Title II PART A – Improving Teacher Quality

The primary goal of Part A is to increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools.
(Ref: U.S. Department of Education)

(3) Providing professional development activities--

• (A) that improve the knowledge of teachers and principals and, in appropriate cases, paraprofessionals, concerning--
 
• (ii) effective instructional strategies, methods, and skills, and use of challenging State academic content standards and student academic achievement standards, and State assessments, to improve teaching practices and student academic achievement; and
• (B) that improve the knowledge of teachers and principals and, in appropriate cases, paraprofessionals, concerning effective instructional practices and that--
• (i) involve collaborative groups of teachers and administrators;

(5) Carrying out programs and activities that are designed to improve the quality of the teacher force, such as--

• (A) innovative professional development programs (which may be provided through partnerships including institutions of higher education), including programs that train teachers and principals to integrate technology into curricula and instruction to improve teaching, learning, and technology literacy, are consistent with the requirements of section 9101, and are coordinated with activities carried out under part D;

ICT Essentials

ICT Essentials is designed for use by teachers to improve student achievement by improving teacher quality, primarily through improved teaching practices and methodologies using technology and project-based learning. It is a blended solution of Title II, Parts A and D.

ICT Essentials is ideal for cross-curricular integration, which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among teaching colleagues, as well as deepening student learning, understanding, and technology literacy. Consider the following:

• ICT Essentials standards align with Common Core technology-oriented standards, thus providing the means by which teachers may teach these standards in the context of their subject. For example:
• “RH.3.7 – Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.” This CCSS standard appears in 45 Florida middle school courses.
• “WHST.2.6 – Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.” This CCSS standard appears in 89 Florida middle school courses.
• ICT Essentials employs project-based learning strategies for more engaging and deeper learning experiences by students.
• ICT Essentials formative exams provides teachers with data for documenting student learning gains and for adjusting teaching pedagogy based on individual student performance.
• Multi-level activities enable differentiated instruction strategies for engaging all students.
• Infusion of technology is limited only by creativity of the teacher and the student.
• Teacher customizes activities for their subject area.
• Teachers are able to scale activities to appropriate grade and readiness level.
• Professional development perfectly aligned with Title II, PART A.

Title II PART D – Enhancing Education Through Technology

One of the purposes of Part D is to promote initiatives that provide school teachers, principals, and administrators with the capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards, through such means as high-quality professional development programs.
(Ref: U.S. Department of Education)

• (1) PRIMARY GOAL- The primary goal of this part is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.
• (2) ADDITIONAL GOALS- The additional goals of this part are the following:
• (A) To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability.
• (B) To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies.

ICT Essentials

Unlike competing educational products, ICT Essentials provides a three-facet approach to enhancing education through technology: 1) ICT Essentials does NOT replace the teacher in the classroom; 2) ICT Essentials requires students to learn and to use the technology, not just be exposed to it; and 3) ICT Essentials has mechanisms for monitoring student learning gains and progress, and for adjusting activities to fit different student learning styles and readiness. Consider the following:

• Title II mandates access to technology; Professional development provided with ICT Essentials enables teachers to maximize its use.
• By integrating into existing teaching content, ICT instructional materials are scaled by the teacher to the appropriate grade and individual student readiness levels.
• ICT formative exams provide a means of assessing student progress, highlighting specific areas that may require remediation.
• ICT qualifying exams (summative) provide a quantitative measure of student technology literacy achievement for the associated technology.
• Districts have the option and flexibility to define which and how many of the 10 ICT Essentials courses constitute technology literacy for their students.
• Variations in ICT Essentials courses provide multiple alternatives to enable teachers to reach virtually all students.

Title II, Part A: Non-Regulatory Guidance

(Ref: Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, published by U.S. Department of Education)

E-10.   May LEAs use Title II, Part A funds to purchase supplies or instructional materials that are used as part of professional development activities?

• Yes, but only if the expenditures, like any costs paid for by Federal program funds, are reasonable and necessary to carry out these activities. Title II, Part A funds may be used to purchase materials and supplies used in professional development activities, including the materials (such as graphing calculators) that a teacher will need in order to apply the professional development in a classroom setting. However, Title II, Part A does not permit the use of program funds to purchase materials and supplies (e.g., graphing calculators) that, although they may benefit students, are not directly connected to the teachers’ professional development. Other ESEA funds, most notably Title V, Part A funds, may be used to purchase instructional materials or technology for students if the purchases are part of an “innovative assistance program” as this term is used in Title V.