The Teaching and Leadership Center (TLC), established in June 2001 under the leadership of Dr. Robert Parks, is a collaborative initiative joining the forces of Florida Atlantic University, Broward Community College and the School Board of Broward County, Florida in an effort to meet the challenge of attracting, developing, and retaining qualified, competent educators for the schools in our community.

TLC is demonstrating promising results by addressing gaps identified by data on the supply and demand for teachers. Innovative efforts to increase the teacher pool include:

• Recruitment and training of recent non-education graduates and mid-career professionals to enter the teaching profession.

• Procurement of grant funds to enhance professional development of teachers and school-based administrators.

• Development of programs at the middle and high school levels to encourage students to choose teaching as a career.