Robert Torricelli: “The Department of Education estimates we will need 2 million new teachers in the next decade. In my State of New Jersey…”

“The Department of Education estimates we will need 2 million new teachers in the next decade. In my State of New Jersey, that is 109,000 teachers currently in shortage. When schools started this year in the city of Newark, there were 200 classrooms without teachers available. You can have your idea about American education, but the debate starts here. Empty classrooms, overcrowded classrooms, retiring teachers are not part of the formula for American educational or economic success. The fact is, if we did not have massive retirements, if there were not already shortages, we would still need Senator Murray's amendment. The Department of Education in May 1998 also concluded that the one principal variable that we know in improving education in America is class size. Educational Testing Services found that smaller class sizes raised achievement from fourth to eighth grade students, it reduced drop-out rates, and increased performance. It is the one variable we know that works.”