International Summit on the Teaching Profession

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona virtually hosted the 2021 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) on October 19-21, 2021, together with Education International (EI) and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Secretary Cardona, head of the U.S. delegation, was joined in Washington, DC, by the rest of the U.S. delegation: President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten; President of the National Education Association Becky Pringle; and CEO of the Council of Chief State School Officers Carissa Moffat Miller. First Lady of the United States Jill Biden delivered pre-recorded remarks.

Fourteen high-performing countries from Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere participated in the Summit, the focus of which was Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future: Excellence and Equity for All.”

Secretary Cardona’s Remarks at Opening Session of ISTP (10/19/2021)

ISTP 2021 – Opening Remarks (video)

Secretary Cardona’s Remarks at Closing Session of ISTP (10/21/2021)

ISTP 2021 – Closing Remarks (video)

ISTP 2021 (Final Program)

Education International Report for ISTP 2021

OECD Report for ISTP 2021

ISTP 2021 (Final Report)

 

 

ISTP 2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the event. The Summit was first held in 2011 by then-U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to bring together ministers and secretaries of education from around the world, the heads of their teacher unions, and other representatives of the teaching profession. The Summit was the first of its kind, designed to engage governments and teacher organizations from high-performing and rapidly improving educational systems (based on the results of PISA) in an intensive discussion about how to strengthen education through a stronger teaching profession.

Based on the success of the first ISTP in 2011, the event became an annual event hosted by different countries each year. Subsequent host countries have included the United States (which hosted again in 2012); the Netherlands (2013), New Zealand (2014), Canada (2015), Germany (2016), the United Kingdom (2017), Portugal (2018), Finland (2019), and Spain (2020). OECD and EI have continued to co-host each year.