ESEA -- Effective Teachers And Leaders Are Key [Or, I Am A Liar]

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StudentsFirst -- along with 25 other organizations -- has signed a letter calling for the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to include measures which will drive toward effective teachers and leaders in every public school.

From the letter:

Research shows overwhelmingly that the only way to close achievement gaps – both gaps between U.S. students and those in higher-achieving countries and gaps within the U.S. between poor and minority students and those more advantaged – and transform public education is to recruit, develop, and retain great teachers and principals.

The diverse group of organizations involved includes: Center for American Progress, National Council for La Raza, Educators 4 Excellence, Connecticut Parents' Union, Students for Education Reform, Teach Plus, California Business for Education Excellence and Democrats for Education Reform.

In the letter, we recommend that all states and districts create teacher evaluation systems that are based on multiple measures including both a state-determined method for measuring teacher impact on student growth and multiple, comprehensive classroom observations every year.

The results of the evaluations must be linked to professional development specifically tailored to teachers' needs and must be used to determine personnel decisions such as hiring, tenure, compensation and dismissal.

In addition, we call for states and districts to ensure an equitable distribution of highly effective teachers and leaders across all schools so that minority and low-income kids have equal access to great teachers and school leaders.

To view the full letter and list of signatory organizations, click here:http://www.edweek.org/media/finaleseaprioritiesteacherquality-blog.pdf