Teacher preparation is essential to TFA's future
Opinion by Linda Darling-Hammond/Education Week (subscription required)
Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond is currently Charles E. Ducommun professor of education at Stanford University where she founded and oversees the School Redesign Network.
I did not attend Teach For America ’s recent 20th-anniversary celebration, but I hope to be present for its 30th-year gala. In 2021, I look forward to recognizing the entry of TFA’s highly talented recruits into our nation’s top teacher education programs, where they will launch their long-term careers as dynamic, skilled professional educators.Yes, my vision is that in 10 years, the United States, like other high-achieving nations, will recruit top teaching candidates, prepare them well in state-of-the-art training programs (free of charge), and support them for career-long success in high-quality schools. Today, by contrast, teachers go into debt to enter a career that pays noticeably less than their alternatives—especially if they work in high-poverty schools— and reach the profession through a smorgasbord of training options, from excellent to awful, often followed by little mentoring or help. (more...)