Overview

The New Teacher Center (NTC) has established a policy division as part of its core mission to become the nation’s premier resource for policymakers and educators interested in the policy components of establishing and funding high-quality induction programs for educators. The division works closely with government agencies, advocacy organizations, teacher unions, research groups, individual policy makers, universities and other key education stakeholders to inform and support robust policies focused on supporting novice teachers and school leaders.. Where appropriate, additional support is provided to help policy makers address school issues closely related to induction, such as teacher evaluation, teacher compensation, and leadership development.

• consulting with state policymakers in designing pilot and statewide programs for teacher and principal induction;
• hosting a multi-state policy summit to inform, support, and mobilize regional leadership around induction;
• contributing to a national joint statement and white paper informing federal policy makers on the critical need for high-quality induction;
• facilitating school district management-labor discussions to re-design teacher evaluation;
• supporting school districts and states in designing and implementing evaluation programs to shape future professional development initiatives;
• convening statewide and regional groups to pursue grants to support new initiatives in teacher and principal development;
• convening cross-stakeholder groups, such as IHE's and school districts, with the goal of improving collaboration in the interests of teacher and principal development.

Race to the Top

Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Education during the first round of Race to the Top grant competition which closed on January 19, 2010. A second round of applications will be due on June 1, 2010. Through Race to the Top, states are asked to advance education reforms in four specific areas: Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy; Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

The New Teacher Center supported or was written into applications in more than a dozen states. Elements of our work represented include teacher and principal induction, school leadership development, and teaching and learning conditions.

Teacher And Principal Improvement Act

U.S. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island has introduced an important piece of legislation that would strengthen educator quality in high-need American schools and districts and would create an important funding stream to support high-quality induction, mentoring and professional development. The Teacher and Principal Improvement Act, developed in consultation with NTC, would amend Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to provide $1 billion in targeted assistance to schools and districts to develop and support effective teachers, principals, and school leaders through implementation of the following proven, research-based strategies:

• Comprehensive Multi-Year Induction and Mentoring for New Teachers, Principals, and School Leaders
• Team-Based, Job-Embedded, Data-Driven Professional Development for All Teachers
• High-Quality Support and Professional Development for Principals and School Leaders
• Redesigned Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems
• Increased Teacher Leadership Opportunities and Compensation
• Full Population Surveys of Teaching and Learning Conditions in Schools and Districts

NYC Policy Paper

The New Teacher Center (NTC), released its Policy Paper sharing lessons learned from the first year of implementing teacher induction in New York City. For more information and to download the executive summary and paper, visit our NYC Policy Paper page .

NTC State Induction Policy Review

View the results of NTC’s State Induction Policy Review that provides a snapshot of current induction policies of participating states.

For more information on policy initiatives, visit our national, state, and local policy pages, or contact via email.