"Every educator engages in effective professional learning every day so every student achieves". This is the mantra of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) and its state affiliates. Through an ongoing advocacy campaign, others are beginning to hear and assist in the advancement of our message. 

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), with the support of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), introduced legislation entitled School Improvement through Teacher Quality Act of 2007 (S. 1979). This legislation amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to provide for school improvement, comprehensive, high-quality multi-year induction and mentoring for new teachers, and professional development for experienced teachers. It also improves the NCLB’s definition of professional development by saying that professional learning for educators:

• Engages teams of teachers, principals, and other instructional staff in ongoing professional development;
• Focuses on teams that engage in professional learning multiple times per week during the regular work day;
• Revolves around a continuous improvement cycle that uses data to (1) determine and define student, teacher, and school learning needs, (2) institute learning strategies to address learning needs, and (3) measure the effectiveness and impact of professional learning.

Among the findings of the SB 1979, it is noted that teacher quality is the single most import factor influencing student learning and achievement and that studies have found that 40 to 90 percent of the difference in student test scores can be attributed to teacher quality.  With that said, two purposes are given for this Act and they are to build capacity and grow effective teachers and principals. Read more