Schools chief Walcott gives thanks to teachers

David Handschuh/New York Daily News

Dennis Walcott is schools chancellor

I visit schools almost every week; it’s by far the best part of my job.

Every visit inspires and moves me, but I was especially struck by a group of students I met last year at a high school in Queens.

I will never forget how one young man described his academic performance.

He said he was just an average student but knew he was capable of so much more. He and his classmates didn’t want to just get by. They had goals they knew they couldn’t achieve without a college education.

I have had similar conversations in schools throughout the city. Our students are so much wiser than adults often give them credit for. They understand the world they are growing up in. They know that mediocrity isn’t good enough. To attain the American Dream, they have got to master science and math, develop strong literacy skills, and be able to think, not just critically, but creatively.

A high-quality education can deliver this and more, and it is what parents tell me they want for their children. But here’s the catch: We can’t get there without great teachers. They are the linchpin in our students’ success.

That is why I am thrilled to honor the Daily News Hometown Heroes in Education. They are exceptional teachers, principals and school staff who have gone above and beyond to put students on track for college and careers. Theirs are, by far, the most challenging and important jobs in the world — particularly now.

We are at a pivotal moment in the history of our public school system. We have increased our high school graduation rate by nearly 40 percent since 2005, to a record 65 percent, while the drop-out rate has plummeted by half. Crime in our schools has fallen dramatically — recent statistics show a nearly 50 percent drop since 2001.

Having turned this system around, we are now aiming higher. The fact remains that not enough of our students are graduating ready for college and careers. It is a national crisis, and we are tackling it.

New York has joined 44 states in adopting a new and higher set of standards known as the Common Core, which go beyond teaching skills needed to merely graduate. Under the richer Common Core curriculum, students are developing the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills they need to flourish in the college classroom and the workplace. This is the most promising change to classroom instruction in a generation, and it is a critical step in our students’ education.

Advance, our groundbreaking new teacher evaluation and development system, will support our teachers in this transition. At more than 1,600 schools, principals are for the first time evaluating teachers based on a common standard of effective teaching. At the heart of the system is the conviction that teachers are highly skilled professionals who, like other professionals, can improve with meaningful feedback and support.

Ultimately, though, Advance is about our students, because we can’t put them on a path to academic excellence until all of our teachers are outstanding.

I promised the young people in Queens that we would prepare them for the world outside the classroom, and it’s a promise I make daily to all of our 1.1 million students. Never have the stakes been so high. And never has the brass ring — a high-quality education for all — been so close.

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