National Council on Teacher Quality
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is a nonprofit organization that "advocates for reforms in a broad range of teacher policies at the federal, state, and local levels," according to its website. In particular, NCTQ supports "a more market-sensitive approach to the structure of the profession, in order to encourage a more equitable distribution of the finest teachers to the schools that need them the most and in the subject areas that are particularly difficult to fill." [1]
According to the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General report on Department PR expenditures in fiscal years 2002 through 2004, NCTQ and the Oquirrh Institute received $677,318 in 2003 - 2004, to "increase the American public’s exposure and understanding of the research and full spectrum of ideas on teacher quality." In 2005, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education called the NCTQ grant into question because a) it had been approved although two out of three reviewers had recommended against approving it; b) it was unsolicited; and c) NCTQ president Kate Walsh had run op eds without a legally required EDGAR disclosure.[2]
Contents
History
The National Council on Teacher Quality was started in 2000 with nearly half a million dollars, according to its federal tax return[3]. In 2001, it received a $5 million two-year grant from the Department of Education[4] to found an organization that would compete with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for teaching certification. The National Council on Teacher Quality founded this organization, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE), in partnership with an organization called the Education Leaders Council.
In 2004, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence became its own nonprofit organization, and in 2005, NCTQ president Kate Walsh resigned from the board of the ABCTE amid controversy.[5][6][7]
However, the NCTQ has continued to push for alternative routes to teacher certification and other corporate education reform policies such as a restriction on teacher seniority using a variety of methods:
- In 2005, the NCTQ began publishing evaluations of teacher preparation programs.[8]
- Since 2006, the NCTQ has been producing the State Teacher Policy Yearbook, which compares states on policy issues that the NCTQ advances. Some key policy issues they promote include basing 50% of teacher's evaluation on "evidence of student learning," which in practice means student performance on standardized tests. Another is whether states allow alternative routes to teacher certification.[9]
- In 2007, the NCTQ launched a national "Teachers Rules, Roles and Rights" database that allowed users to district policies from 50 school districts. The project was funded by the Gates Foundation.[10] This database has now grown to cover more than 100 districts in all 50 states. It is sponsored by the Gates Foundation.[11]
- Since 2009 and 2001, the NCTQ has been providing analyses of "human capital" policies in several school districts and working with school districts to influence collective bargaining agreements.[12] Districts include Kansas City, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Hartford, Connecticut.
- Currently, the NCTQ is collaborating with US News and World Report on a report "grading" teacher preparation programs. The $3.6 million project is funded by foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation and the Broad Foundation.[13]
Funding
Partial list of grants
According to Media Transparency, NCTQ has received funding from: [14]
- Smith Richardson Foundation
- $75,000 in 2001, to provide "up-to-date information to policy makers and school administrators about how they can assess the performance of teachers"
- $75,000 in 2002, for "Improving Teacher Quality Through Innovation and Information"
- $125,000 in 2003, to "convene a conference and commission research that will examine approaches to training and licensing teachers"
- Fordham Foundation
- $25,000 in 2000, in support of program development for 2000
- $105,000 total in 2001 "in support of promoting a commonsense strategy for boosting teacher quality"
- $26,107 in 2002
- $30,000 in 2003, to support the Teacher Research Laymen's Guide project
- $30,000 in 2004, for general operations
- $30,000 in 2005, to support development of the State Policy Yearbook
Total funding
The National Council on Teacher Quality tax returns[15] list the organization's total income as follows:
Year Amount 2000 473,579 2001 1,523,636 2002 2,627,307 2003 3,189, 982 2004 1,911,527 2005 561,483 2006 791,032 2007 1,442,127 2008 1,822,320
List of funders in 2011
The following organizations funded the NCTQ in 2011:[16]
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education
The Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation
The Abell Foundation
The Bower Foundation
The Edythe and Eli Broad Foundation
The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
The Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation
The Osa Foundation
Personnel
Personnel in 2011
The Board of Directors in 2011[17] is:
Barbara O'Brien, Chair
Clara M. Lovett, treasurer
John L. Winn, vice-chair
Kate Walsh (US), president
The 2011 advisory board[18] includes:
Steven J. Adamowski, Superintendent , Hartford Connecticut Public Schools
Michael Barber, Partner and Global Head of Education, McKinsey & Company
Roy E. Barnes, Partner, The Barnes Law Group
Cynthia G. Brown, Director of Education Policy, Center for American Progress
David Chard, Dean, School of Education and Human Development, Southern Methodist University
Andrew Chen, President, EduTron
Celine Coggins, Founder and CEO, Teach Plus
Paula S. Dominguez, Rhode Island House of Representatives
Jo Lynne DeMary, Director, Center for School Improvement , Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Feinberg, Founder, KIPP
Michael Goldstein, CEO and Founder, The Match School, Massachusetts
Eric A. Hanushek, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution
Joseph A. Hawkins, Senior Study Director, Westat
Frederick M. Hess, Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Paul T. Hill, Director, Center for Reinventing Public Education
E.D. Hirsch, Author and Founder, Core Knowledge Foundation
Michael Johnston, State Senator, Colorado
Barry Kaufman, President, BK Education Consulting Services
Frank Keating, President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers
Martin J. Koldyke, Founder and Chairman, Academy for Urban School Leadership
Wendy Kopp, CEO and Founder, Teach For America
Tom Lasley, Executive Director, EDvention
Amy Jo Leonard, Teacher, Turtle Mountain Elementary School, North Dakota
Deborah McGriff, Partner, NewSchools Venture Fund
Ellen Moir, Executive Director, New Teacher Center
Robert H. Pasternack, Vice President, Voyager Expanded Learning
Michael Podgursky, Professor, Dept. of Economics, U. of Missouri-Columbia
Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO, StudentsFirst
Stefanie Sanford, Director, US Program Policy & Advocacy, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Daniel Willingham, Professor, University of Virginia
Suzanne Wilson, Professor and Chair, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University
The staff in 2011[19] is:
- Tami Anderson, research assistant
- Kathleen Bolles, comptroller
- Sarah Brody, policy analyst
- Emily Cohen, district policy director
- Graham Duke, team leader
- Pat Giles, office manager
- Julie Greenberg, senior policy analyst
- Sandi Jacobs, vice president
- Arthur McKee, managing director
- Chase Nordengren, team leader
- Laura Pomerance, policy analyst
- Robert Rickenbrode, director
- Priya Varghese, policy analyst
- Kate Walsh (US), president
Earlier personnel
According to their website, NCTQ staff include: [20]
- Kate Walsh (US) - president
- Jess Castle - policy analyst
- Michael O'Neal - writer
- Lisa Barry - research fellow
- Tess Mullen - research fellow
- Colleen Hale - graphic designer and web manager
The NCTQ board of directors includes: [21]
And the NCTQ advisory board includes: [22]
- Dr. Steven J. Adamowski
- Governor Roy E. Barnes
- Alan D. Bersin
- Lawrence S. Braden
- Cheryl Ellis
- Michael Feinberg
- Ronald F. Ferguson
- Eleanor Gaines
- Michael Goldstein
- Eric A. Hanushek
- Dr. Frederick M. Hess
- Dr. Paul T. Hill
- Dr. E.D. Hirsch
- Jan Hungate
- Jason Kamras
- Governor Frank Keating
- Lisa Graham Keegan
- W. Michael Kelley
- Dr. Paul Kimmelman
- Martin J. Koldyke
- Wendy Kopp
- Hailly Korman
- Dr. Deborah McGriff
- Dr. William Moloney
- Dr. Robert H. Pasternack
- James A. Peyser
- Michael Podgursky
- Michelle Rhee
- Felicity Messner Ross
- Stefanie Sanford
- Kim Smith
- Dr. Lewis C. Solmon
- Thomas Toch
- Joseph Wilson
Contact Information
National Council on Teacher Quality
1225 19th Street NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202 222-0561
Fax: 202 222-0570
Email: info@nctq.org
Website: http://www.nctq.org
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
References
- ↑ "What We Do", accessed 2005 or 2006.
- ↑ Department of Education report
- ↑ [http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/043/043536571/043536571_200212_990.pdf The 2002 990 tax return
- ↑ United States Government Accountability Office, "Discretionary Grants," February 2006.
- ↑ Bess Keller, "Upheaval Hits Teacher-Credentialing Board", Education Week, October 19, 2005.
- ↑ Donald C. Orlich, "Follow the money, taxpayers," The Spokesman Review', February 5 2005, page B5. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V2hWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7PIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4907,2619535&dq=national-council-on-teacher-quality&hl=en
- ↑ Department of Education Office of Inspector General "Review of Department Identified Contracts and Grants for Public Relations Services," Department of Education, issued September 1, 2005.
- ↑ Ed Schools, NCTQ, accessed April 5, 2011.
- ↑ 2010 State Teacher Policy Yearbook, accessed April 5, 2011
- ↑ http://www.prweb.com/releases/teacher/quality/prweb522971.htm
- ↑ Sponsors, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2011.
- ↑ School Districts and Teachers Unions, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2011.
- ↑ Trip Gabriel, "Teachers’ Colleges Upset by Plan to Grade Them," New York Times, February 8, 2011.
- ↑ Recipient Grants, Media Transparency, accessed April 5, 2011.
- ↑ The 2002 Form 990 tax return and [http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/043/043536571/043536571_200909_990.pdf The 2009 Form 990 tax return
- ↑ Our Funders, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2011.
- ↑ Board of Directors, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2001
- ↑ Advisory Board, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2011
- ↑ Staff, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed April 5, 2011
- ↑ Staff, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed 2005 or 2006
- ↑ Board, National Council on Teacher Quality, accessed 2005 or 2006
- ↑ Advisory Board, accessed 2005 or 2006
External resources
- Department of Education Office of Inspector General, "Review of Department Identified Contracts and Grants for Public Relations Services" (ED-OIG / I13F0012), issued September 1, 2005; available in MS Word (432K) and PDF (214K) formats.
- Greg Toppo, "Report: Education Dept. funds need monitoring," USA Today, September 3, 2005.
- American Board for Certification of Teaching Excellence
- Media Transparency
- United States Accounting Office Report
