Title II, Part A, Supporting Effective Instruction

Our mission is to provide technical assistance, support and program monitoring to local education agencies in support of Title II, Part A for the purpose of increasing student academic achievement through improving the effectiveness of teachers, principals and other school leaders.  

​Title II, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides supplemental resources to school districts to support systems of support for excellence in teaching and leadership. The purpose of the Title II, Part A grant is to:

• Increase student achievement consistent with challenging state academic standards,
• Improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals and other school leaders,  
• Increase the number of teachers, principals and other school leaders who are effective in improving student academic achievement in schools, and 
• Provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals and other school leaders.
  

Some allowable uses of Title II, Part A funds include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide professional learning activities that improve the knowledge and effectiveness of teachers, principals and superintendents
• Recruit, hire, and retain highly effective teachers and principals
• Teacher advancement initiatives that emphasize multiple career paths
• Establish induction and mentoring programs
• Provide professional learning, course work and exams to assist educators in efforts to become highly effective
  

Program Requirements:

• Districts must conduct an assessment of local needs for professional learning and hiring.  There should be a clear connection between identified needs and Title II, Part A activities.
• Districts must ensure that teachers, paraprofessionals, principals and other relevant school personnel, and parents collaborate in the planning of all Title II program activities.
• Title II, Part A activities must be: 

1. Aligned with state standards
2. Based on a review of research; and 
3. Designed to have a substantial, measurable, and positive impact on student achievement

• Districts must target funds to schools that:

1. Have the lowest proportion of highly effective teachers;  
2. Have the largest average class size; or 
3. Are identified as a priority or focus school

• Districts must ensure that all professional learning activities are coordinated with other federal, state and locally funded professional learning.
• Districts shall use Title II, Part A funds to develop and advance teacher effectiveness.

Equitable Distri​bution of Teachers

An important step in closing the achievement gap for all students is to implement strategies to ensure that every student has the same opportunity to be taught by highly qualified and effective teachers regardless of which school they attend.  Equitable distribution of teachers and students means identifying teacher strengths and talents and placing them to best meet the needs of the students. 

High Quality Professional Learning

The professional learning includes activities that:

• Improve and increase teachers' knowledge of the subjects they teach and enable teachers to become Highly Qualified
• Are an integral part of the school and district improvement plans
• Are high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused
• Are ongoing not just a 1 or 2 day workshop or conference
• Advance teacher understanding of effective instructional strategies that improve teacher practice
• Are evaluated for effectiveness of implementation​
  

For more information on high quality professional learning, please visit:

• Professional Development Standards webpage​ 
• Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning webpage.

District Title II coordinators can use the documents and resources on this page to assist in the implementation and oversight of the Title II, Part A program.  Please return to this site for additional news and updates.

​