In 2006, the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) and its Teacher Leaders Network (TLN) successfully launched the TeacherSolutions initiative--a unique approach to elevating the voices of accomplished teachers on policy issues affecting their profession and the students they serve. In the inaugural TeacherSolutions project, 18 of the nation's best…

Over the last two decades policymakers and researchers of most "stripes" have come to conclude that teachers make the most difference in raising student achievement, and strong principals are key to school improvement. As a result, a wide array of initiatives have been launched to attract non-traditional recruits to education, measure…

Most recently a number of school districts, with support from growing numbers of philanthropic foundations, have been honing in on the strategic management of human capital(SMHC)--which has been defined as "the acquisition, development, performance management and retention of top talent." Granted, over the last two decades policymakers and…

Over the last decade, policy and business leaders have come to know what parents have always known: teachers are the largest school-based factor in student achievement. Yet not all schools have equal access to the most effective teachers. High-needs schools that serve large proportions of economically disadvantaged and minority students are more…

The Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ), in partnership with the Aspen Institute and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), has been investigating the urban teacher residency (UTR) -- an innovative response to the longstanding challenges of how to recruit, prepare, and retain bright and capable teachers for…

Great teachers, with the right policy supports, are the ideal agents of meaningful and sustainable change in the most challenged schools. Accomplished and effective teachers help students learn at high levels. They also spread their expertise throughout the school on behalf of all students. This report lays out compelling evidence about the…

Over the last 24 months--with support from the National Education Association and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards--over 2,000 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) from North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington examined teacher recruitment and retention research and participated in structured…

Smart school communities ask and answer hard questions about which teachers they attract and how they are developed and supported, as well as whether they reward and retain the teachers they most need to help all students achieve. Designed to provoke and inspire, the framework described in this paper offers a blueprint for how school communities…

On August 5, 2006, more than 300 South Carolina National Board Certified Teachers[R] (NBCTs) assembled in Columbia at a policy summit to address the vexing problem of recruiting and retaining accomplished teachers in high-needs schools. Before this summit, the NBCTs read a number of background papers and research summaries. During the summit, they…

On October 21, 2006, more than 200 Washington National Board Certified Teachers[R] (NBCTs) assembled in Seattle to address the vexing problem of recruiting and retaining accomplished teachers for high-needs schools. Before the Summit, NBCT participants read a number of background papers and research summaries. At the Summit, they listened to the…

Studies continue to surface a disheartening fact: while research shows that teachers are key to closing achievement gaps, poor and minority students as well as those in low-performing schools are far less likely to have access to the most experienced and qualified teachers. For instance, although National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are…

This report contains recommendations from North Carolina's National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) on how to support and staff high-needs schools and solve the state's staffing problems in these schools. Beyond financial incentives, a comprehensive approach is recommended that takes into account the working conditions that North Carolina's NBCTs…

Many schools across the country face persistent teacher working condition challenges that are closely related to high teacher turnover rates and chronic difficulties in recruiting and retaining teachers. Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) research examining working conditions survey results in both North Carolina and South Carolina demonstrates…

With No Child Left Behind's call for highly qualified teachers, the stakes for recruiting and retaining teachers have never been more important. Alabama, like other states, has struggled to develop policies and programs that effectively staff all classrooms with quality educators. The Center for Teaching Quality, with the support of SERVE, has…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has developed and made available sophisticated teaching assessments in nearly two dozen fields. This paper draws on an array of research evidence, and data gathering in four urban communities with large representations of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs), to describe three major…