Education chief Duncan calls for more teachers

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a crowd of students at the University of Virginia that the nation needs an army of great new teachers and that the call to teach is the great public mission of our time.

"I believe that education is the civil-rights issue of our generation," Duncan said yesterday to students and educators at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education.

"I think that teaching should be one of our most revered professions," he added. "Unfortunately, this is not the case today."

Duncan said teaching will be a fast-growing profession in the years ahead as baby boomers retire from the 3.2 million-teacher work force across the nation.

He also emphasized that in the Information Age, it is impossible to get a good job if a student drops out of school.

He encouraged Curry's future educators to take their careers to often less-desirable areas, such as underserved school districts in cities or rural areas, to change the lives of those students.

"Let's go forth and act," he said.

Duncan was the superintendent of Chicago's public schools before being appointed to President Barack Obama's Cabinet.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the award of $11.25 million in grants for 29 three-year projects nationwide to benefit working adults and displaced workers pursuing degrees or credentials in community colleges.

The two recipients in Virginia are J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, which will receive $236,049; and Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, which will get $365,487.

The funding announced yesterday is for two years of the three-year projects.

The third year will be funded in 2011.