Teacher Preparation Initiative Has Not Moved, Reform Groups Call for Anwers

Teach for America, Democrats for Education Reform, the Center for American Progress, and several other groups concerned with education reform have once again sent an open letter to the Obama Administration in an attempt to get an update on “Our Future, Our Teachers,” a strategic initiative designed to bolster teacher preparedness across the nation. While the initiative’s goals are to “…support and further the transformation already underway in how we recruit and prepare teachers in this country,” as Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, wrote in the original 2011 document, no new measures have been implemented other than continued verbal statements that doing so would be optimal.

The problem? The measure has been held up over the last two years and reform groups are ready for new strategies to be implemented.

While it is important to thoughtfully work out changes to the TEACH Grant program and reformulate how the nation prepares its teachers, it is just as important to do so in a timely manner for those students that are currently struggling under inadequate teaching strategies.

The original document, “Our Future, Our Teachers: The Obama Administration’s Plan for Teacher Education Reform and Improvement,” along with the rest of Secretary Duncan’s original statement can be read here.