“The significance of these proposals is that they don't just help some kids —they help all kids.”  

In early February, the Center for American Progress released a road map on how the Obama administration could expand early childhood education to all children. The report calls for a federal investment of almost $200 billion over 10 years. 

WASHINGTON

Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the proposal from the Center for American Progress to expand early childhood education to all children:  “The Center for American Progress’ early childhood proposals, if enacted, would be a bold investment in our children’s futures and help put all children on a solid path for success in school and in life. While we may not agree with every strategic choice in the center’s plan, the significance of these proposals is that they don't just help some kids—they help all kids.  “The AFT has been a relentless advocate for expanding access to high-quality early childhood education for every child in America. We commend the Center for American Progress for joining a growing number of educators, policymakers, parents and others in demanding the investments we need to nurture and develop young children and to make sure all kids succeed.   “We look forward to working with CAP around these policies and ensuring investments in high-quality public education programs.”

Washington

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten released the following statement on the AFT executive council’s adoption of the recent report issued by the AFT Teacher Preparation Task Force, “Raising the Bar: Aligning and Elevating Teacher Preparation and the Teaching Profession.”  “The world is changing at breakneck speed, and so are the knowledge and skills educators need so they can help students be prepared for life, career and college. That’s where the AFT’s task force report “Raising the Bar” comes in—to accomplish our work, we must raise the professional standards for teachers and align them with what kids need to succeed in the 21st century. It’s well past time to end the sorry tradition of tossing brand-new teachers the keys to their classrooms and leaving them to see if they and their students sink or swim. This is unfair to both students and their teachers.   “Teaching, like the medical, legal and other professions, must have a universal, rigorous, multidimensional entry assessment to ensure that a new teacher possesses the required knowledge and skills to be a caring, competent and confident classroom professional. The report outlines such an assessment’s components, which include completing a yearlong clinical experience, knowing one's content and basic teaching skills—like classroom management and differentiating instruction—and demonstrating that knowledge in real-life clinical classroom situations. It makes clear this ‘bar-like’ process is for prospective teachers and in lieu of, rather than in addition to, the processes that exist today. “As in these other professions, those with the primary responsibility for setting and enforcing the standards of our profession should be the professionals themselves—in our case, educators, not those who haven’t taught or prepared teachers and have never walked in our shoes. “All stakeholders—teachers and teacher educators, state education chiefs and education boards, accrediting agencies, and education associations and unions—must help end the patchwork processes we have now. We must work together to ensure that teacher preparation standards, programs and assessments are aligned with a well-grounded vision of effective teaching. “After a great discussion, the AFT officers and executive council embraced the report’s recommendations and agenda for action. AFT teachers and teacher educators will now move forward with other invested parties as we work with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to design the standards and assessment prescribed by the report. Development and implementation of this assessment will give educators at all levels real ownership of their profession.”

At USDA, we’ve made record efforts in the past four years to support homegrown energy. This year, we’re looking ahead to a promising future for biofuels. Biofuels have already contributed a great deal to our economy, to our energy security and to the bottom line on our farms and ranches. Today we’re taking steps to strengthen the biofuels industry and helping innovate the next generation of advanced biofuels. For example, we’ve invested more than $320 million into biofuels research to help accelerate the development of technology needed to take the next big steps. USDA has complemented those investments with the creation of six new research centers across America to develop new strategies for biofuels creation, while ensuring that each region of the nation can contribute to homegrown energy. We are also working to strengthen the whole supply chain for advanced biofuels, from the farmers who grow energy crops to the end users of advanced biofuels. Since 2009, USDA has helped provide an incentive for hundreds of growers to raise nearly 60,000 acres of advanced biofuel crops. We’ve supported more than 200 biorefineries in their efforts to produce advanced biofuels, while making loan guarantee commitments to support construction of nine new advanced refineries across the country. We have also taken steps to identify and expand new markets for these advanced biofuels. For example, USDA is working with the Department of Energy and the Department of the Navy to expand advanced biofuels for military aviation and maritime use. Last summer, the Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” conducted groundbreaking exercises off the coast of Hawaii, with ships and aircraft powered by advanced biofuels. We’re also working with the Federal Aviation Administration to promote the production of advanced biofuel for commercial aircraft. This year, we’re focused on helping advanced biofuel producers reach a goal of 14 million gallons of production. We’ll continue working to identify barriers to the production of these new fuels. We’ll also work with all of our partners to help develop solutions, such as new opportunities for multi-cropping production. In the months ahead, USDA will continue to provide support for research and infrastructure. At the same time, we’ll explore new efforts to provide flexibility for folks all along the supply chain. The production and use of advanced biofuels has already had a very positive impact for our nation, and biofuels hold even more opportunity to create jobs and economic prosperity for rural America in the years ahead.