The office of the Director of the Yale National Initiative will coordinate the provision of assistance in various forms to League Institutes and to cities that are exploring, considering, or planning a new Teachers Institute. All requests -- including requests for materials, site visits, visits to League Institutes, and assistance in other ways -- should be made to the Director. Any requests that League Institutes may receive will be forwarded to the Director for reply.

Site Visits

The Director will organize site visits to be made from the League to participating cities. Cities that submit a Declaration of Intent to apply to plan a Teachers Institute will receive a site visit from the League as soon as possible after receipt of the Declaration. Cities implementing a new Teachers Institute also will receive a site visit. There will be a standard protocol for such visits, as well as the identification of particular topics the team should pursue on each site visit. The team will be composed of experienced seminar leaders and Fellows from different Institutes who are especially well qualified to address questions of special interest to the site. The protocol for site visits will be based on the experience of the National Demonstration Project.

Institute Material

The Director will compile from League Institutes and will review for consistency with the Teachers Institute Approach any documents that participating sites may request including local curriculum unit guidelines, program schedules and brochures, and descriptions of the role and responsibilities of various Institute positions from director to school representative to seminar leader and coordinator.

Visits to League Institutes

The Director may arrange for Representatives of participating cities to visit League Institutes, when requested and convenient, and will develop guidelines for the appropriateness of such requests. These guidelines will stress that the main purposes of visiting a League Institute are to observe seminars and to visit schools where Fellows are teaching Institute-developed curriculum units. It would be inappropriate for a participating city to ask to meet with university and school officials during such visits.

Teams of Colleagues

Each League Institute will develop a Team of Colleagues who are especially well qualified and interested in assisting with the National Initiative. The Director will provide each League Institute guidelines for the necessary experience and expectations for Team members. Team members will be expected to become versed in the Manual on the Teachers Institute Approach, evaluations of the National Demonstration Project and of individual Institutes, and questions that are likely to arise on site visits.

Fund Raising

The Director will coordinate fund raising when it may prove advantageous for the League to work together on research, approaches, and proposals