Ready to Teach? PK-3 and NCLB

As Congress prepares for reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, policymakers will be forced to answer difficult questions about the relationship between teacher quality and student outcomes at all levels of education. What should teachers of young children know and what skills do they need? How can colleges of education improve the PK-3 workforce? How can the federal government improve the quality of PK-3 teachers through NCLB?

This event, hosted jointly by the New America Foundation and the Foundation for Child Development, featured a robust panel discussion that touched on the future of the No Child Left Behind Act, teacher quality and early childhood education, among other topics. The New America Foundation also released a new Issue Brief: "Teacher Quality in Grades PK-3: Challenges and Options."

Video of the event is available at right.

Participants

• Kimberly Oliver
  2006 National Teacher of the Year
• Dr. Ruby Takanishi
  President, Foundation for Child Development
• Dr. Rebecca Palacios
  Vice Chair, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
• Dr. Josué Cruz, Jr.
  Professor and Dean, College of Education and Human Development
  Bowling Green State University
• Stephanie Robinson
  President and CEO, The Jamestown Project
  Yale University

Moderator:

• Michael Dannenberg
  Director, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation
  Editor, www.HigherEdWatch.org