2: high-quality teachers & leaders

The Commission’s final report under Policy Area 2: High-Quality and Diverse Teachers and School Leaders recommended the following:

• Making teaching a high-status profession by raising the pay and status of teachers, including a performance-based career ladder, a minimum statewide salary, and salaries comparable to similarly educated professionals;

• A substantial increase in the rigor of the teacher preparation curriculum with teachers completing a full year of clinical experience organized and managed by teacher education and district partnerships;

• A redesign of schools to be places where teachers are treated as professionals with a system of incentives and supports – a career ladder – to continuously improve their professional practice and the performance of their students;

• Creation of a leadership development system that prepares school leaders at all levels – State, district, and school – to give them the vision, skills, and knowledge they need to implement the recommendations made in the Commission’s report and manage high-performing schools; and

• Improved recruiting and professional development efforts to create and sustain a teaching faculty that better reflects the racial and ethnic makeup of the student body.