Annual What Works Conference: “Beyond Highly Qualified: The Development and Distribution of Highly Effective Teachers
and Leaders”

October 28–30, 2009

The Fairmont Washington, D.C.

The recent transition in federal administration presents new goals and opportunities for teacher
quality. This conference is a must for federal and state policymakers, regional comprehensive
centers, and practitioners who want to learn about the latest research on and strategies for
addressing teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution so that they can make informed and
strategic decisions about educator quality from a systems perspective.

Conference sessions will focus on these topics as well as school leadership, response to
intervention, and the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on states. Keynote
presenter Sir Michael Barber from McKinsey & Company will discuss why teacher quality matters
now more than ever.

Understanding and Implementing Section 2141(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

This brief provides an overview of the 2141(a) and 2141(c) provisions of ESEA and leads state
education agencies through a series of steps to consider for meeting the requirements. The brief
also provides examples of steps states have taken in meeting the 2141 requirements.