Teacher Advocacy
Great teachers make great schools
Teachers are at the center of education. They are critically important to the success of our young people and stand as some of the most influential people in our lives. In the October 2009 release entitled "Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers," we highlight the significant contributions teachers make for their students and communities.
This report, created in partnership with Phi Delta Kappa International, documents a day in the life of eight teachers. Although coming from different parts of the country and teaching different subjects in different kinds of schools, each of these teachers is bonded in their desire to "improve [our] society" and the "need to take care of our human resources." Each of their stories embodies their joys and frustrations, as well as their take on education policy issues that affect them directly. "Teachers Are the Center of Education" brings the ongoing debates about teachers and education to the classroom level.
Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers
(.pdf/1.6MB) Requires Adobe Reader.
To raise public awareness of the need for highly effective teachers in our schools and support teachers in their critical work, College Board Advocacy released the report "Teachers and the Uncertain American Future" in July 2006. The report addressed the country's impending teacher crisis and provided a set of recommendations for supporting the profession and improving recruitment and retention.
Five areas were identified as needing improvement:
- inadequate salaries
- unprofessional working conditions
- a crisis in mathematics and science teaching
- lack of diversity in the teaching profession
- and rigid pathways into teaching
“The most successful school innovations rest on the time, talent, and skill of teachers. These are the people who make everything else possible, including all the other professions.”
—From "Teachers and the Uncertain American Future"
Teachers and the Uncertain American Future
(.pdf/713K) Press release, July 2006:
Nation Still "At Risk": Call for a New Compact Between America and Its Teachers, Starting with Immediate Salary Increases
Since the report's release, a multi-pronged initiative has been launched to help teachers, elevate the status of the teaching profession, and improve teacher quality, recruitment, and retention.
Read the latest National Staff Development Council (NSDC) policy newsletter