On December 8th, 2011, Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) in partnership with the Coalition for Teaching Quality (which the First Focus Campaign for Children belongs to) sponsored a briefing on Capitol Hill titled:

STUDENT ACCESS TO PREPARED & EFFECTIVE TEACHERS: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF FEDERAL POLICY

The briefing stressed the educational equity issue of creating greater access to fully-prepared, highly qualified teachers for our most deserving students and schools – The following topics were addressed:

  • Why teacher qualifications and effectiveness matter and how they can be measured
  • The importance of “Equitable Distribution” in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
  • The impact of policies around highly qualified and effective teachers on minority students, English language learners, students with a disability, and students in rural communities
  • Transparency and Parents Right-to-Know
  • Teacher recruitment and retention – what are the most cost-effective methods for recruiting and retaining prepared and effective teachers

Panelists included the following:

1. Moderator: Mr. Robert Mahaffey, Director of Communications, The Rural School and Community Trust

2. Ms. Maribel Heredia, Plaintiff, Renee v. Duncan, Hayward, CA

3. Mr. Eric Gonzalez, Education Policy Advocate, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

4. Ms. Shayla Johnson, 12th Grade Student Union Representative, Overbrook High School, Philadelphia, PA

5. Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick, Dean, School of Education, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

6. Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy, University of Texas, Austin, TX

7. Dr. Megan Hopkins, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

8. Ms. Laura Kaloi, Public Policy Director, National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc. (NCLD)

9. Ms. Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, President, Utah Education Association, National Education Association

10. Dr. John Jackson, President and CEO, Schott Foundation for Public Education

To view the briefing, please click here.