Goals

Pennsylvania has a long and rich tradition of preparing excellent teachers for the Commonwealth’s schools and for schools beyond our borders.  Pennsylvania is one of the top five states in producing future teachers – some 13,000 per year.  Our public and private colleges and universities have an almost universal commitment to teacher preparation, whether they conduct the programs themselves or partner with others.  Many out-of-state school districts turn to Pennsylvania to hire new teachers, and have done so for years.  The Pennsylvania Department of Education has a long, commendable history of supervising teacher certification in a way that allows many different styles of programs to coexist and to demonstrate their strengths in the marketplace.  In an era of changing needs and increasing opportunities, this is a wonderful and strong base upon which to build – to ensure the continued growth and vitality of our teacher education system.  This is what Governor Rendell has asked the Commission on Training America’s Teachers to do.

Following are the Commission’s five goals:

1. All teacher education programs achieve world class excellence for their students, providing them with the academic knowledge and pedagogical skills to be effective in the classroom.
2. All teacher education graduates are passionate consumers of life-long learning so they communicate these core values to their students and continue to increase their effectiveness in delivering high-quality classroom instruction.
3. The teacher education system as a whole provides quality teachers for all students in all school districts and responds to shortages and imbalances in the teacher marketplace.
4. Pennsylvania meets the need for high quality teachers within the state and enhances its ability to meet the teacher education needs of the nation as a strategic economic development initiative.
5. State laws, regulations, and policies are aligned to achieve these goals.

For more information contact info@pateach.org