On Path to Self-Sustainability, Non-Profit ABCTE's Initial Grant Draws to Close

Less than eight years after being founded via a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the non-profit American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) has announced that the organization’s initial grant has drawn to a close and that ABCTE has reached a financial position that will allow them to continue to operate without requesting an extension of these government funds.

"I am pleased to announce that, as our initial grant draws to a close, we have achieved a financial position that will allow us to continue to grow the number of ABCTE states and teacher candidates," said ABCTE President David Saba. "Based upon our ability to control costs and increase revenue, ABCTE is on pace to become self-sustaining within four years."

In September 2001, the National Council on Teacher Quality received a $5 million two-year grant from the United States Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Education to begin the project that was to become ABCTE. That initial grant was followed in 2003 by a five-year, $35 million award.

To-date, ABCTE has recruited over 7,500 potential teachers into its rigorous, self-paced program and more than 1,700 certifications have been issued. With the recent additions of Missouri (2008) and Oklahoma (2009), nine states now accept ABCTE teaching certification for employment in their public schools. In 2010, the organization is forecasting 1,100 certifications on a budget of $4.5 million or $1,116 per candidate enrolled.

"Going forward, our cash reserves will fund any difference between our enrollment fees and our costs. Despite our achievements, future assistance in the form of donations will allow us to grow our program further. Any private funding we obtain will be essential to ensuring we keep our enrollment fees low, maintain the quality of our resources and expand ABCTE to new states," explained Saba.

"We now stand on our own as an organization, grateful for the grant money that helped us get to where we are today," said Saba. "This milestone is a testament to the tireless work of the dedicated team at ABCTE, our friends in the education world, legislators who see the limitless value in ensuring every student has a great teacher and the countless groups and individuals throughout the country who believe in the importance of our program. We look forward to continuing to live up to our mission to recruit, prepare, certify and support more teachers for America’s schools."

ABCTE
The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence is a non-profit organization, dedicated to recruiting, preparing, certifying and supporting dedicated professionals to improve student achievement through quality teaching. ABCTE offers an innovative teacher preparation and certification program for highly knowledgeable individuals who want to change careers and become teachers. For more information about ABCTE, please visit www.abcte.org.