Education Law Should Give Teachers Tools, Time and Trust

Saying "teachers can't do it alone," AFT president Randi Weingarten urged Congress to view the pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as an opportunity to provide more support for teachers and students. ESEA should "help ensure that teachers have the tools, time and trust they need to succeed, including offering teachers and students an environment that sets everyone up for success," Weingarten said in testimony on April 15 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Weingarten's testimony described a comprehensive approach to high-quality teaching that includes better education programs for teacher candidates, stronger induction programs for new teachers and ongoing professional development for all teachers. She also repeated her call for more rigorous teacher evaluations and urged Congress to include in ESEA a pilot program to help school districts develop collaborative, transparent and fair teacher development and evaluation systems.
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(Inside the AFT 4/19/10)