Congress Needs to Support Teachers and Leaders to Help Bolster Student Growth and Achievement, Witnesses Tell House Education Panel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress works to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, lawmakers should focus on reforms that will support teachers and leaders, focus on training and development and use all available resources to help ensure every student has access to a highly effective teacher, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. “An investment in teachers is an investment in the future of our students and our country,” said. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “Teachers play an absolutely critical role in shaping our next generation of engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs. If we’re serious about closing the achievement gap, ending the high school dropout crisis, and regaining our global competitiveness, then we have to be serious about supporting teachers.”
Studies show teachers are the single most important factor in determining the success of children in school. School leaders are the second most important factor.
“Students will not do well in school if they are not taught by well-prepared and engaged teachers,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. “At the same time, neither students nor their teachers can succeed unless the teachers are supported by competent administrators who understand not simply the value but also the necessity of collaboration; the environment in which they are asked to learn and teach is safe, appropriately staffed and equipped; and there is shared responsibility—not top-down accountability.”
More than 200,000 students complete a teacher preparation program each year, but little comprehensive data exists on the effectiveness of these programs. Witnesses testified that teacher preparation programs and schools of education need to do a better job to properly train teachers.
“We need to build a system so that all beginning teachers can perform competently from their first day in the classroom, no matter how they enter teaching,” said Dr. Deborah Ball, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan. “Right now, teachers are considered ‘qualified’ simply by virtue of graduating from an accredited program or competing a major in the subject they teach. This sidesteps the real issue, for it relies on poor proxies for teaching effectiveness instead of demonstrated capacity to do the actual work that will help student learn. This is perilous for our students.”
Although professional development is a key component of teacher success, the U.S. lags behind other countries in required teacher professional development. Singapore and Sweden, for example, require teachers to have at least 100 hours of professional development each year. Research shows that in order for professional development to be successful, it must be intensive, ongoing and connected to practice. Just over half of teachers were given time away from regular duties or professional development in the 2003-2004 school year.
Marie Parker-McElroy, an Instructional Coach in the Fairfax County Public Schools testified that “districts – especially those most in need of improvement - can build capacity, and provide time and support to implement effective professional development in all schools. This is the most critical lever available to improve the effectiveness of our teacher workforce, as we continue to seek ways to improve recruitment and preparation.”
In Long Beach Unified School District, where students speak 38 languages and nearly three quarters of students receive free or reduced price lunch, students are achieving at high levels.
Christopher Steinhauser, Superintendent of Schools for the district, explained that these students are succeeding because teachers are supported at every level. “New teachers are not simply left to sink or swim in Long Beach,” said Steinhauser. “They’re supported by new-teacher coaches, and with ongoing training on how to use data to continually improve instruction throughout the school year.”
As Miller and other witnesses also emphasized at the hearing, supporting teachers has to start with ensuring teachers and leaders still have jobs. By the end of this school year, as many as 300,000 may be laid off because of the budget crises facing districts across the country.
Earlier today, Miller joined Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), union leaders and teachers who have been pink-slipped at a press conference to urge Congress to pass legislation that could help support 250,000 education jobs. Miller and Harkin have both introduced bills that would meet that goal. For more information on Miller’s bill, the Local Jobs for America Act, click here.
View witness testimony
View a clip of Chairman Miller at a press conference urging support for teacher jobs
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