Arizona Teacher Excellence Plan (AzTEP)
In 2003, Arizona was awarded a total of $8,174,800 in federal discretionary grant dollars to assist underserved schools in their efforts to develop a corps of highly qualified teachers. The AzTEP grant awards sub-grants of a maximum award size of $80,000 to qualifying schools at the 9 sites across Arizona. These sites were chosen in a competitive RFP process during the spring of 2004 and the first grants were awarded in the fall of the 2004-2005 school year. The nine sub-grantees are Window Rock Unified School District, Chinle Unified School District, Tuba City Unified School District, Indian Oasis/Baboquiveri School District, San Carlos Intermediate School, Salt River Pima High School, Mexicaytol Charter School, Phoenix Elementary Lowell School, and Somerton Middle School.
AzTEP is a three-year U.S. Department of Education Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant which is currently in its fourth year of an approved no cost extension. Following the Governor's Tribal Summit on Education in March 2003, the Governor's Office collaborated with the Arizona Department of Education to develop the Arizona Teacher's Excellence Plan (AzTEP). The goal of this project is to develop a corps of highly qualified teachers to staff Arizona's underserved schools on Arizona's Indian reservations and previous Federal Enterprise Communities. AzTEP funds are allocated towards the costs of implementing prescribed programs through partnerships. There are four partners involved in the grant: The Arizona K-12 Center, The Arizona Department of Education, ASSET (ASU), and the Northern Arizona University College of Education. Sheila Murphy and Associates are the grant evaluators. The Arizona K-12 Center manages the grant in conjunction with the Governor's office. Together, the Governor's Office and the Arizona K-12 Center work with partners and sub-grantees to fulfill the objectives under AzTEP.
AZTEP's Objectives:
Retention of New Teachers: To address issues of high teacher turnover rates at many of these under-served schools, first and second year AzTEP teachers are required to participate in an induction program developed by the Arizona K-12 Center. This induction program is based upon research compiled by the Arizona K-12 Center that shows approximately one-third of new teachers leave the profession within the first two years. Many attribute their departure due to isolation and reality/culture shock. In order to alleviate some of the most basic issues confronting these new teachers, the K-12 Center provides training for Master Teacher Mentors to work with the newest members of the profession in these communities. Mentors are selected using the Governor's Master Teacher program.
Retention of Existing Teachers: The retention of existing teachers is addressed through several required components: the Master Teacher Program is designed to recognized exceptional teacher excellence in the classroom, in which the individual must commit three years to serve and provide mentoring services to other teachers. Additionally, the National Board Certification program is a performance-based assessment through which candidates demonstrate in-depth content knowledge and teaching practices. Participating teachers will join a Pre-Candidacy class and a cohort of teachers as they pursue National Board Certification.
In the Arizona Department of Education's Professional Development Leadership Academy (PDLA), participating teachers and administrators build dynamic and innovative strategies that are reflected in their Professional Development Plans. The teachers develop new and enhanced leadership knowledge and skill through various training opportunities. Under the guidance of their mentors, teachers at the sites develop Individual Professional Development Plans based upon the work they have done in the PDLA teams. ADE offers online professional development opportunities through Arizona School Services through Education Technology (ASSET). ASSET membership services include online and face-to-face professional development opportunities, a streamed video library, and access to a variety of web-based resources and lesson plans through the ASSET Education Portal.
Recruitment of New Teachers: To address concerns of teacher recruitment, schools have the option of recruiting aspiring teachers through the funding of their education through Teacher Quality Education scholarships.
Improved Data Collection: The fourth objective of AzTEP centers on improved data collection. Collected data will provide AzTEP schools, the Governor's Office, and ADE with information regarding the correlation between professional development activities, increases in the number of highly qualified teachers, and improved student achievement scores.
