Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public Schools--Now and in the Future

In the raging controversy over how to fix the nation’s underperforming schools, the voices of America’s best teachers are seldom heard. Now, in a provocative book about the future of teaching and learning, 12 of America’s most accomplished classroom educators join a leading advocate for a 21st-century teaching profession to bring expert classroom know-how and fresh policy ideas to the school reform debate. Together they identify trends that will shape the learning experience of the next iGeneration and propose actions to guarantee that every student will have excellent teachers. Policymakers and the public, they say, must work with teachers to:

• Create a richer learning experience for students and teachers, and better ways to measure school success;


• Accelerate digital learning while reinventing brick-and-mortar schools as 24/7 support hubs for students and families;


• Reimagine teaching as a well-paid career with many pathways, where teaching expertise is constantly spread;


• Establish a leadership force of 600,000 “teacherpreneurs”—classroom experts who teach students regularly while also serving as teacher educators, researchers, community organizers, and trustees of their profession.

Teaching 2030 provides a refreshing, grounded, and lively examination of what we need to know and do so that every public school student in America has equal access to caring and effective teachers. This book project was generously supported by MetLife Foundation.

Barnett Berry is founder and president of the Center for Teaching Quality, based in North Carolina—a nonprofit that seeks to dramatically improve student achievement nationwide by conducting timely research, crafting smart policy, and cultivating teacher leadership. The TeacherSolutions 2030 Team includes Jennifer Barnett (Alabama) • Kilian Betlach (California) • Shannon C’de Baca (Iowa) • Susie Highley (Indiana) • John M. Holland (Virginia) • Carrie J. Kamm (Illinois) • Renee Moore (Mississippi) • Cindi Rigsbee (North Carolina) • Ariel Sacks (New York)• Emily Vickery (Florida) • Jose Vilson (New York) • Laurie Wasserman (Massachusetts).

“Teaching 2030 points out how we should restructure accountability and more in order to provide our nation’s children with the education they deserve.”

—Richard Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education

“A brilliant look at the future of teaching in America. Everyone who cares about teaching and learning should read this book.”

—Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

“Berry and his colleagues reveal extraordinary opportunities to improve our schools and serve every student.”

—Dennis Van Roekel, National Education Association

“This provocative work is a welcome contribution to thinking about how we can get our kids the teachers they need.”

—Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute