EDITOR'S NOTE -- Updated to include the correct spelling of Education Trust President Haycock.

U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige today issued the following statement in response to a report by the Education Trust on the department's implementation of the teacher quality provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act:

"I have tremendous respect for the Education Trust and its president, Kati Haycock, and will take a close look at the recommendations of the report, but I disagree with the basic premise.

"President Bush and I recognize that the highly qualified teacher requirements of the landmark, bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act are some of the law's most important provisions. Accordingly, the department has worked vigorously to educate the nation on the significance of the highly qualified provisions in the law and to ensure its implementation at the state and local levels.

"The department is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that every child is afforded quality instruction from highly qualified teachers and continues to support states in the implementation of the law. For this reason, I announced earlier this summer, a series of initiatives focused on teachers and the teaching profession intended to help states and educators meet the highly qualified teacher requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. These initiatives include:

• The new Teacher Assistance Corps, a team of education experts, researchers and practitioners, who will offer guidance and feedback on state efforts, address specific state challenges and provide useful information from other states about promising practices in the field. In fact, the Teacher Assistance Corps is in Oregon today, meeting with state and local education officials to discuss that state's progress in developing a plan for having highly qualified teachers in all classrooms by 2006;

• Publication of A Toolkit for Teachers to provide educators with accurate, easy-to-understand information about No Child Left Behind as well as information about loan forgiveness, tax credits and liability protection for teachers, links to helpful Web sites, and guidance on understanding the federal, state and local roles in No Child Left Behind;

• An update of guidance that will be issued in the near future on specific issues related to teacher quality, including options for middle school teachers, rural schools, and for veteran teachers. The updated guidance will build on the department's Title I regulations, which were published Dec. 2, 2002, and the Title II non-regulatory guidance, published Dec. 19, 2002;

• Support for several innovative projects that are working to help states and districts meet the highly-qualified teachers challenge, including the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, the Teacher Advancement Program, Western Governors University's Teachers College, and other exciting initiatives to be announced within the month;

• The creation of the new "What Works Clearinghouse" to identify research-based best practices relation to, among other things, teacher training and teaching in subject areas;

• Close collaboration and communication with member organizations such as the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification and the Council of Chief State School Officers, and regular individual discussions with state education officials, to provide guidance and technical assistance to state and local educators to assist them in meeting the law's requirements.

"These initiatives represent a national commitment to teachers who deserve our support and respect. I look forward to working with state and local educators, the Education Trust, and others on the important goal of attaining the best trained teaching force for all our nation's children."

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