Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to enlist your active support as we announce the progress and June 1 availability of a major new teacher qualification program based on demonstrated knowledge versus process preparation.

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence) is a joint project of the Education Leaders Council and the National Council on Teacher Quality, many years in the making and funded for development in 2001 by a grant from the US Department of Education.

We are delighted with the quality and potential impact of this project, as its premise is to qualify those individuals with a desire to teach, strong academic content knowledge, demonstrated understanding of student diagnostics and instruction, and a commitment to initial mentoring in the classroom.

As we know too well, many of our nation's teacher preparation programs and/or certification requirements have lapsed into irrelevance by lacking emphasis in content or even a belief in the importance of diagnostics or direct, assessed instruction. The American Board insists that those who would teach our children must know both their subject matter and the essentials of student instruction.

On March 18 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, we will be announcing the availability of this program for those states who choose to include it as one option for certification and ultimately for master teacher designation as well. The American Board offers an initial "passport" certification that is accepted and reciprocal in all states who adopt its use. The "master" designation will be assigned to those teachers who have passed the content examinations and have a proven record of academic achievement among their students. The American Board believes any master teacher designation must reflect significant student progress.

As you can imagine, the opposition we have received from traditional process programs is gaining strength and organization. We need your help in publicizing the true motivations and potential of this project so that those states who have already accepted this program and those who are moving to do so will not be cowed into rejecting it based on predictable overblown and self-interested rhetoric that is sure to come.

We are reaching out to our friends in the industry, in the press, in academia and in local or national political leadership, and seeking your help. We could desperately use your personal endorsement, your voice at home if that is possible, your personal contact of those who will influence certification in your states, and your willingness to alert us to any information we need to either correct or more widely disseminate.

I am quite certain that this plea will be heard both where we seek it to be and well beyond. I know that because, of course, we have healthy files on the organization efforts underway to stop the American Board from materializing! No secrets in education...

This is simply a genuine plea for your interest in the Board's success and a request that you help us spread the word and prepare the country for a great new opportunity in genuine teacher preparation.

Please pass this on to those you know, contact us at the American Board, or at Education Leaderships Council| Leading Educational Change | 202.261.2600 .

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for all you do in support of our shared belief that ALL students should be able to expect an exceptional education.

Sincerely,

Lisa Graham Keegan
CEO, Education Leaders Council