A Report on Increasing Professional Standards for Delaware's Educators.

This report by Delaware's Governor and Secretary of Education, in consultation with the State Board of Education, sets forth a plan to improve professional standards and accountability in the Delaware school system. The report focuses on how Delaware can assure the quality of educators for its students, and thus raise student achievement. The premise of the report is that well-prepared, effective educators are critical to students' success. In fact, teacher effectiveness and class size together have been found to have a greater impact on student academic achievement than poverty, race, and parental educational level combined. The report focuses on three main issues: assuring the quality of teacher candidates, recruiting top educators, and supporting professional growth to ensure the effectiveness of educators throughout their careers. The report addresses the three issues in six sections: "Teacher Skills Requirements"; "Professional Development" (New Teachers, Experienced Teachers); "Evaluation of Professional Educators"; "Professional Educators' Licensure and Recertification"; "Other Certified Staff"; and "Administrator Employment Practices." For each section of the report, a summary of the issues is provided with recommendations. The report also supports certain recommendations from the Statewide Educator Recruitment Committee and the Education Salary Schedule Improvement Committee. Three additional committees also provided information for the development of the report. A list of 11 supporting documents that are available upon request is provided. (SM)

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