[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[September 12, 1996]
[Pages 1555-1556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Memorandum on Promoting Excellence and Accountability in Teaching
September 12, 1996

Memorandum for the Secretary of Education

Subject: Promoting Excellence and Accountability in Teaching

    Every child needs--and deserves--dedicated, outstanding teachers, 
who know their subject matter, are effectively trained, and know how to 
teach to high standards and to make learning come alive for students.
    In order to make sure every child has the teachers he or she 
deserves, as a Nation we must:

     Recruit and retain the most talented people into teaching;
     Require tougher licensing and certification standards for 
        teachers, invest in high-quality preparation and ongoing 
        training to help teachers meet these standards, and increase 
        dramatically the number of teachers who meet the demanding 
        standards set by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
        Standards;
     Remove incompetent teachers quickly, fairly, and at less 
        cost than at present and for those teachers who need such 
        assistance, try to restore their enthusiasm or counsel them out 
        of the profession; and
     Create systems for identifying and rewarding good teachers 
        for achieving outstanding levels of knowledge and skills, 
        especially as reflected in National Board Standards or other 
        standards of quality adopted by States or local school 
        districts.

    I hereby direct you to assist States and local communities in 
meeting these challenges by:

    (1) Notifying State and local education officials within 90 days of 
the date of this memorandum of the Federal resources available to 
address these challenges; and

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    (2) Identifying and disseminating within 6 months promising State 
and local practices responding to each of these challenges.
    Please report annually to me on how States and local communities are 
responding to these challenges.

                                                      William J. Clinton