Public Education Network
May 2003
This "action guide" from the Public Education Network (PEN) is a handy resource for those working in communities to develop leadership, capacity, and opportunities for improving "teacher quality." It takes teacher quality to mean both the skills and experiences that teachers bring to their classrooms, and the environment in which they teach. Its core theme is that education improvement efforts are not sustainable unless community members, leaders and policy makers buy into them. "[A]n endeavor that lacks community interest and involvement," write the authors, "is unlikely to gain support from influential decision makers or become a sustainable force for change." The guide offers procedures on the use of data to assess teacher quality and ways to create school and community environments that support teacher quality. To see for yourself, surf to http://www.publiceducation.org/pdf/TQ/PEN_CommActionGuide.pdf.
