1. The single most important in-school factor in raising student achievement is effective teaching.
We believe that a student’s consistent access to effective teaching over the course of his or her educational experience will dramatically improve his or her academic attainment and their long-term success in college, career and life.
2. Access to an outstanding education is every child’s civil right.
We believe that all students have a civil right to a quality education and that we must immediately close the achievement gap for minority and low-income students. To achieve this, we must guarantee every student an effective teacher, in every classroom, every year.
3. Teachers need and deserve our support and respect.
We believe that teachers are essential to student success and must be supported early and often. Our nation has not given the teaching profession the respect it deserves nor has it adequately supported teachers in their efforts to educate America’s children. School districts’ systems and practices must significantly improve by providing teachers adequate supports and work environments.
We further believe that with the right feedback and support, teachers can significantly improve their skills and effectiveness over time, and every teacher should have the opportunity to do so throughout his or her career.
4. Parents and students are powerful advocates for change.
We believe that parents, students, teachers and community members are powerful advocates for quality education and must be equipped with relevant information and tools to advocate for change and hold systems accountable for providing every student access to effective teaching.
5. Communities benefit from inclusive engagement on teaching effectiveness reforms.
We believe that an informed, thoughtful dialogue between all stakeholders, inclusive of parents, teachers and students, strengthens communities and is essential to growing and sustaining systemic improvements in teaching effectiveness and student achievement.
6. Success must be measured in fair and meaningful ways that are connected to supports for teachers.
We believe that effective teaching can be best defined and measured with an evaluation consisting of multiple measures, grounded in research, such as classroom observations, student achievement data, and parent and student surveys among others. Such an evaluation system should be fair, valid, reliable, and provide useful, meaningful, and timely feedback to improve teaching and learning.
We further believe that an improved evaluation system must be accompanied by resources and supports for teachers, such as targeted and individualized professional development, pairing novice teachers with effective and experienced teachers, and career ladders.
7. Public education must prioritize the interests of students.
We believe that school leaders and school systems must place the interest of children first, and that they lead the effort in partnership with local community stakeholders – to change the culture, practices, systems, collective bargaining agreements, and state law to ensure every student effective teaching.
8. Together, we can help all students succeed.
We believe that by working genuinely with all interested groups and individuals in a non-partisan manner we can collectively advance solutions that dramatically improve outcomes for all students.