Education Reformer to Speak on Teaching

Good students are the product of good teachers, said a national education reform leader who is scheduled to speak tonight at a public meeting on teacher preparation sponsored by Cal State Northridge.

Kati Haycock, director of Education Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, will deliver a talk titled “Good Teaching Matters a Lot.” The two-hour program will begin at 6 p.m. at Francis Polytechnic High School.

It is the second of three planned meetings on teacher preparation. They are part of a yearlong effort by the Commission on Excellence in Teacher Education--a partnership of education and community leaders appointed by CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson in December to improve teacher training methods.

Haycock’s talk will draw from a report issued by the Education Trust last year concerning teacher quality, including preparation, recruitment, hiring and professional development.

“The research could not be more clear, consistent or compelling,” Haycock said Tuesday. “It supports what parents have known all along: Teacher quality matters a lot. Effective teachers can help students achieve enormous gains, while ineffective teachers can do great and lasting damage.”

According to the report, achievement gaps between schoolchildren can be closed by consistently assigning the best teachers to the lowest-performing students.

“The findings say clearly that we simply cannot tolerate anything less than the very best teachers,” Haycock said.

Tonight’s talk will be held in the cafeteria at the school, 12431 Roscoe Blvd. Parking will be available at Roscoe Boulevard and Arleta Avenue. The public is invited.

The final meeting is scheduled for May 27 at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, 13330 Vaughn St., San Fernando, and will focus on the latest local education reform efforts.