Calling for an end to the unfair distribution of teacher quality across New York City public schools, StudentsFirstNY organizers and hundreds of New York City public school parents came together today to demand action to address the disproportionate number of unsatisfactory-rated teachers in schools with the highest needs. Several parents addressed the crowd and shared their personal commitment to this effort.

We urge the mayoral candidates not to buckle under the pressure of the status quo and listen to the voices of parents calling for teacher quality and school choice.

This week, and everyday I appreciate the amazing tenacity and quality teaching I received from Mr. Smith. I believe every child in New York City deserves a teacher like Mr. Smith.

"Well-designed, and well-executed surveys can be an invaluable resource, but only insofar as the results lead to visible changes to the teacher evaluation process."

States and districts across the country have set out to implement new teacher evaluation systems in an effort to improve teacher quality and raise student achievement. With teachers, administrators, and entire systems in a state of transition, there is no better time to capture and leverage critical feedback from those on the ground.

Yesterday, the Equity and Excellence Commission – an advisory committee chartered by Congress – issued a series of recommendations to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The memo outlined federal policies that could help close the achievement gap and ensure all students across the country had an equal and fair shot at a quality education.

In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Obama proposed education initiatives that have enormous potential for children across America: universal pre-school and college and career readiness programs for high school students, so our graduates leave school with the skills needed to enter the workforce.

Schools with high rates of poverty, low student achievement and high percentages of black and Hispanic students have a disproportionate share of Unsatisfactory rated teachers.

Education reform coalition urges New York State to implement its Race to the Top pledges on teacher quality and effectiveness.

Teacher quality matters - extensive research shows that the quality of a student’s teacher is more important than anything else that happens in a school. 

Charter school leader Deborah Kenny’s op-ed in today’s The New York Times argues against the move by many states toward teacher evaluations based on multiple measures, including both student progress on achievement tests and the reviews of principals. She criticizes the evaluation systems, in essence, for being too rigid for a profession as complex as teaching.