Answering Obama's education challenge

Since his inauguration, President Obama has outlined the educational challenges facing our nation in stark terms: "The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens. ... Yet despite resources unmatched anywhere in the world we've let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short. ..." Most recently, at the 2009 National Academy of Sciences, President Obama said, "We know that the nation that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow…We know that the quality of math and science teachers is the single most influential factor in determining whether a student will succeed or fail in these subjects."

The president has placed particular emphasis on the need for teacher recruitment and training, noting that once students enter the school building, the most critical factor in their success is neither race nor income, but "the person standing in front of the classroom."

The solution to fixing the nation's education system cannot be solved by the government alone. The public and private sector must also come together to answer the administration's challenge to fix education and be in a position to replace the growing numbers of seasoned educators expected to retire in the coming years with highly trained and eager teachers. Recognizing this need to work with colleges to recruit, train and support new teachers in science and math is key for the future of our nation.

The challenge before us is large and multi-faceted. According to the National Education Association, ethnic minorities now represent 40 percent of the student population of our schools. These students, however, are not seeing this same diversity among their teachers and would-be mentors. An investment in minority students as undergraduates, especially those who have expressed a genuine interest in teaching math and science, will increase the number of teachers and role models for our next generation of leaders.

At the same time, our public schools are struggling to attract and retain well-qualified teachers, while also trying to increase teacher diversity and salaries. According to the Department of Education, 25 percent of teachers leave within the first three years of entering the profession and close to 50 percent leave urban districts within five years. The industry still confronts a stubborn and persistent achievement gap for minority students.

What can we do to change the trend? Innovate and collaborate. The role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in such efforts is critical, since more than 50 percent of black teachers are taught and trained at these institutions. We call on public, private and government institutions to collaborate and develop programs and partnerships that can further inspire teachers to answer the president's call for "a new generation of Americans to step forward and serve our country in the classrooms."

This summer, The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and the Siemens Foundation are introducing a national outreach effort -- the HBCU Teacher Quality & Retention Program -- with its 47-member schools to identify, train and mentor 10,000 minority teachers over the next four years. These teachers will be ready to enter classrooms in urban and rural communities and commit to teaching underserved students in secondary schools for at least five years. We are also focused on increasing the number of black male teachers and identifying teachers majoring in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

We will begin in June with 200 recruits at four regional institutes in Washington, Winston-Salem, Pine Bluff, Ark., and San Jose, Calif. Students were recruited from Education and STEM departments, with special emphasis on students desiring to serve in high-need rural and urban communities. The institutes will be intensive, and are designed to offer graduates a unique bridge from preparation to practicum to professionalism. The training includes teaching theories, classroom management, curriculum design, use of technology in the classrooms, and how to become effective role models. Most important, the program will pair new teachers with more experienced teachers who can offer that much-needed mentoring throughout their careers.

Many of the nation's public HBCUs were started more than 100 years ago specifically as teachers' colleges and have since grown into universities that offer a full range of academic disciplines. These schools are continuing a long tradition of producing African-American and minority teachers, and we must continually raise the bar. Research shows that the single most important factor in improving any student's performance is the quality of the teacher, and the impact of a higher-quality teacher is particularly significant for low-performing, minority students.

The goal is simple. Invest in our future leaders so they have the tools to innovate and succeed, especially in the priority fields of science and math. In the words of President Obama, "Education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success; it is a prerequisite for success."

Dwayne Ashley is the president and CEO of The Thurgood Marshall College Fund. James Whaley is the president of the Siemens Foundation.