Policy Recommendations

Presidents' Summit on Teacher Quality (1999)
Convened by the US Department of Education, September 15-16, 1999

On September 15-16, 1999, Former US Secretary of Education Richard Riley convened the Presidents' Summit on Teacher Quality, in which approximately 65 presidents and chancellors of institutions of higher education from 40 states met to discuss their role in elevating the importance and improving the quality of teacher preparation on their campuses. A central part of the Summit was a series of small group workshops, which provided the opportunity for these campus leaders to discuss specific issues around improving teacher education and to generate concrete action steps that they and their colleagues could take. The action steps are organized into three main categories: mission and structure; partnerships; and accountability. Below, we provide a list of selected recommendations in each of the three categories, and links to the complete sets of recommendations.

Mission and Structure

• Announce that teacher education is a priority for the entire campus.
• Declare that the institution's main responsibility is to improve public schools.
• Make arts and sciences deans responsible for the success of teacher preparation programs.
• Identify and implement ways to use the budget as an effective tool to leverage change.
• Institute a policy that education programs must be nationally accredited.
• Invest in faculty development.

Partnerships

• Build partnerships not just with arts and sciences, but also with other departments; partnerships need to be built within the university, first and foremost.
• Build a strong partnership with public schools focused on meeting their needs.
• Ensure that partnership priorities influence the selection of faculty members, deans, and department chairs.
• Speak out in the community about the importance of partnerships.

Accountability

• Adopt an accountability system for the institution and for its students.
• Become actively involved in state and national efforts to strengthen accountability for teacher preparation program results.
• Guarantee the performance of new teachers to the school districts that hire them.

To learn more about the Presidents' Summit on Teacher Quality, click here.