SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following statement regarding The Status of the Teaching Profession 2005 [http://www.cftl.org/documents/2005/stp05fullreport.pdf] (Outside Source; PDF; 622KB; 175pp.), a new report released by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning:

"This report shines a spotlight on a critical problem. Over the next decade, California will lose a large percentage of experienced teachers. Meanwhile, far too many of our existing teachers are under prepared. The report also describes how struggling students at the lowest performing schools are assigned teachers with the least experience. Our state rightly has set high standards for our students. We must address this inequity now to ensure that every student in California has the opportunity to meet those high standards and be successful in the global economy of the 21st century that awaits them after graduation.

"We know that an excellent teacher is the most important element in improving student achievement. We must turn the challenges outlined in this report into an opportunity to improve our teaching force so all students can benefit. But to make a dramatic and needed difference, we need to address the problem in a comprehensive way. That includes recruiting the best and the brightest students and mid-career professionals, improving how we train new teachers to teach California's standards, and doing more to support teachers once they are in the classroom. Part of the solution also must be improving teacher pay, so that we can attract talented people to consider becoming a teacher and those who go into the teaching profession can afford live in the communities that they work.

"California is at a critical juncture. We have designed high standards and implemented tough accountability. We now need to take responsibility for the missing puzzle piece — ensuring that a well-trained teacher is available for every child at every school. If we do so, I know our students can rise to the challenge of high expectations and be ready to face the rapidly changing global economy of tomorrow."