[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 76 (Thursday, June 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE TEACHER EXCELLENCE FOR ALL CHILDREN ACT OF 2005

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, good teachers lead to good students. In 
fact, recent evidence suggests that providing great teachers may be the 
single most important thing that we can do to give our children the 
good education they deserve.
  Most of our teachers are hardworking, selfless, and dedicated to 
helping our children learn. We are asking them for more, however. We 
continue to demand that our teachers develop greater subject matter 
expertise, but we have yet to figure out how to help teachers learn 
while they are still needed in the classroom full time. In addition, to 
meet growing student need we will need to bring over 2 million new 
teachers into our public schools over the next decade.
  We must attract, develop, and retain as many talented teachers as we 
can muster. We must act now to begin meeting this critical national 
crisis.
  That is why I am proud to introduce with Senator Kennedy the Teacher 
Excellence For All Children Act of 2005. The TEACH Act provides 
financial incentives to attract and retain our best teachers and 
principals. The TEACH Act helps schools recognize and reward the best 
teachers. The TEACH Act encourages good teachers to work in the schools 
that need good teachers the most, and it also encourages teachers to 
specialize in the subjects which need the most teachers. Finally, the 
TEACH Act helps new teachers transition into the classroom, it helps 
veteran teachers keep their skills sharp, and it attracts talented new 
principals into our schools.
  Developing great teachers takes time, but this is an investment that 
we as a nation must make. I therefore encourage my colleagues to 
support the TEACH Act now. Our children deserve nothing less.

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