[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TEACHER EQUITY: EFFECTIVE TEACHERS FOR ALL CHILDREN

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, the Education and Labor Committee is holding 
a hearing later this morning on teacher equity and ensuring that all 
children have access to effective teachers.
  The most important resource in every classroom is a caring, 
qualified, and competent teacher; yet highly effective teachers tend to 
be more concentrated in affluent communities. Children of the highest 
poverty and highest minority schools across the country are often 
taught by less experienced, less qualified teachers. These children are 
being shortchanged. Closing this ``teacher quality gap'' is a critical 
step in closing the achievement gap for these students.
  We can do more here in Congress to support the important work 
teachers do and to help teachers access the professional development 
and support they need. We can do more to ensure that effective teachers 
are placed, and encouraged to stay, in the classrooms where they are 
most needed. By building on the work of this Congress, for example, we 
required States to provide assurance that they will take steps to 
address disparities in teacher equity as a condition of receiving 
Recovery Act funds.

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