Answering the Call for Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Lessons Learned From State-Based Teacher Preparation Efforts in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio - June 2015

Oct 15, 2026

Pressures to strengthen teaching in the United States intensify each academic year, prompting states to show how they will deliver equitable access to effective teachers, not only in well-resourced schools. The report examines state-based teacher preparation efforts in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, describing the need to expand the quantity and quality of teacher education and outlining lessons from the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship’s multi-state, clinically grounded STEM model.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship

The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship Approach

Answering the Call for Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Lessons Learned From State-Based Teacher Preparation Efforts in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio June 2015 Suggested Citation Format Woodrow Wilson Foundation, 2015. Answering the Call for Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Lessons Learned From State-Based Teacher Preparation Efforts in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, Princeton, NJ: The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. © 2015 The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Introduction The pressures to improve teaching throughout the United States increase with each new academic year. A dozen years ago, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) heralded the new era of the “highly qualified teacher.” More recently, in 2014, the U.S. Department of Education called on states to demonstrate how they would ensure equitable access to effective teachers, looking to states to determine how best to put strong teachers in all classrooms—not just in well-resourced schools. This June 2014 letter from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan asked all of the nation’s chief state school officers to provide a specific plan for achieving this, plans due to the U.S. Department of Education this summer. Providing all classrooms—particularly those in high-need schools—with excellent teachers is a national imperative. To answer these calls for qualified and effective teachers, the United States must also improve teacher preparation. The nation's teacher education programs are not producing the quantity or quality of teachers needed, particularly in needed subjects. The future demands we do better. And the only way we can ensure a strong enough pipeline of effective teachers to ensure equitable access is to dramatically increase how states are preparing prospective educators. The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation established the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program in 2007 to take up this challenge. Building on seven decades of experience preparing future leaders to address the challenges facing the United States, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation established a program to recruit, prepare, and support excellent teachers for high-need schools. With a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships provide prospective teachers with the academic preparation, extensive clinical experience, and mentoring necessary to succeed in the classroom. The program is currently offered in five states, in partnership with 28 universities. This multi-state approach has led to the identification of several essential elements for the improvement of teacher education. These shared characteristics include: 1. Focusing on whole states, beginning with the governor and building a statewide, bipartisan coalition of stakeholders; 2. Requiring strong partnerships between universities and school districts as well as between colleges of education and schools of arts and sciences; 3. Establishing accountability mechanisms for participating universities, schools, and Fellows; Answering the Call for Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Lessons Learned From State-Based Approaches in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio June 2015 ▪ 1 4. Creating efficient and effective clinically based yearlong (12–15 months) master’s degree STEM teacher education programs; 5. Demanding high selectivity in student admissions and choice of participating universities and highneed school districts; 6. Mentoring both during the program and for several years after an educator is a “teacher of record”; and 7. Requiring third-party, evidence-based assessment of the program’s impact. To date, the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships have enabled participating universities to create model teacher education programs in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan

FAQs

What challenge does the report focus on regarding teaching in the United States?

It focuses on the need to improve teaching quality nationwide and to ensure equitable access to effective teachers across all classrooms, including high-need schools.

How does the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship support prospective teachers?

It provides academic preparation, extensive clinical experience, and mentoring, with a STEM-focused approach implemented across five states with partner universities.

What shared elements do the participating states use to improve teacher education?

They include statewide coalition building, strong university–district partnerships, accountability mechanisms, efficient clinically based yearlong master’s programs, selective admissions, mentoring during and after service, and third-party evidence-based assessment.

Oct 15, 2026

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