Mitch Landrieu: “I appreciate the extra time. What's more, 66% of the teachers in Louisiana have bachelors degrees. Only 13 of our…”

“I appreciate the extra time. What's more, 66% of the teachers in Louisiana have bachelors degrees. Only 13 of our teachers were Nationally Board Certified in the year 2000. And over 15% of those teaching in our state have not successfully completed their certification. This is true of Louisiana, but it is going to be true in almost every State you look at. The numbers of people choosing to teach are just not there to meet the requirements. So lots of things can be done. This bill encourages alternative certification, being creative, getting retirees who have had a successful first career into the schools. For instance, a great program Troops to Teachers, which uses our military to fill these slots. We can no longer rely on 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds. We must broaden our thinking. There are positive things that can be done, and there are success stories, but they are not free. I contend today, and I will continue to fight in this debate, that there are simply not enough resources at the local and Federal levels to meet the new demands of this bill and to give a promise to our parents and students that they will be taught by a qualified, good teacher. Let me share some facts about Mississippi. Mississippi is a State that is in a very tough situation. Mississippi has 874 schools. Of the 874 schools, 700 have 50 percent of poverty--students from households represented by an income that hits the poverty level. They need 23,274 highly qualified teachers.…”