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Equitable Access to Quality Teaching

**Public Agenda. (2015). How can we ensure that all children have excellent teachers? Public Agenda and American Institutes for Research. Available at http://www.publicagenda.org/files/PublicAgenda_Choicework _HowCanWeEnsureThatAllChildrenHaveExcellentTeachers_2015.pdf

This discussion starter kit lays out three approaches through which districts and schools can improve equitable access to quality teaching. The first approach recommends incentivizing the best teachers to work in low performing schools. Second, the guide advocates for giving teachers better working conditions and more support. Finally, the piece suggests making fundamental changes to schools so teachers are treated as true professionals. In addition to laying out pros and cons associated with each approach, the guide identifies potential policy changes, poses key questions for consideration in making those changes, and provides suggestions for how to engage the community in action.

Gianzero, G., Potter, N. S., Yenpasook, M., & Cramer, J. A. Z. (2016). Increasing access to effective teacher for all children in California: Research review and policy Recommendations. National Center for Urban School Transformation and Center for Education Policy and Law. Available at https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/ education/ncust/images/access_to_effective_teachers_2016.02.02.pdf

This report argues that key state policies play a central role in providing students constitutionally guaranteed learning opportunities through equitable access to high quality teaching. To support this perspective, the study presents research that demonstrates the importance of the role of teachers in providing a quality education. However, the authors also note that many current policies and practices are inconsistent with the knowledge and best practices identified in the research. In response, they suggest that the heart of the issue is effective teaching and substantiate the ways in which policymakers can address challenges to related to retention, the tenure system, and the continuous development of the teacher workforce. The report concludes that these changes are imperative to California’s prosperity and thus the responsibility of the state to ensure equitable access to truly effective teachers.

Goe, L. (2009). The equitable distribution of teachers: Strategies and results. Table 3.1. Conditions of inequitable distribution: Solutions and challenges [Text table in chapter]. In L. Goe (Ed.), America’s opportunity: Teacher effectiveness and equity in K–12 classrooms. Available at http://www.gtlcenter.org/ sites/default/files/docs/2009BiennialReport.pdf

This table lays out some of the conditions that have contributed to inequitable access to high quality teachers in areas of recruitment, retention, mentorship, and professional development. The table also provides possible solutions and challenges for states to consider.

**This document is considered a priority reading.