Access to a great education can be life changing. For decades, the Walton Family Foundation has supported innovative approaches to education. Of the many things we’ve learned over the years, this truth stands out:

A great education begins with a great teacher.

Now more than ever, it is important to support our nation’s teachers by addressing today’s challenges and investing in the teachers of tomorrow. This means supporting efforts to make the field more rewarding for teachers, offering career advancement without leaving what they love: the classroom. This means attracting and retaining more teachers and leaders of color at the school and system levels.

And this means building a profession that is not held back by bureaucracy, but gives teachers the autonomy and resources to teach.

So as another school year begins, let’s ask:

How can we support opportunities for teachers to come together to create a more engaging and rewarding profession?

How do we further support diversity in the next generation of teachers?

How can we elevate teachers’ voices in conversations about the future of education?

We are proud to work with leaders who are strengthening the teaching profession by:

• Redesigning programs at traditional colleges of education across the country;

• Ensuring teachers have opportunities to grow, without having to leave the classroom, through innovative training and new types of support for schools; and

• Ensuring more teachers look like the students they serve.

Great teachers prepare students for a lifetime of opportunity.

Thank you to America’s teachers for doing the hard work every day. We are behind you and committed to forging this path together.

Join us on our journey at waltonfamilyfoundation.org/teachersinspire.

We asked students from Arkansas Arts Academy to illustrate their favorite teacher or class. View the gallery of their original artwork.