A Great Teacher for Every Child: John Kerry's New Bargain for America's Children and TeachersOn May 6, The John Kerry for President Campaign released the following fact sheet, regarding John Kerry's New Bargain for America's Children and Teachers Every American is grateful that we have teachers who despite all the hardship sent their way, do their best to get our kids prepared for life. Whether it's a teacher who takes the time to sit with a child eating all alone in the cafeteria or a teacher who realizes that a child cannot read because the child's family never owned a book-teachers make a difference in America every single day. Unfortunately, too many in Washington, D.C. and the states act like teachers do not matter. Despite research showing that good teachers are the single biggest contributor to good schools, teachers all too often do not get paid like professionals, do not get the support they need and do not get rewards for success. John Kerry knows that good teachers are vital to building a stronger America, and that is why his "New Bargain for America's Children and Teachers" will recruit or retain 500,000 teachers over the next 4 years. Working together with parents, principals, and communities across America, John Kerry will offer teachers and children a new bargain. The new bargain will offer teachers more- providing better pay and preparation-and will ask for more in return-requiring high standards and rewarding results for our children. Offering Better Pay, Preparation, and Support... Recruit Teachers by Raising Pay Where We Need Teachers Most: Kerry's plan will recruit quality teachers for high-need schools and for subject areas like math and science by offering pay hikes of at least $5,000. He will also establish a new teacher corps for recent college graduates. Retain Teachers Through Better Preparation and Support: Kerry's plan will support mentoring that pairs veteran teachers with new teachers and set up career ladders that increase responsibility for successful teachers. Kerry will also increase accountability for good preparation at colleges of education. Involve Parents and Teachers Together: Kerry's plan will use technology to connect parents and teachers and support involvement initiatives like parental responsibility contracts and parent- teacher coordinators. Requiring High Standards and Rewarding Results for Our Children Require Rigorous Tests for All New Teachers: Certification tests for new teachers are often too simple, and the bar for success is often too low. Kerry will invest in a national initiative to determine the right high standards for tests and require states receiving federal funds to implement tests with these standards. Ensure Schools Can Replace Teachers Who Perform Poorly: While teachers deserve protection from arbitrary dismissal, no teacher deserves a lock on a job. John Kerry will require states to develop or maintain fast, fair procedures for improving or replacing teachers who do not perform on the job, such as establishment of "inadequate performance" as a ground for dismissal. Reward Teachers for Excellence in Teaching Our Kids: Kerry believes that teachers should be rewarded for demonstrating more skill or better results. His plan will offer increased pay and responsibility to teachers who excel, using measures that include improvements in student performance. Support and Reward Schools that Turn Things Around: Rather than just criticizing, schools that aren't working, Kerry will help turn those schools around. He will offer special funds for improvement initiatives like bringing in teams of expert teachers and principals. When schools turn around, Kerry will offer new rewards. John Kerry's new bargain will invest $30 billion over 10 years in our teachers and children. The new bargain for teachers and children is a part of Kerry's commitment to fully fund No Child Left Behind. It is paid for within his Education Trust Fund, a $200 billion commitment to education that is financed by repealing George Bush's tax cuts for families making more than $200,000. Kerry's "New Bargain for America's Children and Teachers:" A GREAT TEACHER FOR EVERY CHILD, A NEW BARGAIN FOR AMERICA'S CHILDREN AND TEACHERS Every American is grateful that we have teachers who despite all the hardship sent their way do their best to get our kids prepared for life. Whether it's a teacher who takes the time to sit with a child eating all alone in the cafeteria, or a teacher who realizes that a child cannot read because the child's family never owned a book - teachers make a difference in America every single day. Teachers can't do it alone-they need help from parents, principals, and communities. But research has shown that the good teaching is the single most important contributor to a good school. And teachers can have a major impact on closing the achievement gaps related to race and income that persist in our society. Today government too often acts as though teachers don't matter at all. We don't pay teachers like professionals, we don't do enough to encourage their excellence, and we don't do enough to ensure that every teacher in the classroom belongs there. It's no wonder that too few of our most talented young people choose to become teachers, and too many of our most talented teachers leave the classroom early. The losers are our children. In recent years, several bipartisan commissions have studied the teaching profession. The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, chaired by Jim Hunt, North Carolina's former Governor, has recently emphasized the recruitment crisis in teaching. In January, the Teaching Commission, chaired by former IBM chairman Louis V. Gerstner, made a series of sweeping recommendations to "attract and retain the best teachers in our public schools." A NEW BARGAIN FOR AMERICA'S CHILDREN AND TEACHERS Building on those commissions' recommendations, John Kerry today announces his New Bargain for America's Children and Teachers, offering more to America's teachers and asking more in return. As part of his commitment to fully fund No Child Left Behind, John Kerry's new bargain will recruit or retain 500,000 teachers in the next four years and double federal resources for teacher quality with a new commitment of $30 billion over the next 10 years. This is what John Kerry will offer: -- Recruit great teachers by raising pay where we need them the most, as well as scholarships and loan forgiveness through a new teacher corps; -- Retain teachers through better preparation and support, including holding schools of education accountable for improved results, and offering more mentoring on the job; and -- Increase parental involvement using new technology and proven successes. This is what John Kerry will ask: -- Require all new teachers to pass rigorous entry tests; -- Require fair, fast procedures for improving or replacing teachers who do not perform; -- Require greater pay for teachers who excel in participating schools, including excellence that is demonstrated through improved student performance. -- Provide more support for schools to turn around and more rewards when they do. WHAT JOHN KERRY WILL OFFER: BETTER PAY, PREPARATION AND SUPPORT Recruiting Great Teachers By Raising Pay Where We Need Them Most We will need more than two million excellent teachers over the next 10 years, including 700,000 in urban areas alone. Yet right now, teachers without even a minor in math or a math-related field are assigned to teach in over one-third of high-school math classes-one half of those classes in high poverty schools. The shortage is greatest in the poorest schools, where classes are 77 percent more likely to be taught be out-of-field teachers than classes in more affluent schools. John Kerry will: Raise Pay for Teachers Where We Need Them Most. Compared to other professionals with comparable education, teachers earn $8,000 less when they begin teaching and $23,000 less after 15 years. The impact of these disparities is greatest in two areas: in troubled schools, where teachers ought to earn more but often earn less; and in shortage subject areas like math and science, where we are failing to recruit enough new teachers. The Kerry Plan will require participating states to: -- Offer at least a $5,000 raise to teachers in high-need schools, with a bonus for National Board certified teachers or other proven high performers. -- Offer at least a $5,000 annual bonus to teachers who fill shortages in subjects such as math and science. Create a New Teacher Corps with Scholarships and Loan Forgiveness. John Kerry will offer young people who excel in school a new deal: If you will spend at least four years teaching America's children at a high-need school, we will offer you scholarships or loan forgiveness that are enough to pay tuition at a public university. John Kerry will also provide comparable support for midcareer professionals, such as veterans or engineers, to join the Corps. In addition to traditional certification programs, Corps members will be able to become teachers through high-quality alternative certification, such as passing rigorous tests plus intensive student teaching and on-the- job mentoring by successful teachers. Retaining Teachers with Better Preparation and Support Today, about one third of new teachers leave the profession sometime during their first three years, and almost half leave during the first five years. The turnover rate is highest in low- income urban schools, and is getting worse across the board. The costs of high turnover, in dollars and in lost learning, are incalculable. Improve Preparation by Raising Standards at Colleges of Education. Some education schools provide excellent training, but some have low standards and inadequate curricula. One reason is that universities often treat education schools as sleepy backwaters rather than flagships, using their tuitions to fund other university priorities. Teachers are at least as important to our future as doctors, lawyers, or business people, and their schools deserve the same commitment and quality. John Kerry will: -- Require fuller and better reporting of how well graduates do on teacher certification examinations, how many teach in high need schools, how long they remain teachers, and how well they perform in the classroom as their careers progress. -- Require states to develop standards for rating the performance of schools of education in teaching and training successful teachers, and, after an appropriate period, withhold funds from schools that do not meet the minimum standard. -- Challenge universities to commit to teaching-creating more links between colleges of arts and sciences and schools of education, and promoting careers in teaching for top graduates. Offer Teachers More Mentoring and Career Opportunities in the Classroom. Teachers need better professional support and opportunity. According to recent studies, the number one reason that new teachers quit is that they feel isolated, overwhelmed, and unsupported. Mentoring programs succeed, but there aren't enough of them. In addition, even successful teachers are often performing essentially the same tasks on their first day at work and their last. It's a striking contrast with careers such as medicine, business, and law, where professionals who gain more expertise advance toward greater responsibility and share their knowledge with others. Under John Kerry's plan, states will: -- Establish high-quality, multi-year mentoring programs that pair new teachers with experienced, excellent teachers, in the same subject area whenever possible; -- Establish career ladders that enable teachers to become "mentor teachers" who work with new teachers and then "master teachers" who evaluate other teachers in peer review and become professional development leaders within schools. Teachers would be selected for movement up the ladder based on rigorous criteria including the quality of their instruction. Recruit and Train Excellent Principals. A great principal is one of the most important investments needed to create a great school-and an important part of recruiting, attracting, and retaining great teachers. Yet the attrition rate for elementary school principals was 42 percent between 1988 and 1998, and it is expected to remain at least as high today. Under John Kerry's plan, states will recruit and train principals in every low- performing or high-needs school district, with accountability for principals along the lines of the teacher provisions outlined today. The plan would also help talented individuals from business and the military become school leaders. Involve Parents in Schools Parents are our children's first teachers and their most important role models, and schools will always be more successful when parents accept responsibility for their children's education. John Kerry will require states to: Use Technology to Connect Parents and Teachers. John Kerry will offer states resources to give teachers a voicemail and an email where they can be reached by parents, and to set up websites where teachers can post students' homework assignments on line. He also supports extension of more computer and broadband access to low-income families to close the technology gaps that too often translate into learning gaps. Support Parental Responsibility Contracts and Other Innovative Approaches. John Kerry will create an incentive fund to support successful parental involvement initiatives, ranging from contracts that show the roles that both parents and teachers play in schools, to parent-teacher coordinators, to outreach to immigrant parents. WHAT JOHN KERRY WILL ASK: HIGH STANDARDS AND REWARDS FOR RESULTS Require Rigorous Tests for All New Teachers. Today teachers in most states must pass tests before becoming certified, but all too often, the tests are too simple and the required passing scores are too low. John Kerry will invest in a national initiative to determine appropriate standards for certification tests, require open and public reporting of each state's standards and pass rates, and in time, require states receiving federal teacher quality funding to implement tests with these high standards for all new teachers. Ensure Schools Can Replace Teachers Who Perform Poorly. While every teacher should have protection from arbitrary dismissal, no teacher should have a lock on a job. This is a matter of fairness for children and for the great majority of teachers who do their work well. As Randi Weingarten, leader of New York City's teacher's union, recently said, "Teachers want to help struggling teachers improve, or if need be, help remove those who don't belong in the classroom. (They) don't want to see incompetent or otherwise unqualified teachers in the classroom next door to them." While protecting due process, John Kerry will require states to maintain fast, fair procedures for improving or replacing teachers who do not belong in the classroom. Although the appropriate approach will vary by state, examples of positive changes include: -- Setting out "inadequate performance" or "failure to meet performance standards" as grounds for dismissal, as Massachusetts and fewer than 15 states have now done. -- Shortening the amount of time for reviews of decisions to remove ineffective teachers. Reward Teachers for Excellence, Including Their Students' Increased Achievement. Under the pay schedules established early in the last century, most teachers cannot earn higher pay by demonstrating more skill or better results in the classroom. The salary structure "fails to reward excellent teaching," as the Teaching Commission has put it. John Kerry is committed to reforming this system. Through his Great Expectations Fund, school districts in which administrators and teachers' unions come together in agreement will receive funding to: -- Establish plans for teachers to earn greater pay based on their knowledge, skills, demonstrated ability, and measurable results in improving students' achievement. Results will be rewarded for both whole schools and individual teachers. Such systems will be transparent and open, and will consider increases in achievement during the period of instruction. Limited support will be offered to help match broad-based pay increases. -- As part of this initiative, provide mentoring, career ladders, and support for new principals along the lines above; in addition, use data on teacher effectiveness to improve performance throughout the entire school. Require Accurate Data on Teacher Quality and Performance. Today, the Department of Education is failing to obtain consistent data from states on the number of teachers who are "highly qualified." As a result, we do not have a sound picture of states' progress toward putting a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. To honor the law, John Kerry's Department of Education will collect accurate and reliable data on teacher quality, including the distribution of highly qualified teachers in the state. Support and Reward Schools that Turn Things Around. When No Child Left Behind labels schools as "needing improvement," George Bush's Education Department seems more interested in criticizing these schools than helping them. Children are the losers. Kerry's plan will establish a "Great Strides Fund" under which states will: -- Receive additional funding to turn around schools needing improvement. States can use these resources to support proven measures such as teams of successful teachers and principals who enter schools, diagnose problems, and help implement solutions. States could also offer bonuses for top teachers, such as National Board Certified teachers or other proven high performers, to work full-time in these schools, and could introduce more challenging, research-based curricula. -- Offer a new deal to schools that aren't succeeding: if they can turn around their performance, they will receive additional funding that can be used to give bonuses to all teachers at those schools, or for other priorities like reducing class size. HOW JOHN KERRY'S NEW BARGAIN WILL WORK John Kerry has already committed to create a $200 billion National Education Trust Fund, with part of the savings from rolling back the Bush tax cuts for families making more than $200,000. As part of that commitment, and as part of his commitment to fully fund No Child Left Behind, he will provide $30 billion over 10 years for teacher quality. With the $30 billion, he will establish four funds for the initiatives outlined above: -- Great Teachers Fund. States will be eligible for a share of $15 billion in grants based on the number and percentage of high- need children. If States do not participate, school districts will be able to apply. States (or school districts) accepting these funds will be required to undertake the recruitment, retention, and parental involvement efforts outlined above (to the extent state activities), as well as requiring rigorous tests for all new teachers and ensuring fair, fast procedures for improving or removing teachers who do not perform. The major funding priority will be raising pay where we need teachers most. -- Great Expectations Fund. School districts will also be eligible for a share of $9 billion in grants based on the number and percentage of high-need children. To qualify for these grants, school districts must, working with teachers' unions and principals, offer pay to teachers based on skills, knowledge, and student achievement. -- Great Strides Fund. States will be eligible for a share of $5 billion in grants based on the number and percentage of high- need children and the number of schools not progressing properly. States will allocate these funds to schools for state-identified activities that support schools to improve performance and reward them for doing so. -- Additional Federal Activities. In addition to the state programs
outlined above, John Kerry will provide $1 billion for a new teacher
corps, new accountability for schools of education, and better
data collection. Additional funding will be provided through his
Service for College initiative |
