We must have more rigorous curriculum, safe and well-ordered schools, and quality teachers. We embrace President Clinton's vision of schools in the 21st century and we pledge the help of the nation's teachers to make that vision a reality. We salute the President for focusing on the need to strengthen public education and improve access and raise standards for students, teachers, and schools. In particular, we support efforts to boost participation in Head Start, assure schools are safe and well-ordered, address facility and technology needs where teachers teach and students learn, and improve the quality of the teaching profession. Head Start helps children gain basic skills and involves parents as teachers.
Parental involvement is an essential area that our members work on every day.
We need to elevate the quality of teachers so that every child can have the best teacher possible. The United States must provide more rigorous training for teachers before they enter the classroom, and we must support them with more and better professional development once they are there. With a projected shortage of 100,000 teachers over the next few years, we must be certain that our schools are staffed by well-trained professionals. School buildings must be safe, modern, and conducive to learning. We agree students must master what is taught.