WPLLC > Policy Expertise > Higher Education > Teacher Education

Teacher Education

The preparation and training of the nation's teacher force is one of the most critical elements to improving education and ensuring American competitiveness in the global economy. It is also one of the few investments policymakers and advocates from both sides of the aisle agree makes a crucial difference in student achievement. Because members of Washington Partners, LLC have experience teaching students of all ages, WPLLC provides the unique combination of practitioner knowledge with "inside the beltway" legislative and policy knowledge.

The recruitment, training and retention of teachers (from pre-K through university professors) is at the forefront of the political and policy discussions in the implementation and reauthorization of every major piece of education legislation including Head Start, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Higher Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act.

WPLLC serves a number of clients whose primary interest is in professional preparation and professional development for teachers, including institutions of higher education that prepare educators, teacher educators and teachers associations for a range of disciplines.

Specific areas of WPLLC's teacher education expertise include:

• Accountability for teacher education programs
• Capacity building and the use of data in institutions of higher education
• Use of instructional practice that is grounded in scientifically-based research
• Shortage areas, particularly in the areas of special education and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education
• Highly qualified teacher requirements
• Recruitment strategies
• New teacher induction policy
• Teacher professional development