Four-Year Grant Will Support Implementation of Teacher-Led School Turnaround Initiative at Three Indianapolis Public Schools
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, April 10, 2014 – Students at the Washington Irving, Clarence Farrington, and Riverside schools in Indianapolis will have a better chance at success this fall thanks to a partnership between the Indianapolis Public Schools, the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation and Teach Plus. Teach Plus, a national non-profit that puts teacher leaders at the center of school and system-level reform, is the recipient of a $1 million grant from the Lilly Foundation to support the implementation of T3: Turnaround Teacher Teams Initiative (T3) at these three Indianapolis Public Schools. The four-year grant will enable Teach Plus to place and support 24 experienced, high-performing teachers in cohorts at the schools, with recruitment for the teacher leader positions already underway. Program criteria and applications are available at www.teachplus.org.
“The T3 initiative, the first program nationally to place experienced, effective teachers at the center of school turnaround efforts, has proven successful in both raising student achievement and providing a pathway for excellent teachers to stay in the teaching profession. We are grateful to the Lilly Foundation for recognizing this program’s potential for Indianapolis Public Schools and helping us empower teachers to improve outcomes for all students,” said Dr. Celine Coggins, CEO of Teach Plus.
“Giving high-need students access to excellent teachers is the best way to close the achievement gap and ensure our students succeed in school and beyond,” said Dr. Lewis Ferebee, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools. “I join the students, parents and faculty at Washington Irving, Clarence Farrington, and Riverside schools in wholeheartedly welcoming the T3 program onto our campuses and into our classrooms.”
“The Lilly Foundation is committed to raising the educational attainment level and quality of educational experiences for all of Indiana’s children. We at the Foundation believe that the T3 initiative is an effective way to ensure that high-needs students in Indianapolis have access to some of our best teachers and look forward to seeing the program grow in our city,” said Rob Smith, President of the Lilly Foundation. Smith noted that the Lilly Foundation grant will be paid over four years, with the final two installments driven by the achievement of milestones regarding teacher retention and student achievement.
Designed by teachers, T3 addresses the problem of inequitable access to high-performing teachers in the highest need schools, and is founded on the premise that empowering exceptional teachers is the key to improving our nation’s schools. The initiative places a critical mass of experienced, effective teachers in low-performing schools. T3 teacher leaders come into the program with an average of nine years of teaching experience and commit to the three-year turnaround program. The teachers are trained to become leaders in the turnaround process and empowered to take on leadership roles to accelerate improvement school-wide. The initiative began in Boston in 2010 as a partnership between Teach Plus and Boston Public Schools. It has since grown to include 10 T3 schools in three school districts in Massachusetts and three schools in Washington D.C. T3 will expand to eight new schools in the 2014-15 school year including two in Boston, three in Washington D.C. and three in Indianapolis.
About Teach Plus
Teach Plus aims to improve outcomes for urban children by ensuring that a greater proportion of students have access to effective, experienced teachers. Teach Plus runs three programs designed to place teacher leaders at the center of reform: Teaching Policy Fellows, the Teach Plus Network, and T3: Turnaround Teacher Teams. The programs focus on demonstrably effective teachers who want to continue classroom teaching while also expanding their impact as leaders in their schools and in district, state and national policy. Since its inception in August 2009, Teach Plus has grown to a network of more than 17,000 solutions-oriented teachers in six major cities across the country. www.teachplus.org
About Indianapolis Public Schools
Indianapolis Public Schools strives to be the flagship in innovative urban education, preparing all students to be successful in the global economy. IPS, one of Indiana’s largest school districts, offers the broadest range of magnet and option programs in the state. Among other exciting learning opportunities, international baccalaureate, performing arts, and various career-specific and college readiness programs are available to all students. IPS operates 60 schools, serves over 30,000 students and employs over 6,000 employees. The evolution of the district continues; and a new direction is being charted. Learn more about the new IPS by visiting www.myips.org.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.
