[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 96 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8068-S8070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY:
  S. 3710. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to improve retention of public elementary and secondary school 
teachers, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Teacher Center 
Act of 2006, to help establish and fund teacher centers across the 
Nation. Its goal is to provide more effective and relevant professional 
development for teachers, and create a network of support for them to 
share best practices, improve classroom training, and improve working 
conditions in their schools. It's a privilege to join my distinguished 
colleague, Congressman George Miller, who is introducing companion 
legislation for teacher centers in the House of Representatives.
  As research makes clear, good teachers are the single most important 
factor in achieving the success of students, both academically and 
developmentally. Students who receive good instruction can reach new 
heights through the hard work, vision, and energy of their teachers. 
Good teaching can also overcome the harmful effects of poverty and 
other disadvantages on student learning.
  In 2002, with the No Child Left Behind Act, we made a commitment to 
put a first-rate teacher in every classroom to help all students 
succeed in school and in life. But to reach that goal, we need to 
recruit, train, retain, and support our teachers. Today, about half of 
all teachers who enter the profession leave the classroom within five 
years. That's an unacceptable loss--the 5-year mark is just the time 
when teachers have mastered their work and are consistently able to 
improve the education of their students.
  Too often, teachers lack the training and support needed to do well 
in the classroom. Eliminating this deficit can make all the difference 
in their decision to remain in the profession. Teacher centers can help 
see that teachers have the professional development, mentoring, and 
support they need in order to succeed. Developing and expanding these 
centers is an important step toward enriching teachers' lives, 
enhancing their knowledge and skills, and encouraging them to stay in 
the profession and succeed in the classroom.
  The teacher centers model grew out of an innovative approach to 
supporting the professional development of teachers in England. That 
model enables teachers to become leaders and decision-makers in their 
own professional growth and in the environments in which they work. It 
enables them to collaboratively plan and implement staff development 
and reform that can be shared with their colleagues, as a means for 
reflection and improvement in their teaching practice.
  Since the initial creation of teacher centers in the United States in 
the late 1970s, we have seen how effective they can be in supporting 
teachers, so that they can respond more effectively to student needs 
and help them reach the high standards now required by the No Child 
Left Behind Act.
  Teacher centers offer valuable programs for educators when aligned 
with State standards and school district curriculums. The centers 
support new teachers during their first years in the profession, and 
their peer-to-peer networks facilitate communication and collaboration 
among teachers to improve instruction. The centers also help teachers 
incorporate new research into their daily routines, and support the use 
of technology and proven strategies to keep students engaged and help 
them do well in school.
  Most important, teacher centers are essential to the development of 
teacher capability and leadership. The training provided is aimed at 
building the capability of teachers to reach all of their students 
through differentiated instruction--a goal central to the promise of 
leaving no child behind. And by

[[Page S8069]]

taking advantage of the support provided by teacher centers, educators 
can have a more active role in their own professional growth and 
eventually hold leadership positions in their schools and communities.
  As we know, teachers are on the front lines in the Nation's schools 
and in our efforts to improve public education. We cannot expect the 
quality of our classrooms to improve without investing more in the 
quality of our teachers. Teacher centers ensure that the nation's 
educators have the time, resources, and support they need to work and 
learn with one another.
  I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this bill, and I ask 
unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3710

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Teacher Center Act of 
     2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds as follows:
       (1) There are not enough qualified teachers in the Nation's 
     classrooms, and an unprecedented number of teachers will 
     retire over the next 5 years. Over the next decade, the 
     Nation will need to bring 2,000,000 new teachers into public 
     schools.
       (2) Too many teachers do not receive adequate preparation 
     for their jobs.
       (3) More than one-third of children in grades 7 through 12 
     are taught by a teacher who lacks both a college major and 
     certification in the subject being taught. Rates of ``out-of-
     field teaching'' are especially high in high-poverty schools.
       (4) Teacher turnover is a serious problem, particularly in 
     urban and rural areas. Over one-third of new teachers leave 
     the profession within their first 3 years of teaching, and 14 
     percent of new teachers leave the field within the first 
     year. After 5 years--the average time it takes for teachers 
     to maximize students' learning--half of all new teachers will 
     have exited the profession. Rates of teacher attrition are 
     highest in high-poverty schools. Between 2000 and 2001, 1 out 
     of 5 teachers in the Nation's high-poverty schools either 
     left to teach in another school or dropped out of teaching 
     altogether.
       (5) African-American, Latino, and low-income students are 
     much less likely than other students to have highly-qualified 
     teachers.
       (6) Research shows that individual teachers have a great 
     impact on how well their students learn. The most effective 
     teachers have been shown to be able to boost their pupils' 
     learning by a full grade level relative to students taught by 
     less effective teachers.
       (7) Only 16 States finance new teacher induction programs, 
     and fewer still require inductees to be matched with mentors 
     who teach the same subject.
       (8) Large-scale studies of effective professional 
     development have documented that student achievement and 
     teacher learning increases when professional development is 
     teacher-led, ongoing, and collaborative.
       (9) Research shows that the characteristics of successful 
     professional development include a focus on concrete 
     classroom applications and practice, and opportunities for 
     teacher observation, critique, reflection, group support, and 
     collaboration.
       (10) Data on school reform shows that teachers are 
     attracted to and continue to teach in academically challenged 
     schools when appropriate supports are in place to help them 
     succeed. Appropriate supports include high-quality induction 
     programs, job-embedded professional development, and small 
     classes which allow teachers to tailor instruction to meet 
     the needs of individual students.

     SEC. 3. IMPROVING RETENTION OF AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 
                   FOR PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL 
                   TEACHERS.

       (a) In General.--Title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

                      ``PART E--TEACHER RETENTION

     ``SEC. 2501. IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES 
                   THROUGH TEACHER CENTERS.

       ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary may make grants to eligible 
     entities for the establishment and operation of new teacher 
     centers or the support of existing teacher centers.
       ``(b) Special Consideration.--In making grants under this 
     section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to 
     any application submitted by an eligible entity that is--
       ``(1) a high-need local educational agency; or
       ``(2) a consortium that includes at least one high-need 
     local educational agency.
       ``(c) Duration.--Each grant under this section shall be for 
     a period of 3 years.
       ``(d) Required Activities.--A teacher center receiving 
     assistance under this section shall carry out each of the 
     following activities:
       ``(1) Providing high-quality professional development to 
     teachers to assist the teachers in improving their knowledge, 
     skills, and teaching practices in order to help students to 
     improve the students' achievement and meet State academic 
     standards.
       ``(2) Providing teachers with information on developments 
     in curricula, assessments, and educational research, 
     including the manner in which the research and data can be 
     used to improve teaching skills and practice.
       ``(3) Providing training and support for new teachers.
       ``(e) Permissible Activities.--A teacher center may use 
     assistance under this section for any of the following:
       ``(1) Assessing the professional development needs of the 
     teachers and other instructional school employees, such as 
     librarians, counselors, and paraprofessionals, to be served 
     by the center.
       ``(2) Providing intensive support to staff to improve 
     instruction in literacy, mathematics, science, and other 
     curricular areas necessary to provide a well-rounded 
     education to students.
       ``(3) Providing support to mentors working with new 
     teachers.
       ``(4) Providing training in effective instructional 
     services and classroom management strategies for mainstream 
     teachers serving students with disabilities and students with 
     limited English proficiency.
       ``(5) Enabling teachers to engage in study groups and other 
     collaborative activities and collegial interactions regarding 
     instruction.
       ``(6) Paying for release time and substitute teachers in 
     order to enable teachers to participate in the activities of 
     the teacher center.
       ``(7) Creating libraries of professional materials and 
     educational technology.
       ``(8) Providing high-quality professional development for 
     other instructional staff, such as paraprofessionals, 
     librarians, and counselors.
       ``(9) Assisting teachers to become highly qualified and 
     paraprofessionals to become teachers.
       ``(10) Assisting paraprofessionals to meet the requirements 
     of section 1119.
       ``(11) Developing curricula.
       ``(12) Incorporating additional on-line professional 
     development resources for participants.
       ``(13) Providing funding for individual- or group-initiated 
     classroom projects.
       ``(14) Developing partnerships with businesses and 
     community-based organizations.
       ``(15) Establishing a teacher center site.
       ``(f) Teacher Center Policy Board.--
       ``(1) In general.--A teacher center receiving assistance 
     under this section shall be operated under the supervision of 
     a teacher center policy board.
       ``(2) Membership.--
       ``(A) Teacher representatives.--The majority of the members 
     of a teacher center policy board shall be representatives of, 
     and selected by, the elementary and secondary school teachers 
     to be served by the teacher center. Such representatives 
     shall be selected through the teacher organization, or if 
     there is no teacher organization, by the teachers directly.
       ``(B) Other representatives.--The members of a teacher 
     center policy board--
       ``(i) shall include at least 2 members who are 
     representatives of, or designated by, the school board of the 
     local educational agency to be served by the teacher center;
       ``(ii) shall include at least 1 member who is a 
     representative of, and is designated by, the institutions of 
     higher education (with departments or schools of education) 
     located in the area; and
       ``(iii) may include paraprofessionals.
       ``(g) Application.--
       ``(1) In general.--To seek a grant under this section, an 
     eligible entity shall submit an application at such time, in 
     such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
     Secretary may reasonably require.
       ``(2) Assurance of compliance.--An application under 
     paragraph (1) shall include an assurance that the eligible 
     entity will require any teacher center receiving assistance 
     through the grant to comply with the requirements of this 
     section.
       ``(3) Teacher center policy board.--An application under 
     paragraph (1) shall include the following:
       ``(A) An assurance that--
       ``(i) the eligible entity has established a teacher center 
     policy board;
       ``(ii) the board participated fully in the preparation of 
     the application; and
       ``(iii) the board approved the application as submitted.
       ``(B) A description of the membership of the board and the 
     method of selection of the membership.
       ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) The term `eligible entity' means a local educational 
     agency or a consortium of 2 or more local educational 
     agencies.
       ``(2) The term `high-need' means, with respect to an 
     elementary school or a secondary school, a school--
       ``(A) that serves an eligible school attendance area (as 
     defined in section 1113) in which not less than 65 percent of 
     the children are from low-income families, based on the 
     number of children eligible for free and reduced priced 
     lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
     Act; or
       ``(B) in which not less than 65 percent of the children 
     enrolled are from such families.
       ``(3) The term `high-need local educational agency' means a 
     local educational agency--
       ``(A) that serves not fewer than 10,000 children from 
     families with incomes below the poverty line, or for which 
     not less than 20 percent of the children served by the agency

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     are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and
       ``(B) that is having or expected to have difficulty filling 
     teacher vacancies or hiring new teachers who are highly 
     qualified.
       ``(4) The term `teacher center policy board' means a 
     teacher center policy board described in subsection (f).
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this 
     section, there are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary for 
     each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents at section 
     2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item 
     relating to section 2441 of such Act the following new items:

                      ``Part E--Teacher Retention

``Sec. 2501. Improving professional development opportunities.''.

                          ____________________