BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Congressman Jim Costa announced Friday that a US Department of Education grant totaling $2,472,170 has been awarded to California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) for the California Partnership for Teacher Quality Programs.

Funding was made available through the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants Program.

“Improving education in our Valley is a top priority for me. Providing money to sharpen teaching skills will lead to smarter students in our classrooms that graduate with the skills to excel in college and in a competitive job market,” Costa said. “This partnership between CSUB, selected state universities and both Kern and Tulare Counties is an ideal way to provide teachers in our Valley with the support they need to continue to improve their teaching quality. These funds are Kern County taxpayer dollars coming back to our Valley to strengthen our schools and universities. I am looking forward to seeing the results of this partnership.”

CSUB, California State University, Monterey Bay, Cal Poly, The Tulare Office of Education, and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools with 16 high-need schools within 10 high-need local education agencies proposed the California Partnership for Teacher Quality Program (CCP~TQP). This program will ground teacher quality improvement with a bold vision for reform of teacher education driven by research-bases clinical experiences. Also, the programs will have a continuous clinical core for integrating content preparation with effective, empirically-based instructional strategies that improve student achievement.

CCP~TQP will provide a two year induction experience and mentoring for new teachers in partner schools. In addition, new programs in science, math and special education will be developed that have a highly effective pattern of program completion.