Massachusetts has been named one of five recipients nationwide that will receive a $4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Commonwealth will use the funds for educator preparation programs, officials said.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced
Thursday in a statement that the money will be utilized over three years to launch “Elevate Preparation: Impact Children,” a program to enhance first-year teachers’ performance to the equivalent of third-year teachers by 2022.

Through the program, the department will work with the state’s 71 initial teacher preparation programs to “deepen the quality of and extend teacher candidates’ training in the field,” the statement said.