Greg Abbott wants Texas to be #1 in education.
In the first phase of his Educating Texans policy plan, Greg Abbott calls for research-based professional development for prekindergarten teachers that incorporates the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines, as well as standards to promote classroom best practices.
Research consistently shows that teacher quality is the most important school related factor impacting student achievement. If prekindergarten is closing the achievement gap between educationally disadvantaged children and their peers from more affluent backgrounds, prekindergarten teachers should be competent and comfortable in their guidelines, and highly trained in classroom strategies that incorporate the guideline standards.
—Educating Texans, Phase 1
Extensive training for prekindergarten teachers is the only way to ensure that Texas’ children get the gold-standard prekindergarten education they deserve.