Home > Ideas for fulfilling the promise > Seven Actions

6 Require Teaching Quality so that every student benefits from teachers who are certified, teach in their content area(s), and meet or exceed high standards of excellence. Imagine > But Currently > What must be done > What we can do together

What must be done…

Colleges, schools and communities must work together more closely to identify, prepare and support quality teachers for a changing student body. Transfer and recruitment processes need to be improved for teachers between institutions of higher education. Together, we must strategically identify candidate pools and establish cross-sector and intrastate linkages to improve the quality of candidates to work effectively with a diverse student population.

Institutions of higher education need to be committed to maintaining cutting-edge, relevant and recent content and pedagogy that reflects a multicultural perspective and draws upon resources within communities. Colleges and universities must ensure that multi-level support systems are in place to monitor and mentor quality teachers throughout the certification process and beyond. Within universities, the teacher preparation agenda should be at the center of institutions and should include a common vision that includes a well-integrated curriculum from multiple departments.

At the public school level, schools should continually upgrade teachers’ professional competence and skills through professional development, on the job coaching and mentoring, and collegial supports.