Inside AFT--Week of March 11, 2002
 

* AFT, Education Department Join Forces on Reading Instruction
* School, College Security Staff Meet at AFT Headquarters
* Coalition Project Encourages More Women To Join Unions
* Runoff Will Decide New UTLA President
* Tentative Pact Reached for PSC/CUNY
* Lawyer in Voucher Case Dies...Where and When
 
 

BUSH ANNOUNCES JOINT EFFORT WITH AFT ON READING INSTRUCTION
The AFT will be working with the U.S. Department of Education to expand
efforts to give teachers solid, research-based approaches to teaching
reading. President Bush made the announcement March 6 after AFT president
Sandra Feldman was a featured speaker at a White House Conference on
Preparing Quality Teachers hosted by first lady Laura Bush. "Our teachers
must know how to teach reading if we expect to meet our national goal of
[students'] reading by the third grade," said President Bush in announcing
the cooperative effort on reading. The AFT has been in the forefront of
developing a balanced and successful reading instruction approach based on
several components, including decoding skills, comprehension strategies and
exposure to a rich variety of literature. The AFT will also work with the
Education Department to identify exemplary programs that encourage and
prepare new teachers. "We must be innovative," said President Bush, noting
that the nation will need 2.2 million teachers in the next decade. The
White House conference included an overview of the current research and
promising practices on teacher preparation, alternative routes to teaching,
teacher certification and teaching reading. Feldman's remarks at the
conference are posted at the Press Center of AFT Online,
<http://www.aft.org>. Click on "Speeches and Columns."