THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 12, 1996

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
  
       (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

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