Joint Statement from USCM President Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, USCM Second Vice-President and Education Reform Task Force Chair Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The nation's mayors strongly commend Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for achieving an historic education contract agreement that will benefit both the students and teachers in Chicago. 

"This package will ensure that school principals are accountable for performance and retain the freedom to hire the best teachers; that teacher performance is evaluated through a strong and fair system that includes student growth measures; and that kids have a full school day and full school year so that they have the instructional time to keep them competitive. 

"The U.S. Conference of Mayors has adopted strong policy supporting education reform, and mayors across the nation will be following the progress that will be achieved through this historic new agreement in Chicago.

"We commend Mayor Emanuel for his commitment to the children in his great city." 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,295 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors