NIET
Recognizing that an effective teacher is the most important school-based factor impacting student achievement, the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) is committed to ensuring a highly skilled, strongly motivated and competitively compensated teacher for every classroom in America. NIET supports states, districts and schools in attracting, developing, supporting and retaining high-quality human capital in order raise achievement levels for all students.
Equipped with a diverse staff experienced in education and business, combined with a broad coalition of school practitioners, NIET seeks to accomplish this mission through two signature initiatives: TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement and the Best Practices Center.
TAP was launched in 1999 as a comprehensive school reform that restructures and revitalizes the teaching profession by providing teachers with powerful opportunities for career advancement, ongoing professional development, a fair evaluation system and performance-based compensation.
Building on more than a decade of experience in implementing teacher effectiveness reforms in schools across the country, NIET created the Best Practices Center to provide services and support to schools, districts and states in developing highly effective educators. These services and support include strategic planning and assistance in the design, development and implementation of teacher effectiveness policies and systems in the areas of educator evaluation, performance-based compensation and school-based professional development, as well as access to innovative tools and resources.
Working together with teachers, administrators, teacher associations, governments, foundations, corporations and other leaders in teacher quality and compensation reform, NIET aims to achieve the goals of Educator excellence...Student achievement...Opportunities for all.
Blanche Lincoln, Former U.S. Senator (AR)
"Teaching is the foundation of our future society and our economy and we should never forget that . . . We need more people to choose teaching and we need to keep the best people we have in the classrooms with our children. TAP is certainly helping to provide teachers with more choices and career opportunities while still allowing them to remain in the classroom . . ."