[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S1505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue of 
paramount importance to this nation, how we educate our children.
  We in the Senate have the difficult task before us of passing 
legislation that re-authorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act which determines how the Federal Government allocates money to our 
public schools.
  Unfortunately, all signs from the Committee point to yet another 
political stalemate and neither side appears to be pushing any closer 
toward common ground.
  In hopes of breaking this unproductive dynamic, I have joined with a 
group of my moderate Democratic colleagues here in the Senate to 
promote a ``Third Way'' on ESEA, one that synthesizes the best ideas of 
both sides into a whole new approach to federal education policy.
  We are calling this bill the ``Three R's'' and it is a bold effort at 
streamlining numerous Federal education programs and refocusing federal 
resources on raising academic achievement. This blueprint will give 
more funding and flexibility to local school districts, in exchange for 
greater accountability.
  Mr. President, today I would like to specifically talk about the 
component of the bill that focuses on teacher quality. We call our bill 
the ``Three R's'' and a similar acronym can apply to our efforts to 
improve teacher quality. Our plan can best be summed up by ``Four 
R's'': recruiting, retention, resources, and above all . . . RESPECT.
  The difficulty schools experience today in recruiting and retaining 
quality teachers is one of the most enormous obstacles facing our 
education system. We cannot expect students to be successful if they 
don't work with quality teachers; and we can't expect quality teachers 
to stay in the profession if they don't get adequate training, 
resources or respect.
  Most experts agree that teacher quality is as important as any other 
factor in raising student achievement. The legislation we are 
introducing today would consolidate several teacher training 
initiatives into a single formula grant program for improving the 
quality of public school teachers, principals and administrators.
  This proposal would increase professional development funding by 100 
percent to $1.6 billion annually and target that funding to the 
neediest school districts. In my home State of Arkansas, this will mean 
an additional $12 million for teacher quality initiatives.
  In addition, the ``Three R's'' would give States and school districts 
more flexibility to design effective teacher recruitment and 
professional development initiatives to meet their specific needs.
  One overreaching goal we propose today is to require that all 
teachers be fully-qualified by 2005. Even the best teachers can't teach 
what they don't know or haven't learned themselves. To be successful, 
we must work harder to reduce out-of-field teaching and require 
educators to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subjects 
they teach.
  I have the highest respect for the teachers, principals, and 
superintendents who dedicate their talent and skills everyday to 
prepare our children for tomorrow. I think they have some of the 
hardest, and most important, jobs in the world. Our Nation's future, in 
large part, depends on the work that they do. Our teacher quality 
proposal is an example of how combining the concepts of increased 
funding, targeting, flexibility and accountability, we can join with 
state and local educators to give our children a high-quality education 
every child deserves.
  I hope this plan will serve as a blueprint to improving public 
education as we enter into what is sure to be a lengthy and contentious 
ESEA debate.

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