Launching Project RESPECT
Official Department of Education Photo by Leslie Williams
“Our goal is to work with educators in rebuilding their profession—and to elevate the teacher voice in shaping federal, state and local education policy,” said Secretary Duncan today at the launch of the RESPECT Project. “Our larger goal is to make teaching not only America’s most important profession—but America’s most respected profession,” he said.
The RESPECT Project (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching), is a national conversation led by active classroom teachers working temporarily for the Department to help provide input on the administration’s 2013 budget proposal, and on the broader effort to reform teaching.
The Obama Administration’s 2013 proposed budget includes a new $5 billion competitive program that would challenge states and school districts to work with teachers, unions, colleges of education and other education stakeholders to reform the teaching profession.
“We need to redefine what it means to teach in today’s global economy,” Duncan said. “Because what you learn in school today is the foundation for what you will need to know tomorrow to be successful.”
Click here (pdf) to read more about the RESPECT Project, and sign up for our Teaching Matters newsletter for regular updates on the teaching profession and future information about the RESPECT Project.
View the archived video of today’s launch.