DALLAS—August 22, 2008—In the wake of today’s release of a new poll on “The Public’s Attitudes Toward Public Schools,” the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) is calling for major new initiatives to improve the performance levels of current teachers and administrators.
The report was prepared under a partnership between Phi Delta Kappa International and the Gallup Organization. It reveals that increasing proportions of Americans believe public schools should emphasize academic skills, that national education standards may be appropriate, and that education in the United States is not keeping pace with that in some other countries.
“The results of the PDK/Gallup Poll clearly document America’s rising expectations of public school educators,” said Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council. “For current educators to meet these expectations, they must dramatically increase their knowledge and skills” Hirsh said. “Whether that occurs depends almost entirely on the effectiveness of educators’ professional development experiences.”
“NSDC knows what works,” Dr. Hirsh said. “High quality professional development consists of dynamic learning experiences educators use to increase their effectiveness in meeting students’ specific learning needs.”
