High-Quality Teaching and Learning Environments

All children, including minority and poor, must be equally present, engaged, and educated to high standards in high-quality learning environments with ample resources and supports, quality teachers, and technology.

We also must raise the bar in achieving measurable results of improved student outcomes and teacher effectiveness. More rigorous standards for reading proficiency can help counteract what the Casey Foundation report describes as our schools’ race to the bottom, and return our nation to global competitiveness.

Simple, effective, and proven techniques are the baseline for moving forward. While policymakers and educators work to improve standards and hold the system accountable for ensuring that all children are reading proficiently and graduating from high school, we as private-sector partners, funders, and nonprofit organizations must ensure that every child is afforded the opportunity to learn in a high quality setting.