There is no silver bullet, but this is one area where we can make a difference. I ve told you what I think needs to happen inside the school, now let me tell you what I think needs to happen inside the classroom. I want to talk about supporting our teachers. You ve heard me talk before about the importance of the classroom teacher. Take yourself back to your fourth grade classroom.
Teachers do make the difference.
We must ensure that teacher preparation, student teaching and certification programs produce the kind of qualified, effective teachers our children need and deserve. We are working with our partners in higher education to make that happen. We must ensure that every new teacher has a capable mentor to support them. We also need to ensure that many of these new teachers reflect the changing demographics of our student body. The recent census results are a call to action.