The American teaching profession is in crisis. Over the last decade, the number of students graduating from teacher education and preparation programs has plummeted 23 percent. At the same time, the numbers of educators leaving K-12 schools have climbed to the highest levels since these records were first compiled. On both the recruitment and the retention fronts, America is losing teachers at alarming rates, with serious consequences for the students in our schools.

What has created this crisis of the teaching profession? What can be done to remedy it? We invite you to join us in taking up these urgent questions on the morning of Thursday, April 18, at Washington, D.C.’s National Press Club.

On that occasion, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will deliver a major address laying out a robust agenda for the professional renewal of American teaching. Her address will be followed by two panels of commentary on the next steps in enacting policies and practices that promote teacher professionalism—the first featuring district and union leaders, and the second featuring educational policymakers.

The Teaching Profession in Crisis: The Reasons and Remedies

AGENDA
Introduction of Randi Weingarten
Corinne Lyons, Teacher of English Language Arts
Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit

Keynote Address
Randi Weingarten, President
American Federation of Teachers

District and Union Leaders: Turning Policy into Professional Practices

• New York City:
  • Richard A. Carranza, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
  • Michael Mulgrew, President, United Federation of Teachers
• Meriden, Conn.:
  • Mark Hughes, President, Meriden Board of Education
  • Erin Benham, President, Meriden Federation of Teachers
• ABC Unified School District in California:
  • Mary Sieu, Superintendent, ABC Unified School District
  • Ray Gaer, President, ABC Federation of Teachers

Educational Policymakers: Moving Teacher Professionalism from Rhetoric to Reality

• Howie Morales, New Mexico Lieutenant Governor
• Betty Rosa, Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents
• Joyce Elliott, Arkansas State Senator
• Jessica Cardichon, Director of Federal Policy, Learning Policy Institute