Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 1.djvu/686

 106 STAT. 654 PUBLIC LAW 102-325—JULY 23, 1992 existing mathematics and science teachers and recruit women and underrepresented minorities as teachers in these fields; "(8) educators must have the expertise and the support tiiat allow them to adapt to the changing environment in our schools and to the evolving skills required of our schools' graduates; and "(9) the Federal Government plays an essential role in providing support to educator training and professional development that will enable teachers to be classroom leaders and administrators to be school leaders at the forefront of reforming our Nation's schools. "(b) PURPOSE.— It is the purpose of this title— "(1) to provide assistance to our Nation's teaching force for the continued improvement of their professional skills; "(2) to provide assistance for professional development activities enabling teachers, school administrators, and institutions of higher education to work collaboratively to improve educational performance through school reform and restructuring; "(3) to address the Nation's teacher shortage, particularly in areas where there are heavy concentrations of low-income students, by encouraging talented persons, including the individuals already employed as school paraprofessionals and individuals who have been employed in otiier areas of endeavor, to enter the teaching profession; "(4) to encourage academically qualified students to become teachers through scholarship assistance; "(5) to support the recruitment of underrepresented populations into teaching careers; "(6) to provide scholarship assistance to encourage women and minorities who are underrepresented in the fields of science and mathematics to enter the teaching profession in these fields; ''(7) to encourage the establishment and maintenance of programs that provide professional teacher preparation to individuals who are moving to careers in educationfi*omother occupations; "(8) to promote partnerships between institutions of higher education and 1OC£LL educational agencies for the purpose of promoting the simultaneous restructuring and renewal of elementary and secondary schools and college-based teacher education programs; "(9) to improve the leadership and administrative skills of elementary and secondary school administrators; "(10) to provide assistance to schools of education in institutions of higher education in order to reform teacher education programs by encouraging new developments in teacher preparation which provide for greater integration of subject matter and pedagogical training and which prepare classroom teachers to effectively meet changing noneducatLonal challenges in the schools; and "(11) to promote high quality child development and early childhood education specialist training programs, including preschool and early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

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