More Resources Teacher-to-Teacher e-Learning

Pennsylvania will accept the U.S. Department of Education's No Child Left Behind Teacher-to-Teacher e-Learning courses as credit toward the state's recertification and "highly qualified teacher" requirements, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today. On behalf of Secretary Paige, the Department's Carolyn Snowbarger made the announcement at an event in Homestead to demonstrate the program to Pittsburgh-area teachers and administrators.

Launched in October as part of its continuing effort to support classroom teachers, the Department's e-Learning program offers teachers on-demand professional development training to meet a variety of educational needs and improve student achievement.

"Pennsylvania's approval of the e-Learning courses for credit will be a real benefit to the state's teachers in their efforts to earn and maintain their teaching credentials," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "Teachers can take advantage of these in-depth, quality, professional workshops for free and at any time that fits into their busy schedules. The courses will be particularly useful to the state's urban and rural areas as they strive to place highly qualified teachers in all classrooms."

In the fall, Secretary Paige offered schools an opportunity for a demonstration of the e-Learning courses. More than 500 schools responded. The demonstrations will show how teachers, schools and school districts can tailor the program to meet their unique needs for helping students learn to high standards. Designed for elementary and secondary school teachers and offered either online or via satellite TV, the workshops cover a variety of subject areas, from reading instruction to science and mathematics, and are taught by teachers who have had success in those areas.

The e-Learning program is part of the Bush administration's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, which helps educators share best practices for putting research about effective teaching to work in the classroom. The initiative includes regional workshops, a national summit, American Stars of Teaching, roundtable discussions with teachers about the support they need to meet the academic needs of their students, a teacher toolkit and electronic "e-byte" updates to provide useful information to teachers. Pennsylvania teachers can also receive credit for participation in the initiative's workshops.

The No Child Left Behind Act is the bipartisan landmark education reform law designed to change the culture of America's schools by closing the achievement gap among groups of students, offering more flexibility to states, giving parents more options and teaching students based on what works. Under the law's strong accountability provisions, states must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students, including those with disabilities, achieve academically.

More information about the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, workshops and No Child Left Behind is available at www.ed.gov.

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