Teach Plus statement commending President Barack Obama on his teacher preparation announcement:
“Today President Obama laid out an imperative to dramatically improve teacher preparation in the US. Teach Plus applauds the President for recognizing the critical need for excellent, rigorous teacher education programs,” said Dr. Celine Coggins, founder and CEO of Teach Plus. “The right preparation is integral to both great teaching and effective student learning. Just last week, nine Teach Plus teachers led a Congressional briefing on teacher preparation. They spoke about the need to prepare teachers for the realities of the classroom; the value of mentorship and clinical experience, and the need for better data on how a program’s teachers do in the classroom so that teacher candidates will have the information they need to make an informed decision about which program to attend. Our teachers are grateful that they have had the opportunity to collaborate with the Administration on its efforts to improve evaluation, assessment and equity and we are confident that President Obama and Secretary Duncan will once again listen to teachers when it comes to the new federal teacher preparation regulations. We thank the President for his leadership and call on him to involve teachers every step of the way throughout the process of revamping our nation’s teacher preparation system.”
