Capitol Hill Briefing on Dec. 11; Defining Teacher Quality: How States and Schools are Responding to No Child Left Behind 12/8/2003
From: Nancy Coleman, Stephaan Harris or Karen Conner, 202-775-8810, all of the Economic Policy Institute News Advisory: The federal No Child Left Behind Act mandates school systems to have highly qualified teachers in every classroom. What is a "highly qualified" teacher, and how can we ensure an adequate supply? On Thursday, December 11, Congressman George Miller and the Economic Policy Institute will sponsor a briefing that will shed much-needed light on these issues. As demonstrated in EPI's latest education report -- Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes by Jennifer King Rice -- teacher quality proves to be the most important school-related factor in how well students learn. A panel at the briefing will also detail the struggles and success of various states and school systems, which are working to ensure they can produce and keep quality teachers. Leading the discussion will be four nationally recognized experts on teacher quality and training: -- Jennifer King Rice, Author of Teacher Quality as well as a University of Maryland professor and EPI research associate, will discuss the key findings of her research report on teacher quality. -- Ted Stilwill, President of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Director of Education for the State of Iowa, will discuss his state's promotion of advanced teaching skills through a skill-based pay system for teachers, and professional development efforts. -- Eric Hirsch, Senior Director for Policy at the Southeast Center for Teaching Quality, will review the obstacles and successes of states in implementing No Child Left Behind. -- Jerry Weast, Superintendent, Montgomery County (Md.) Schools, will share his insights on the research evidence and the highly regarded program in his school district. WHAT: Briefing on teacher quality, especially in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind Act WHEN: Thursday, December 11, 10 a.m. WHERE: Room 2261, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC RSVP: Communications Department of EPI, 202-775-8810 ------ The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank founded in 1986. The Institute can found on the web at http://www.epinet.org. |