A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
President Clinton's Call to Action for American Education in the 21st Century
Talented Teachers in Every Classroom
Every community should have a talented and dedicated teacher in every classroom and at least
one master teacher certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in every
school. Our most promising young people also must get encouragement and support to become
teachers.
This nation faces several challenges in sustaining and upgrading the quality of our teachers. Two
million teachers will be needed over the next ten years to replace retirees and accommodate
rapidly growing student enrollment. This presents an enormous opportunity for ensuring teacher
quality well into the 21st century, if we recruit promising people into teaching and give them the
highest quality preparation and training.
As we demand higher levels of knowledge and skills from our students, we must honor and
support our teachers in the classroom today, equipping and expecting them to help our students
master the basics and be prepared for college, employment, and good citizenship. Without
quality teachers and teaching, our most serious efforts to raise standards and improve schools
will not succeed.
Everyone has a role to play in helping our teachers become the best in the world. Parents,
schools, community leaders, universities, state leaders--and most important, current and future
teachers themselves--can take many steps to address this challenge.
- Identify and reward our most talented master teachers. For many years, many
educators, led by North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt and the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards, have worked hard to establish nationally accepted
credentials for excellence in teaching. More than 500 of these master teachers have been
certified since 1995. Under the President's budget, 100,000 more teachers over the next 10 years will be able to
seek certification from the National Board as highly accomplished master
teachers--enabling at least one teacher in every school to get certification from this
board. States, school districts, and the private sector can also establish rewards for master
teachers and other excellent teachers they identify in such ways as through teacher-of-the-year competitions. School districts can call on these master teachers to become mentors
for other teachers.
- Do more to challenge talented young people and mid-career professionals in other
areas to become teachers and help them make the transition into a teaching career.
Communities can start middle and high school academies for students interested in becoming teachers, and states
can establish centers for teacher recruitment that bring promising students into teaching.
States can make it financially easier for young people to teach in high-need areas through
fellowships and loan forgiveness programs. School districts can make sure that
beginning teachers get support and mentoring from experienced teachers. The Clinton
Administration proposes to change the tax law so that more students can use community or public service to repay their student loans without owing tax. It will continue working to make college and teacher preparation more
affordable for young people who go into teaching.
Teacher Recruitment--Starting Early
School districts and universities can work together to create middle and high school programs that expose young people to the teaching profession. For example, the South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment has reached thousands of academically talented high school juniors and seniors through its Teacher Cadet Program, offered in more than 140 schools statewide. Teacher Cadets study education and have the opportunity to teach younger students under the tutelage of both school and university faculty. The center also targets minority middle school students, encouraging them to take rigorous courses in school and aspire to a career in teaching.
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- Reinvent teacher preparation for
beginning teachers and improve professional
development for more experienced
teachers so they get the training
they need to help students master
the basics and reach high standards
in the core academic areas.
Colleges, universities and school
districts must provide current and
future teachers ongoing, sustained
opportunities to learn how to be more
effective and upgrade their skills. The
Clinton Administration has supported
their efforts by increasing funding
that may be used for sustained
professional development, stronger
teacher standards, and performance
evaluation for teachers. The
Eisenhower Professional
Development program, Goals 2000,
and the National Science Foundation's Teacher Enhancement Program also provide
substantial support for high-quality professional development.
- Expand efforts to help teachers become technology literate and to use technology to
improve training available to teachers. The President's technology initiatives will play
a major role in helping teachers to become technology literate. For example, the
President's Technology Challenge Grant program supports private-public sector
partnerships to develop models for using technology in education, such as providing
"electronic field trips" for new teachers to learn from expert teachers and mentors around
the country. Moreover, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund will leverage public
funds to target school districts and schools committed to helping teachers integrate
technology into the classroom. Finally, the 21st Century
Teachers initiative will recruit thousands of technology literate teachers to upgrade their
knowledge and help at least five of their colleagues learn how to use technology in the
classroom.
- Set high standards to enter teaching and find ways to help--or quickly and fairly
remove--teachers who don't measure up. School districts and teachers can help start
and participate in peer assistance programs where they help identify, and then provide
intensive assistance to, burnt-out or low-performing teachers. School districts can
develop fair and faster processes for holding teachers accountable and assisting or
removing teachers who are not making the grade. Educators and communities should not
look the other way if a teacher is burned out or not performing up to standard. The
Clinton Administration will share promising strategies for recruiting talented young
people and others into teaching, rewarding good teachers, and quickly and fairly
improving or removing teachers who don't make the grade. The Administration also will
provide guidance to schools, districts, and states on how existing federal funds can be
used to address these challenges.
Upgrading Teacher Skills: An Award Winning School
The Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, in Manhattan, Kansas, was established as a "professional development school" where current and future teachers can go for assistance in upgrading their skills and knowledge in math, science, and technology. The school helps teachers understand the widely acclaimed math standards developed by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, and prepares them to help students meet or exceed these standards. At the school, student test scores on the Kansas Mathematics Assessment Test have improved for the past three years, including especially strong gains for girls. The school recently was one of five schools to win a national award from the U.S. Department of Education for its efforts to give teachers the skills they need to help students succeed.
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Last Updated -- April 1, 1997, (pjk)