 
 CHAPTER 70--STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 
                                 SCHOOLS
 
  SUBCHAPTER II--DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
 
Sec. 6601. Findings

    The Congress finds as follows:
        (1) Reaching the National Education Goals, particularly the 
    third, fourth, and fifth National Education Goals, requires a 
    comprehensive educational reform strategy that involves parents, 
    schools, government, communities, and other public and private 
    organizations at all levels.
        (2) A crucial component of the strategy for achieving such goals 
    is ensuring, through sustained and intensive high-quality 
    professional development, that all teachers will provide challenging 
    learning experiences in the core academic subjects for their 
    students.
        (3) Decisionmaking as to what activities a State or local 
    educational agency should undertake to improve teaching and learning 
    are best made by individuals in the schools closest to the classroom 
    and most knowledgeable about the needs of schools and students.
        (4) The potential positive impact of high-quality professional 
    development is underscored by recent research findings that--
            (A) professional development must be focused on teaching and 
        learning in order to improve the opportunities of all students 
        to achieve higher standards;
            (B) effective professional development focuses on 
        discipline-based knowledge and effective subject-specific 
        pedagogical skills, involves teams of teachers, and, where 
        appropriate, administrators and pupil services personnel, in a 
        school and, through professional networks of teachers, and, 
        where appropriate, teacher educators, administrators, pupil 
        services personnel, and parents, is interactive and 
        collaborative, motivates by its intrinsic content and 
        relationship to practice, builds on experience and learning-by-
        doing, and becomes incorporated into the everyday life of the 
        school;
            (C) professional development can dramatically improve 
        classroom instruction and learning when teachers, and, where 
        appropriate, administrators, pupil services personnel, and 
        parents, are partners in the development and implementation of 
        such professional development; and
            (D) new and innovative strategies for teaching to high 
        standards will require time for teachers, outside of the time 
        spent teaching, for instruction, practice, and collegial 
        collaboration.

        (5) Special attention must be given in professional development 
    activities to ensure that education professionals are knowledgeable 
    of, and make use of, strategies for serving populations that 
    historically have lacked access to equal opportunities for advanced 
    learning and career advancement.
        (6) Professional development is often a victim of budget 
    reductions in fiscally difficult times.
        (7) The Federal Government has a vital role in helping States 
    and local educational agencies to make sustained and intensive high-
    quality professional development in the core academic subjects 
    become an integral part of the elementary and secondary education 
    system.
        (8) Professional development activities must prepare teachers, 
    pupil services personnel, paraprofessionals and other staff in the 
    collaborative skills needed to appropriately teach children with 
    disabilities, in the core academic subjects.
        (9) Parental involvement is an important aspect of school reform 
    and improvement. There is a need for special attention to ensure the 
    effective involvement of parents in the education of their children. 
    Professional development should include methods and strategies to 
    better prepare teachers and, where appropriate, administrators, to 
    enable parents to participate fully and effectively in their 
    children's education.

(Pub. L. 89-10, title II, Sec. 2001, as added Pub. L. 103-382, title I, 
Sec. 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3612.)
