Jarrod Martin's Library tagged reform → View Popular

24 Jul 09

I'll never forget a school I visited one day when I was a community organizer in Chicago. As I walked around the school with the principal, I remember saying to her how wonderful it was to see all these kids so full of energy and hope and the spark in their eye. And when he asked them what they were going to be when they grew up, they said, we're going to be doctors and lawyers and they all had these big dreams for the future. And I remember the principal saying that soon all that would change; that in a year or two, something would shut off inside as they began to realize their hopes wouldn't come to pass -- not because they weren't smart enough, not because they weren't talented enough, but because they didn't see a pathway to success.

And that's true of too many children in this country. Maybe they don't have a great teacher. Maybe they don't find their classes exciting. Maybe they aren't being challenged at school. Maybe their parents aren't pushing them the way they need to. Maybe nobody is setting high expectations for them. Maybe they can't afford a college education. Maybe they don't know anybody who's ever gone to college. And the reason you're here, the reason Arne is here, the reason I'm here, is to make sure that we are giving all of those children, all our children, the pathways they need to make the most of their abilities; to make the most of their opportunities; to make the most of their lives.

That's why we are looking for Race to the Top states to adopt common, internationally-benchmarked K-12 standards that truly prepare students for college and careers.
Award-winning states will be able to monitor growth in student learning—and identify effective instructional practices.
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- At the local level we want to see better strategies in place to reward and retain more top-notch teachers—and improve or replace ones who aren't up to the job.
- When teachers get better data on student growth, it empowers teachers to tailor classroom instruction to the needs of their students and boost student achievement.
- When principals are able to identify their most effective and least effective teachers, it makes it easier for them to place teachers where they are needed most—and provide struggling teachers with help.
- And states that explicitly prohibit linking data on achievement or student growth to principal and teacher evaluations will be ineligible for reform dollars until they change their laws.

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