RESOLUTION ON TEACHER CENTERS

WHEREAS, teachers have long recognized that teacher preparation and in-service education need to be more closely related to classroom realities; and

WHEREAS, teaching is a profession that can be perfected only through constant sharing, beginning, ideally, with an internship program for new teachers; and

WHEREAS, the framework for the sharing of new curricular approaches and of teaching strategies must be determined by teachers themselves if in-service programs are to be truly useful; and

WHEREAS, new federal legislation authorizing the creation of teacher centers provides for centers to be run by policy boards composed of a majority of teachers; and

WHEREAS, the voice of teachers on such boards is best reflected through democratically elected teacher or­ganizations:

RESOLVED, that in all activities related to the planning, establishment, and operation of federally funded teacher centers, local school boards and institutions of higher education must deal with the elected collective bargaining agent or organization representing teachers; and

RESOLVED, that teacher representatives to the policy boards that run centers be named by the elected collective bargaining agent or organization representing teachers; and

RESOLVED, that teachers serving on policy boards and participating in organized in-service activities sponsored by teacher centers be provided with released time so that they may take full advantage of the services offered by the center; and

RESOLVED, that every effort be made to work cooperatively with institutions of higher education in developing centers and in administering their programs; and

RESOLVED, that center programs be made available to all educational personnel who wish to make use of them including paraprofessionals, guidance counselors, curriculum specialists, and teachers of every level and specialty; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge Congress to fully fund the teacher center legislation at its highest authorized level.