Delta Research & Educational Foundation Receives Major Grant to Support Teacher Efficacy

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2014  — The Delta Research and Educational Foundation (DREF) has recently received a major program grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a new initiative on teacher efficacy and student achievement.  A matching grant in the amount of $450,000 has been awarded to DREF for its Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign, a three-year collaboration that focuses on enhancing teacher preparedness to result in greater successful academic performance of students.  The grant will be matched by DREF and will provide the funds necessary to conduct the nationwide initiative on teacher efficacy.

Dr. Alison J. Harmon, president of DREF observed that the Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign has a multi-faceted approach, including a Delta Teacher Efficacy Academy where educators will receive training, an advocacy component to engage all key stakeholders in this effort, and publishing a scholarly journal to document findings and vital strategies to enhance teacher effectiveness. “Realizing that the most important variable in the equation of student academic achievement is the teacher, our teacher efficacy campaign supports the position that the academic success of students is achieved through effective teaching,” stated Dr. Harmon, an educator.

The Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign will support teachers serving students of color as it considers the key findings of the Measures of Effective Teaching research project conducted by the Gates Foundation.  DREF focuses on ensuring that 80 percent of students will graduate from high school with the knowledge and academic preparedness needed to complete college by 2025.

The Delta Research and Educational Foundation is a 501 © (3) entity, which promotes research, and identifies and fashions solutions to issues affecting African American women and their families, nationally and globally. For more information on the grant and DREF, visit www.deltafoundation.net.

SOURCE Delta Research and Educational Foundation