This proposed RESPECT program is a fantastic idea and could make a huge difference if funded and implemented properly:

The Obama administration will propose Wednesday a $5 billion competition aimed at overhauling how America's teachers are trained, paid and granted tenure, the latest sign of the growing focus on the quality of teaching in public schools.

The competition—modeled after President Barack Obama's Race to the Top education initiative—would reward states that adopt overhauls favored by the administration, such as raising the bar to get into colleges of education, paying teachers based on student achievement and granting tenure only after proof of successful teaching, according to administration officials.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will unveil the plan during a town-hall meeting Wednesday, officials said, and will call on states to work with teachers unions and colleges of education to overhaul the teaching profession, which has faced withering criticism in recent years. The plan also calls on states and school districts to pay teachers more and adopt incentives to retain the best teachers, especially in hard-to-staff schools.

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• POLITICS
• FEBRUARY 15, 2012
• http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204062704577223582956163916.html

Plan Offers $5 Billion to Improve Teaching

By STEPHANIE BANCHERO