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WASHINGTON, DC -- A national task force on public education today issued a report with a series of recommendations for strengthening the nation’s public schools, including recommendations for improving teacher quality.
Representative George Miller, the senior Democrat on the House education committee, praised the task force – “Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future” – for its work. Miller, a leader in Congress on the issue of teacher quality, introduced legislation earlier this year aimed at attracting highly-qualified teachers to poor, hard-to-staff schools and keeping them there for a long career. He issued this statement on the task force’s report today:
“I am pleased that the ‘Renewing Our Schools’ task force has made improving teacher quality one of its key recommendations in this new report. Many educational leaders and experts have said that boosting teacher quality is vital to improving our schools, and this report is the latest example of that. Inside the school, teacher quality is the single most important factor in determining a child’s academic success. If we want to close the achievement gap and ensure that every single child is proficient in reading and math, then we must have excellent teachers in all of our classrooms.
“The reality is that we are facing a serious teacher shortage in the coming decade, and the only way we will solve it is by giving teachers the respect, support, and resources that they deserve and need to do their jobs. I have offered legislation that would, among other things, increase pay for teachers who choose to teach in hard-to-staff schools or subject areas; set up teaching career ladders and enhance teachers’ professional development opportunities; and provide up-front tuition assistance and education loan forgiveness for students who choose a career in teaching.
“If children are to meet their full potential, they will need the best teachers. Getting a highly-qualified teacher into every classroom is a serious task and should be a top priority.”
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