The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced that it is launching a new strategy in the field of teacher preparation.

In a post on its Impatient Optimists blog, the foundation said that under the strategy it will focus its efforts on supporting action-oriented collaboration, innovation, and advocacy aimed at advancing the conditions that enable progress. To that end, the foundation will direct its support to the cultivation and sustenance of teacher prep programs that give candidates meaningful opportunities to develop and refine their skills, commit to continuous improvement, and are informed by K-12 school systems and the communities they serve.

"For many providers, these principles can't be achieved without significant changes," the foundation said in the post. "So they'll need to build a sense of urgency that fosters a climate of innovation — and we'll help them do so. Often this means collaborating with other agencies and organizations and sharing insights and analysis to create new expectations for program completion, teacher licensure, and program approval."