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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
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| SEPTEMBER
25, 1998 10:45 AM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: AFT / NEA Celia Lose of the American Federation of Teachers, 202-393-6356; or Melinda Anderson of the National Education Association, 202-822-7230 |
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| AFT/NEA Presidents Call for Partnerships to Strengthen Teacher Quality | ||||
| WASHINGTON
- September 25 - Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association (NEA), and
Sandra Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), today called on
their members across the country to forge partnerships in their communities to strengthen
America's teaching force. Both spoke at the opening of a national conference on teacher
quality that the two unions are sponsoring. Calling teacher quality "an integral concern of professional unionism," Feldman said. "We have to make the improvement of teaching as much the business of the union as negotiating contracts and filing grievances." "Today's teachers face new demands and challenges," Chase said. "Because of rising expectations about what students should know and be able to do, breakthroughs in research on how children learn and the increasing diversity of the student population, teachers need to expand their knowledge and skills to increase student achievement." Addressing the participants, Chase and Feldman outlined the nationwide problems with teacher shortages and emergency teaching credentials, as well as research showing that teacher quality is one of the most powerful influences on student learning. Noting that teacher unions alone cannot improve teacher quality, both union presidents urged their members to work cooperatively with school boards, administrators, elected officials, parents and community colleges and universities to improve the quality of teaching. Conference participants will include teams of teachers, school board members, school superintendents, elected officials, parents, higher education faculty and others from more than 80 communities across the country. The conference is designed to enable these district or state teams to develop specific plans to help promote teacher quality when they return home. Conference topics include: -- Encouraging teachers to go through the process of certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards -- Creating peer assistance and review programs -- Providing professional development to advance learning -- Strengthening teacher education -- Raising standards for teacher licensure -- Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers. Other speakers at the conference include Richard Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education, and Linda Darling-Hammond, executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. Feldman noted that many conference participants were already working on teacher quality initiatives back home, but she called on union members to "work harder than ever before" on the issues. She said, "Because we came to teaching for only one reason -- to help children learn and grow -- we are fierce fighters on their behalf. We know that without unencumbered access to good teachers in a free, high-quality school, our children -- especially our most vulnerable children -- will have no future." Chase urged conference participants to pay particular attention to the needs of new teachers. "Many districts talk about putting a qualified teacher in every classroom, but in reality, too often there is a sink-or-swim policy for new teachers. The trouble with this approach of course is that when the teacher sinks, so do his or her students." Every new teacher, Chase said, should be assigned an experienced and trained mentor teacher. "We should also provide them with intensive professional development -- as much as 20 percent of a new teacher's schedule -- tailored specifically to the needs of new teachers," he said. Note: Additional information on the conference is available on a special website: http://www.teacherquality.org. ------ The American Federation of Teachers represents 985,000 teachers, school support staff, higher education faculty and staff, healthcare professionals and state and municipal employees. The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.4 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. -0- |
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