Bloomington, Ind.- Indiana University’s Center on Education and Lifelong Learning has received funding to continue the work of the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality as part of a federally funded $6 million state personnel development grant to the Indiana Department of Education, Office of Special Education. Indiana was one of only five states to receive funding in this award cycle. The grant will focus on rural Indiana schools and communities.

"Our partnership with the Indiana Department of Education spans over three decades and we are honored to continue this partnership with a new opportunity to focus on rural Indiana school districts," said Sandi Cole, director of the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning, one of seven research centers at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. "The grant aligns well with our mission and vision for schools; to ensure equitable access for all students to high quality instruction."

Through this grant, the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality will work to:

• Increase the number of teachers delivering high-quality instruction to students with disabilities in the general education classroom through job embedded professional development at the state, regional and district levels;
• Maintain and increase the number of licensed special education teachers with improved recruitment, support and retention of teachers for students with disabilities;
• Increase the capacity of school leaders at the school and district level to develop, implement and sustain inclusive practices through systems of support implemented through the framework of implementation science; and
• Increase support for families of students with disabilities through effective partnerships that support teacher development and student and school improvement.

Established in 2016, Indiana Center on Teacher Quality partners with families, agencies, and communities to improve educational outcomes for students with and without disabilities by ensuring access to a PreK -12 continuum of instruction from high-quality teachers. Using the principles of implementation science, Indiana Center on Teacher Quality creates a professional learning framework to support systemic educational improvement throughout the state.

This work builds on, and supports, Indiana’s significant state and local reform efforts already underway in critical areas such as teacher growth and development; instructional effectiveness; improved early care and early childhood education; and developing systems of support for school improvement.