| Notes |
Realizing that sufficient numbers of quality teachers would never emerge from current education practices, Lowell Milken launched TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement in 1999 as a comprehensive research-based means to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly effective teachers for America's schools. Creating powerful and sustained opportunities for career advancement, professional growth, instructionally focused accountability and performance-based compensation, TAP's proven system impacts more than 200,000 teachers and 2.5 million students, and is growing each year. The Lowell Milken Family Foundation currently funds the Lowell Milken TAP Founder's Award, which is presented annually at the National TAP Conference to a TAP school that has fully implemented all of the elements of TAP with great distinction, a school that is achieving student and teacher advancement, and a campus that serves as a role model for TAP best practices and leadership in the region, state and the nation. The award carries a financial prize of $50,000.
Spurred by TAP's rapid growth, proven results and increasing demand, Lowell Milken established the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) in 2005 as an independent public charity to support and manage TAP nationwide. NIET actively partners with states, districts and schools to ensure TAP's effectiveness and sustainability in a wide range of urban, rural and suburban schools across America. The NIET Best Practices Center brings innovative services, support and solutions to schools, districts and states to improve educator effectiveness. Based on over a decade of experience in teacher quality initiatives in schools across the country, the Best Practices Center works with states, districts and schools to design powerful teacher evaluation systems, deliver job embedded professional development, implement performance based compensation systems based on multiple measures and train teacher leaders in schools. |