This letter to the editor by Secretary Rod Paige appeared in the Toledo Blade on March 23, 2004.
Your March 17 editorial, "Softening 'No Child,'" asserted that it is unrealistic, unnecessary, and an "expensive, time-consuming mandate" to ensure that all teachers are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.
I disagree. We are helping states to meet this expectation. We found many states were not using the full flexibility in the law, especially to help their middle school and experienced teachers demonstrate that they are highly qualified.
In addition, we are helping to clear up misunderstandings. Many were under the mistaken impression that all veteran teachers had to either go back to school or take a test.
Furthermore, the Department of Education is providing three new areas of flexibility for teacher qualification. These new policies will address the particular challenges of teachers who teach more than one subject, especially those in rural districts, and science teachers.
President Bush recently proposed another large funding increase for No Child Left Behind programs. If his proposals are enacted, federal spending on elementary and secondary education programs will have increased 36 percent since 2001.
More than $5.1 billion in federal funds are available for teacher-related programs, with $2.9 billion specifically geared to help states meet the highly qualified teacher requirements. These funds may be used for teacher training, professional development, recruitment, and retention activities.
No Child Left Behind is helping ensure that every student has a great teacher. That will make for a better education for all students—every single one.
Rod Paige
Secretary of Education
####
 |
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
| |
||||||||||||
