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Improving Teacher Quality Grants

(Formerly Dwight D. Eisenhower Teacher Professional Development Grants)

This federal program was established to provide grants for colleges and universities to develop and implement workshops for K-12 teachers in the areas of mathematics, science and humanities. The purpose is to establish a collaborative planning partnership between higher education and K-12 education for teacher preparation and continuing professional development. The goal of this program is to increase teacher content knowledge and enhance instructional methodology.

Minority Teacher Education Grants

The Minority Teacher Education Program was established by the state legislature in 1989 to support projects designed to expand the recruitment pool of minorities preparing to be k-12 teachers. Developed jointly by higher education institutions and local school districts, these projects target groups including teachers aides, substitute teachers, military personnel, and college graduates presently not teaching who are interested in entering the teaching profession. Project initiatives must include matching state-appropriated funds with local funds on a one-to-one basis and the establishment of an evaluation model. Request for proposals are sent out every two years. Renewal of funding for each project will be contingent upon the project achieving specified performance benchmarks. Request for proposals are available every other year in mid-December with approximately $212,000 awarded.

Minority Teacher Education Scholarships and Programs

SREB Doctoral Scholars Program

The Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB) Doctoral Scholars Program was developed with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Ford Foundation. It is part of a nationwide initiative, the Compact for Faculty Diversity, to produce more minority Ph.D.’s and to encourage them to seek faculty positions. SREB states share resources, work to expand their minority applicant pool, support qualified candidates with financial assistance for up to five years of graduate study, and assist graduates and higher education institutions in identifying employment opportunities. For more information please contact: doctoral.scholars@sreb.org

Tennessee Institute of Pre-Professionals (TIP)

The Tennessee Institute of Pre-Professionals (TIP) is a cooperative program that is designed to increase the number of African American Tennesseans who enroll in and graduate from state supported professional schools. An outgrowth of the Stipulation of Settlement filed under Geier v. Alexander, each TIP program is divided into two three-tiered summer enrichment programs. The programs are: a legal section, which utilizes the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law and the University of Memphis School of Law and a health sciences section (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy), which utilizes the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences.