Race to the Top: Promoting Effective Teaching and Leading
Among all the factors in determining winners for the Race to the Top grant program, the largest amount of points—a total of 138 out of 485—is devoted to the Great Teachers and Leaders section, which focuses on establishing statewide evaluation systems, ensuring equitable access to quality teaching, and providing professional development geared toward improving teacher and principal effectiveness.
Although Delaware and Tennessee won the first round with solid B grades (86 percent and 83 percent, respectively) in the Great Teachers and Leaders category, any state that wants a fighting chance in the second round needs to outline a significant plan for advancing effective teaching.
Tailoring Professional Development
The Great Teachers and Leaders section of Race to the Top specifically calls for statewide support of "data-informed professional development, coaching, induction, and common planning and collaboration time to teachers and principals that are, where appropriate, ongoing and job-embedded."
Each state and each district has unique needs for professional development. Creating effective teacher leaders through differentiated approaches is a hallmark of ASCD’s professional development services. With the right tools, teachers can provide leadership that addresses the needs and achievement of diverse learners.
ASCD professional development services staff stands ready to help states and districts customize their professional development and recommend resources to build teachers' capacity and instructional expertise. ASCD can also
- Assess current leadership capacity.
- Consult on leadership program design and delivery for specific instructional practices.
- Provide on-site coaching and workshop support from experts.
To explore options for moving toward effective teaching,
Learn more about ASCD's capacity-building professional development.
Contact Jean Pride, ASCD program director.
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Resources
Collaboration & PD for Teacher Effectiveness
Instruction (General)
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Through the Eyes of an Educator
"My school has struggled with poor student achievement for many years. I saw the opportunity to turn this trend around by partnering with ASCD to provide capacity-building professional development and a framework with practical strategies to improve student outcomes.
"We have worked with ASCD over the past two years, and scores have increased dramatically. I have observed more positive problem solving about teaching and learning. Even when our ASCD partners are not in the building, the work continues."
—Patricia Reynolds, Principal,
Intermediate School 73, 70-02 54th Avenue, Maspeth, N.Y.
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Formative Assessment (A major aspect of Race to the Top)
Using Data