Named the Pacific Coast Teacher Innovation Network (PacTIN), the three-year program will support teams of three to five teachers from Del Norte to Ventura Counties, and inland to Solano and Yolo Counties.
Up to $720,000 will be provided by the California Postsecondary Education Commission under the auspices of its Teacher-Based Reform Initiative. In addition to two-year teacher grants, the funding will support management of the competitive application process, fiscal oversight and a research program led by Jeffrey White, director of the Humboldt Science and Mathematics Center, and Chris Hopper, HSU’s associate dean of professional studies.
“The grants will support creative and innovative efforts in our schools that build on the knowledge and skills of teacher team members,” White said. “By linking professional development to classroom activities, coupled with high quality, teacher-led reform efforts, this project will foster systemic, long-lasting impacts on student achievement.”
Hopper said research findings suggest that teacher-driven efforts “are very effective and sustainable in the long run. This program will foster the training and activities that teachers deem most important to enhance achievement among their students.”
Humboldt State President Rollin Richmond said the initiative will provide a new avenue for the university and its partners to assist elementary, middle and high school teachers to bolster the educational development of learners who are potential future college students.
“The teachers will decide what it is they would like to do and what they think will have an impact in their classrooms,” added Joanne Bookmyer, project leader at the Cooperative Research and Extension Services for Schools Center at UC Davis.
The partnership is designed for broad impacts across a substantial part of California. A companion effort, the Teacher-Initiated Inquiry Project hosted at UCLA’s Center X, supports teachers in the Los Angeles region.
Full information about PacTIN and the competitive applications process is available from the Humboldt Mathematics and Science Center at www.humboldt.edu/~hsmc. The center is also home to the Redwood Science Project.