MetLife Foundation Supports Collaborative Leadership in Education With $3.8 Million in Grants

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Educators, policymakers and the public have strong and varied views about how best to assess effective teaching and strike the proper balance between individual and collective responsibility. In response to strong feedback from teachers and principals in a recent national survey, MetLife Foundation has awarded $3.8 million to encourage collaborative teaching and school leadership as strategy for increasing student achievement.

According to the recent MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Collaborating for Student Success, a clear majority of both teachers and principals (67% teachers, 78% principals) strongly agree that greater collaboration among teachers and school leaders would have a major impact on improving student achievement. "Survey research is not just about asking, but also about listening," said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We are pleased to respond by supporting a group of effective national organizations that encourage collaboration to increase success in classrooms and schools nationwide."

The organizations and the work supported through the grants include:

• Asia Society – Partnership for Global Learning, New York, NY, which will continue the development of a network of educators, schools, and policymakers committed to increasing global awareness through effective classroom teaching and learning, connecting educators internationally through its "Learning with the World" initiative.
• College Summit, Washington, DC, which will focus its attention on principals as well as teachers, counselors and students to help schools build cultures of college-going, to increase the numbers of disadvantaged students who prepare for, access, and succeed in college.
• Center for Teaching Quality Hillsborough, NC, which will leverage its national, virtual network of highly successful teachers to share and move to action a vision for teaching and learning in the 21^st Century, developed by its innovative TeacherSolutions 2030 initiative.
• Developmental Studies Center, Oakland, CA, which will work with partner districts to provide teachers with efficient ways to collaborate to strengthen teaching and learning for all students using innovative methods of lesson study.
• Learning Forward, Dallas, TX, (formerly the National Staff Development Council), which will expand assistance to states, districts, schools, and educators to develop cultures of collaborative teaching and leadership in schools, including a revision of its influential Standards for Staff Development and related materials.
• New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz, CA, which will lead the National Network for Teacher Induction to develop, test, refine, and share best practices for nurturing beginning teachers in collaboration with selected school districts and educators nationwide.
• National Association of Elementary School Principals, Alexandria, VA, which will encourage schools, principals and teachers to develop innovative approaches to strengthen parent and community involvement and draw on community resources to increase global awareness through its Sharing the Dream initiative.
• National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, VA, which will continue through the NASSP-MLF Breakthrough Schools program to identify, recognize, and share lessons of leadership from schools with high need that are successfully sustaining gains in student achievement.  
• New Leaders for New Schools, New York, NY, which will expand its EPIC Knowledge system to identify, document, and share through innovative multi-media case studies effective leadership strategies in schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students.
• School Leaders Network, Hinsdale, MA, which will enhance its model of expert facilitation for principal-to-principal leadership development in partnering communities focused on increasing student achievement in low-income, urban schools.

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation supports education, health, civic and cultural organizations. In education, it seeks to strengthen public schools through effective teaching and leadership, and to prepare students for access to and success in higher education, particularly the crucial first year. The Foundation's grantmaking is informed by findings from the annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher. For more information visit www.metlife.org.

SOURCE MetLife Foundation