Education Law

Improving teacher quality

The New American Foundation?s Federal Education Budget Project (FEBP) unveiled a new online guide dedicated to giving a complete overview of the current  15 federal programs devoted to teacher development and training initiatives. The guide breaks down the programs in detail, complete with the specific appropriation of funds.

The President?s budget for FY2011 would consolidate a number of these federal programs and revise or terminate others. The anticipated reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) could further revise programs regarding teacher quality.

BoardBuzz will be monitoring the potential changes in federal funding and authorizing bills in order to keep school board members informed of how emerging policy could affect them. The existing programs detailed by the FEBP?s guide seems like a step in the right direction towards improving and rewarding teacher quality. What arguments can be made against allocating funds to give teachers more training and compensation for increased performance? Obviously critiques of the process of teacher evaluation are warranted, but in BoardBuzz?s mind it makes sense to reward more effective teachers with more money, especially when teachers have the option of professional development available and the incentive based pay programs have the simultaneous approval and support of the members of their respective school districts.

To learn more about issues involving teacher quality, check out NSBA’s advocacy resources on teacher quality.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on July 09, 2010 (boomark / email).