Elevating Teaching

Elevating Teaching

Teachers are the backbone of our democracy – fostering curiosity and creativity, building skillful individuals, and strengthening informed citizens. A great teacher in every classroom is one of the most important resources we can provide students. This is not possible without a commitment to recruiting, developing, and retaining highly qualified teachers.

"It's not only our responsibility but our commitment at the Department of Education to encourage, invest in, and lift up teachers across America. The future of our country and our children's futures depend on it." – Secretary Cardona

Secretary Cardona's vision for Supporting and Elevating the Teaching Profession focuses on three areas:

  • Recruiting diverse, high-qualified teachers into the profession and investing in teacher pipeline programs
  • Supporting educators' professional development to ensure our nation's students are receiving high-quality education
  • Investing in strategies to retain high-quality educators and keep them in the profession long-term

The Department of Education (ED) commits to the following guiding strategies:

  1. Investing in a strong and diverse teacher pipeline, including by increasing access to affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based preparation programs.
  2. Supporting teachers in earning initial or additional certification in high-demand areas like special education and bilingual education
  3. Helping teachers pay off their student loans including through loan forgiveness and service scholarship programs.
  4. Providing teachers and students with the resources they need to succeed including mentoring for early career teachers, high quality curricular materials, and access to guidance counselors and other specialists for students.
  5. Creating opportunities for teacher advancement and leadership, including participating in distributive leadership and serving as instructional coaches and mentors.

Leveraging Teaching Expertise

ED values the experiences and voices of teachers. We invite teachers across the nation to share their diverse expertise and experiences on a variety of issues on our Homeroom blog.

A What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide is a publication that presents recommendations for educators to address challenges in their classrooms and schools. They are based on reviews of research, the experiences of practitioners, and the expert opinions of a panel of nationally recognized experts.