ASI-Achieve Press Release, Albert Shanker Institute

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2002

Curriculum, Teacher Development To Be Tackled As Missing Elements In Push
To Raise Standards, Measure Results With Tests

UPCOMING FORUM OF STATE, CORPORATE AND EDUCATION LEADERS TO TARGET NEXT HURDLES TO IMPROVING SCHOOLS

NEW YORK CITY – As New York and other states raise expectations for student achievement with standards and tests, concerns are growing that most teachers have never been provided clear and detailed guidance on the curriculum to be taught, nor the vital skills and knowledge to help children reach the higher targets.

Teachers increasingly complain that they have neither the curriculum and instructional materials tied closely to their states' standards, nor meaningful opportunities to align their professional practice with them. Questions persist about whether the money being spent by states and local school systems has been targeted to student learning as defined by those standards.

More than 100 policymakers, corporate leaders and educators from across the United States will gather in New York City later this week for a two-day leadership forum to tackle these gaps between standards and curriculum and teacher professional development. The forum is being co-sponsored by Achieve, Inc. and The Albert Shanker Institute.

Among the forum sessions:

Philip M. Condit, chairman and CEO, Boeing and vice co-chair, Achieve

Sandra Feldman, president, American Federation of Teachers and the Shanker Institute

Grover "Russ" Whitehurst, U.S. assistant secretary of education for research and improvement

Terry Bergeson, superintendent of instruction, State of Washington

Richard Elmore, professor, Harvard University

David Cohen, professor, University of Michigan

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO, Cleveland Public Schools

Mari A. Pearlman, vice president, Educational Testing Service

The leadership forum will take place on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21, 2002 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Grand Central Station in New York City. The forum will be open to the media.

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