IU centers to establish Center on Teacher Quality to improve outcomes for students with disabilities

  • Jan. 25, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University’s Center on Education and Lifelong Learning and Center on Community Living and Careers will receive funding to establish and operate the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality as part of a federally funded $5 million State Personnel Development grant to the Indiana Department of Education.

In partnership with schools, families, agencies and communities, the Indiana Center on Teacher Quality will seek to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities by ensuring their access to a pre K-12 continuum of instruction from high-quality teachers. The project, co-directed by Sandi Cole and Teresa Grossi, will construct a professional learning framework to support systemic educational improvement throughout Indiana.

Cole directs the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning, and Grossi is the director of the Center on Community Living and Careers. Both are part of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, an Indiana University Bloomington research center. Cole and Grossi are adjunct professors in the IU School of Education.

Project goals and objectives are grounded in the concept of educational equity for teachers and students. The new center will build on and support Indiana’s significant state reform efforts in critical areas such as creating culturally responsive classrooms, transitions to college and careers, and supporting teacher and principal effectiveness.

“The Indiana Department of Education Office of Special Education is thrilled to announce its new partnership with the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community’s Centers on Education and Lifelong Learning and Community Living and Careers,” said Kristan Sievers-Coffer, educational consultant with the Indiana Department of Education. “Both centers combine the unique expertise and deep knowledge of working with schools and communities to welcome, include, educate and support all learners. They have an impressive history of principled, powerful and focused work with schools across Indiana. We are proud to be partnering with these outstanding leaders as we look to improve educational outcomes for all students.”

Project goals include:

  • Increasing the number of high-quality teachers serving students with disabilities by providing job-embedded professional development at the state, regional and district levels.
  • Increasing the number of students with disabilities who have access to a high-quality teacher by improving recruitment, support and retention of teachers who teach students with disabilities.
  • Improving school transitions and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities through partnerships and collaborations among schools, community agencies, higher education and families by aligning the policies and practices of key educational stakeholders across the lifespan.

About the centers: The Center on Education and Lifelong Learning and Center on Community Living and Careers are two of seven centers at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Indiana's University Center for Excellence. The Indiana Institute is a leader in the transfer of research and new knowledge in disability from the university setting to communities in Indiana and nationally. It is overseen and supported in part by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

About the Office of the Vice Provost for Research: The mission of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is to work with individuals, teams, centers, institutes and schools to foster excellence in research and creative activities and to offer support to faculty to successfully compete for external funding. The office provides consultation, proposal development services, competitive internal funding programs and research infrastructure for a wide range of research, scholarly and creative activities.

Related Links

Teresa Grossi

Teresa Grossi

Print-Quality Photo

Media Contacts

Joel Fosha

  • Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
  • Office 812-855-6508
  • foshaj@indiana.edu