U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will meet with approximately 850 language arts teachers from Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) at a back-to-school event to kick off the new school year at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 22, at Perry Hall High School. Joined by Maryland State Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery and BCPS Superintendent S. Dallas Dance, Duncan will discuss the Obama Administration’s education reform efforts and the important and difficult work of transforming the teaching profession. He will conduct a question-and-answer session with the teachers following his remarks.
Later in the morning, 150-200 BCPS language arts teachers from each middle and high school in the district will take part in roundtables with Teaching Ambassador Fellows from the U.S. Department of Education to discuss the Department’s RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching) project, which is a vision for rebuilding the teaching profession and elevating the teacher voice in shaping federal, state, and local education policy.
The President’s 2013 budget includes a $5 billion request for RESPECT, which would challenge states and school districts to work with teachers, unions, colleges of education, and other education stakeholders to reform the teaching profession.