FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The UA College of Education and Health Professions has welcomed educator Donna Gordy as the new director for the Teacher Advancement Program, a national education reform model program housed in the college and serving 14 schools in Arkansas. Implementation of the program in Arkansas has been made possible through a partnership of the college, the Milken Family Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

"Donna Gordy brings extensive experience as a teacher and administrator in Arkansas schools," said college dean Reed Greenwood. "Her research, focused on academically distressed schools, will be particularly valuable in her work with the Teacher Advancement Program."

Gordy served in Arkansas elementary schools in Hamburg, Montrose, Huttig, Dumas and Van Buren before earning her doctorate in educational administration from the University of Arkansas in 2002. She has studied early literacy learning in academically distressed schools and has made presentations nationally on leadership in education, accountability strategies and the No Child Left Behind Act.

Gordy was principal of Rena Elementary School in Van Buren when she first investigated the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). From the beginning, she believed it was "exactly the model to reform education."

"Rena Elementary has been a TAP school for three years now, and it is one of the highest performing schools in the state," Gordy said. "From my experience, I am convinced that the TAP model is applicable in all types of schools. It offers the structure necessary to develop a strong leadership team and allows us to reward those teachers who take on increased responsibilities."

The Teacher Advancement Program applies business principles to education and offers teachers the opportunity to progress in their profession without being forced to leave the classroom. Schools that adopt the model feature collaborative working relationships among teachers and opportunities for increased responsibilities and pay.

Fourteen Arkansas schools have joined the program from Lincoln, Little Rock, Nettleton, Rogers and Van Buren school districts. Gordy's goal is to expand the Teacher Advancement Program into other areas of Arkansas.

"I grew up in Lake Village, and that area is near and dear to my heart," Gordy said. "It is personally exciting to think of bringing the TAP model to tackle the challenges facing Delta schools."

The Teacher Advancement Program was introduced by Lowell Milken of the Milken Family Foundation in 1999 as a way to retain excellent teachers in the schools by making teaching a highly rewarding career choice. According to the Milken Family Foundation, a study of their initial demonstration schools in Arizona showed significant achievement gains in the first two years of implementation.