As professionals who care deeply about the quality of education for our children, we continue to be faced with many new challenges and opportunities. Consistent with the Board's goals for this year is MACTE's agenda toward "Restoring Minnesota's Preeminence as a National Leader in Education." To accomplish our goals, we must work collaboratively, united for the purpose of providing a quality education for all students in the state of Minnesota.

Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota, recently stated that: "Teachers are the most important factor in determining whether students are going to succeed in school." Teacher educators agree with the Governor; research demonstrates that teacher preparation and certification are by far the most important factors in student achievements, even when controlling for poverty and language status (Darling-Hammond, 2000).  However, from a research-based perspective, MACTE has some points of disagreement with the governor's thoughts on the recruitment, preparation, retention and accountability of those teachers.

Perceived teacher shortages over the past two decades have prompted concern about future teacher shortages.  As a result, there has been tremendous pressure to quickly produce more and better teachers.  Responses to the anticipated teacher shortage have resulted in creative programs to recruit new teachers.  MACTE institutions have responded with standards-based programs designed for working adults that use creative scheduling and/or the internet. MACTE teacher development programs provide and document full teacher preparation before their graduates are given responsibility for a classroom of students. Programs such as Teach for America and the Fellows Program place individuals with very little training in some of the most-high need classrooms

In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Dr. Michael J. Broning, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Alabama argues, "Every year the nation must replace between 5 and 10% of its teaching force of just over 3 million teachers with candidates new to the profession.  The TFA cohort of 6000 barely makes a dent.  The certified graduates of the nearly 700 fully credited schools and colleges of education dwarf that number. These candidates go through rigorous programs during which they must fully document their ability to make a difference in student learning.  Their abilities to teach are evaluated and documented prior to their hiring." In contrast to TFA teachers, teachers who earn licensure in Minnesota meet quality standards in both subject-matter and pedagogy.  As you know, these standards are in Minnesota rule and it is this Board, the Minnesota Board of Teaching, that holds the responsibility to ensure that these standards are met

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) reports that teacher shortages are less a function of how many teachers are produced than of how many are lost each year through turnover and early attrition. "The revolving door problem inflates the demand side of the equation and keeps school districts in a perpetual state of intense hiring pressure"(Policy Matters, AASCU, 2005).

In conclusion, MACTE again emphasizes its desire to join with the Board and others in the state to find practical and plausible solutions to these challenges while maintaining the high quality of teachers of which Minnesota is known. Let us shift our focus to retention of our highly-qualified teachers. MACTE echoes the words of Dr. Michael Broning when he states, "The best teachers engage in a lifetime of training and professional development.....This is the new profession of teaching and it is one of hundreds of examples housed in professional schools of education, not in boutique programs designed for temporary drop-ins."