Obama lays out education goals

The Pueblo Chieftain Online ::

‘We finally have an education president,’’ said Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers. ‘‘We really embrace the fact that he’s talked about both shared responsibility and making sure there is a voice for teachers, something that was totally lacking in the last eight years.’’

The president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, Dennis van Roekel said, ‘‘President Obama always says he will do it with educators, not to them.’’

‘‘That is a wonderful feeling, for the president of the United States to acknowledge and respect the professional knowledge and skills that those educators bring to every job in the school,’’ van Roekel said.

Van Roekel insisted that Obama’s call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied to student test scores. It could mean more pay for board-certified teachers or for those who work in high-poverty, hard-to-staff schools, he said.

However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things.

‘‘What you want to do is really identify the best and brightest by a range of metrics, including student achievement,’’ Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press in a brief interview