Dear Colleague,

In passing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Congress made a commitment to ensuring that every student has a great teacher. States are now preparing to meet the 2005-2006 school year deadline for ensuring that all teachers are highly qualified. I am pleased to report that we are making progress in addressing challenges teachers face in high-need areas.

Over the last year, teacher quality-related activities have been among the most important work that we at the Department of Education have undertaken—from issuing common-sense guidance, to providing technical assistance through the Teacher Assistance Corps, to preparing No Child Left Behind: A Toolkit for Teachers, and the many other activities detailed in this report. In addition, recently announced flexibility policies offer new opportunities for state policymakers and administrators to provide leadership and support teachers. These provisions will help address the unique challenges faced by teachers in rural schools, by science teachers and by experienced teachers who teach more than one subject.

We look forward to continuing our unprecedented partnership with states and institutions of higher education to raise academic standards for teachers, while at the same time working to lower barriers that are keeping many talented people out of the teaching profession. Such a collective effort will help us to continue to support and reward the best and brightest of the nation’s teachers as well as build national momentum toward providing all of our students with the highly qualified teachers they deserve.

This report and the information provided on the accompanying Web site (www.title2.org) meet the requirements of Title II of the Higher Education Act, which created a national reporting system on the quality of teacher preparation. This material provides a wealth of new information about teacher quality in the United States. I hope it also serves as a helpful guide as states, school districts, institutions of higher education and others continue their work to reach our common goal: a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, leaving no child behind.

Rod Paige
Secretary
U.S. Department of Education