Parents in Washington will tell you that the most important work in the state is educating their children. Business leaders will tell you that students must be better prepared to take their place in a competitive workforce. Students will tell you they are more likely to be engaged in their learning if their teacher knows the subject area well and brings it alive in the classroom.

We agree. As members of the Professional Educator Standards Board, there are statements about the reform of education and the significance of the profession that we can make with certainty and assurance. Teaching matters. Leadership counts. Setting clear and high standards will help all children achieve at higher levels, but it is skilled educators who make it happen. We continue to affirm this as the result of research and discovery, discussion and deliberation.

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is responsible for setting and upholding high standards for the profession, ensuring that students encounter high-quality educators throughout their school experience. This deliberative body fulfills the state's intent for the profession to be self-governing, with a composition primarily of practicing educators and administrators joined by representatives from educator preparation programs, parents and citizens.


Barbara Taylor
PESB Chair and Integrated Science and Biology Teacher, Othello School District