The National Education Association (NEA) has applauded the work of the National Academy of Education. Its publication, "A Good Teacher in Every Classroom: Preparing the Highly Qualified Teachers Our Children Deserve," validates a concept that NEA has long promoted -- that a good teacher in every public school classroom is a critically important and attainable goal.

NEA and its affiliates have been deeply involved at the national, state, and local levels in maintaining high standards for those entering the teaching profession. At the same time, NEA and its affiliates have worked closely with policymakers to develop and support programs to help veteran teachers improve and strengthen their skills.

"The observations, conclusions, and recommendations in this book are like a page right out of the NEA's playbook," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "To its credit, the Academy recognizes that there are no quick fixes and instead focuses on the key ingredients to improving teacher quality and raising student achievement."

• Among the Academy's key recommendations are:

• Strengthening the standards and the quality of teacher preparation, state certification, and state licensing programs.

• Improving the availability of strong and effective teacher induction and mentoring programs.

• Increasing the use of professional development schools -- a tool that NEA has promoted for many years.

• Using National Board Certified teachers to produce stronger gains in student learning.

"This book should put to rest the debate about what makes a good teacher," Weaver said. "To ensure all students have good teachers, teachers need to know both their subject matter as well as how to effectively convey that subject matter to a diverse group of students."

Yet there are some critical areas involving teacher recruitment and retention that remain unaddressed in this publication: the need to recruit more minority teachers; the need to increase teacher salaries; the need for financial incentives to attract and keep teachers in hard-to-staff schools; and the need to provide ongoing, high-quality professional development to all teachers.

"We are not serving children well when we withhold from their teachers the preparation, pay and professional respect they deserve," Weaver said.