Obama backs teacher merit pay, charter schools in education talk

WASHINGTON -- President Obama called for tying teachers' pay to student performance and expanding charter schools Tuesday, embracing ideas that have provoked hostility from members of teachers unions.

He also suggested longer school days -- and years -- to help American children compete in the world.

In his first major speech on education, Obama said the United States must drastically improve student achievement to regain lost international standing.

"The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens," he said. "We have everything we need to be that nation ... and yet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us."

His solutions include teacher pay and charter school proposals that have met resistance among members of teachers unions, an important segment of the Democratic Party.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, far right, makes an unscheduled visit at a meeting of the Council of Chief State School officers, Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Obama acknowledged that conflict, saying, "Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay, even though we know it can make a difference in the classroom."

Despite their history on the issues, union leaders publicly welcomed Obama's words, saying it seems clear he wants to include them in his decisions in a way President George W. Bush did not.

"We finally have an education president," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. "We really embrace the fact that he's talked about both shared responsibility and making sure there is a voice for teachers, something that was totally lacking in the last eight years."

The president of the National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel said, "President Obama always says he will do it with educators, not to them."

"That is a wonderful feeling, for the president of the United States to acknowledge and respect the professional knowledge and skills that those educators bring to every job in the school," van Roekel said.

Van Roekel insisted that Obama's call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied to student test scores. It could mean more pay for board-certified teachers or for those who work in high-poverty, hard-to-staff schools, he said.

However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things.

"What you want to do is really identify the best and brightest by a range of metrics, including student achievement," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The Associated Press in a brief interview.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said certification is part of the mix. "But the president believes that school systems can work with teachers and parents to come up with a system that rewards our best teachers with more pay for their excellence in the classroom."

The union leaders also liked that Obama took on Republicans in his speech, saying the GOP has refused to spend more money on early childhood programs despite evidence they make a difference.

There also has been considerable friction over charter schools, which are publicly funded but operate independently, free from some of the rules that constrain regular schools. Many teachers are concerned that such schools drain money and talent from regular schools.

However, Obama said state limits on numbers of charter schools aren't "good for our children, our economy or our country." He said many of the innovations in education today are happening in charter schools.

Obama addressed the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a setting intended to underscore the need to boost academic performance, especially among Latino and black children who sometimes lag behind their white counterparts.

President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law aimed to close that achievement gap, but progress has been slow, and Obama says his administration can do better. None of what he outlined Tuesday was new; his education agenda reflects Obama's campaign platform.

Broadly speaking, Obama wants changes at every level from before kindergarten through college. He is putting special focus on solving the high school dropout crisis and pushing states to adopt more rigorous academic standards.

Some of his promises already are in the works: Public schools will get an unprecedented amount of money -- double the education budget under Bush -- from the economic stimulus bill over the next two years. To get some of those dollars, Obama and Duncan insist states will have to prove they are making good progress in teacher quality, on data systems to track how students learn and on standards and tests.

After the scheduled event, Obama made a surprise visit with Duncan to a meeting of state school chiefs at a Washington hotel. Duncan said last Friday that states will get the first $44 billion by the end of the month.

Obama also wants children to spend more time in school, with longer school days, school weeks and school years -- a position he admitted will make him less popular with his school-age daughters.

Children in South Korea spend a month longer in school every year than do children in the U.S., where the antiquated school calendar comes from the days when many people farmed and children were needed in the fields.

"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas, not with Malia and Sasha," Obama said as the crowd laughed. "But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

"If they can do that in South Korea, we can do it right here in the United States of America," Obama said.