The power of teachers to impact lives is profound: They have the power to inspire; to instill a lifelong love of learning; and, to teach how to think deeply and critically.

Intuitively and backed by research, we know that effective teachers bring about greater learning than those with lesser abilities. We have focused a lot of time, energy and financial resources on developing teacher evaluation systems. And, with this information, we can highlight and celebrate our effective educators, and provide assistance to those who are struggling. Our work, however, does not end there.

This session, I’ve sponsored a measure that I hope will start the conversation around incorporating international best practices in the way we approach recruiting high quality candidates, strengthening competencies, and providing compensation that recognizes and supports education professionals.

My bill seeks to do a couple of things: one, make it financially viable to embark on a teaching career. And, two, strengthen the standards of our education profession.

The average starting pay for teachers in Maine lags significantly behind the rest of New England and the northeast – by about $8,000. My bill would establish a minimum salary of $40,000 and double the loans available under the Educators for Maine Program. By doing this, my hope is that we can begin paying our educators at a level that reflects their profession’s importance to our communities and society.

According to the Maine Education Department of Data Management, of our state’s 15,000 teachers, almost 30 percent are over 55 years old and more than 40 percent are older than 50. If one-third of our teachers retire at 62 years old, we can expect to lose about 5,000 teachers in the next seven years. We simply must do more to attract quality people to the field of education. If we expect new graduates to choose teaching over other fields like engineering where the average starting pay in Maine is $71,000, then we have to make teaching more appealing. And, if we want prospective teachers to choose Maine over say, New Hampshire, then we have to close the salary gap.

Next, my bill raises the bar for prospective teachers by increasing some of the prerequisites for people entering the teaching profession: it increases the required practicum experience and raises the minimum grade point average to 3.0. The bill also incentivizes teachers to become lifelong learners by requiring a master’s degree within five years of being employed in Maine.

In the end, my goal is that we pass strong legislation that will ensure that each of our students is working with quality teachers who are empowered and inspired to help our students reach their full potential. After all, investment in education from our students, to teachers, to school buildings – is the best assurance we have for a vibrant and competitive future.

State Sen. Rebecca Millett, of Cape Elizabeth, represents South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, and part of Scarborough.