Create career ladders for teachers across the United States

Critical to reshaping the teaching profession is creating opportunities for teachers to develop different roles at different levels of pay based on interest and demonstrated levels of expertise. Creating opportunities for master teachers, in particular, to anchor the training of new teachers and lead professional learning is key to developing a field that draws on teachers’ expertise and gives newer teachers something to which to aspire.

This is not a new idea; we already see such systems in Shanghai, Singapore, Iowa, New York, and elsewhere; the challenge will be to spread such systems and make sure that their criteria for advancement are aligned with contemporary visions of student learning and good teaching.