The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future has launched a three-year initiative that aims to build up and support great, and equitable, teaching throughout the country. On the group’s agenda is to host events that focus on teacher growth while seeking feedback that will improve the quality of teachers, particularly in classrooms with at-risk students.
In 2016 the group will release a report that has policy and practice recommendations and action steps to improve teaching across the country. The release will mark the 20 year anniversary from the NCTAF report What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future. You can see the video announcement of the initiative right here:
One main focus of this three-year initiative? Finding ways to better help teachers prepare this generation of students for STEM careers. A release on the initiative states:
It has been estimated that 65 percent of students eventually will be employed in jobs that have yet to be created. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that more than 6.6 million STEM jobs need to be filled by 2022, which outpaces the growth rate of non-STEM jobs by about six percent.
More than 30 education organizations have pledged to help in this unified push. NCTAF will work with these organizations to develop content and research for the 2016 report and then look for ways to implement those findings. Five priority areas for teaching will be emphasized: accountability, equity, teacher recruitment and prep, retention and professional growth, and implementation of standards.
The NCTAF is a bipartisan group that was founded in 1994 and targets great teaching as a way to improve the nation’s schools — especially ones with a higher percentage of minority or at-risk students.
I’m looking forward to the results of this initiative. With such strong backing, students should be able to witness the positive change the NCTAF seeks to initiate.
