This book explains to policymakers, parents, business leaders, and teachers themselves the importance of talented teachers in increasing student achievement. It is based on the proceedings from the 2003 Milken National Education Conference (NEC), which was held in Los Angeles in May 2003. In the early 1980s, Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, created an awards program to acknowledge educators' crucial contributions to our national well-being. His belief was--and is--that one way to attract, retain, and motivate talented people to the teaching profession is to recognize and reward outstanding educators' achievements, enhance their resources and expand their professional influence and growth. For almost two decades the program, which is the largest teacher recognition program in the nation, has rewarded thousands of exemplary kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers, principals, counselors, librarians, and other specialists--each with an unrestricted financial prize of USD25,000. This book provides readers with the opportunity to hear what experts in the educational community think about the myriad issues involved in improving the quality of all teachers in our nation's classrooms.

This book explains to policymakers, parents, business leaders, and teachers themselves the importance of talented teachers in increasing student achievement. It is based on the proceedings from the 2003 Milken National Education Conference (NEC), which was held in Los Angeles in May 2003. In the early 1980s, Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, created an awards program to acknowledge educators' crucial contributions to our national well-being. His belief was--and is--that one way to attract, retain, and motivate talented people to the teaching profession is to recognize and reward outstanding educators' achievements, enhance their resources and expand their professional influence and growth. For almost two decades the program, which is the largest teacher recognition program in the nation, has rewarded thousands of exemplary kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers, principals, counselors, librarians, and other specialists--each with an unrestricted financial prize of USD25,000. This book provides readers with the opportunity to hear what experts in the educational community think about the myriad issues involved in improving the quality of all teachers in our nation's classrooms.

Improving Student Achievement: Reforms that Work expands on the first volume in the Milken Family Foundation series on education policy, ""Talented Teachers: The Essential Force for Improving Student Achievement."" The series explains to policymakers, parents, business leaders, and teachers the importance of teacher quality in increasing student achievement. This volume is based primarily on the proceedings from the 2004 Milken National Education Conference (NEC), which was held in Washington, D.C., in May 2004. Reform of any kind is an arduous process. It requires forward thinking, hard work, collaboration, and commitment on the part of teachers, administrators, policy leaders, and other supporters of the endeavor. Education reform in particular can be especially difficult due to the many ingrained features of our current K-12 system; however, it is vital to learn from our past mistakes and break the cycle of failed efforts in order to fix the system that is the lifeblood of our country's future success. These proceedings provide insights into some of those past efforts as well as some of the current initiatives that provide optimism and hope in schools across the country. From these examples, we recognize that it is imperative that we improve student achievement by embracing reforms that work.

Improving Student Achievement: Reforms that Work expands on the first volume in the Milken Family Foundation series on education policy, ""Talented Teachers: The Essential Force for Improving Student Achievement."" The series explains to policymakers, parents, business leaders, and teachers the importance of teacher quality in increasing student achievement. This volume is based primarily on the proceedings from the 2004 Milken National Education Conference (NEC), which was held in Washington, D.C., in May 2004. Reform of any kind is an arduous process. It requires forward thinking, hard work, collaboration, and commitment on the part of teachers, administrators, policy leaders, and other supporters of the endeavor. Education reform in particular can be especially difficult due to the many ingrained features of our current K-12 system; however, it is vital to learn from our past mistakes and break the cycle of failed efforts in order to fix the system that is the lifeblood of our country's future success. These proceedings provide insights into some of those past efforts as well as some of the current initiatives that provide optimism and hope in schools across the country. From these examples, we recognize that it is imperative that we improve student achievement by embracing reforms that work.