The classroom teacher is the most important factor in the success of a student. Today's teacher must be prepared for the evolving demands of the 21st-century classroom. These demands require more than the traditional tools of workbook lessons and final exams. Our high school students are entering a workplace where 65 percent of the jobs need highly skilled employees, and 56 percent of the work force is expected to have some college experience. This is a dramatic increase from 50 years ago, when 80 percent Of the jobs required only a high school diploma.

The availability of a skilled and educated work force carries a greater weight than climate or tax incentives in corporate relocation decisions, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Employers today want workers who have well-developed thinking skills, high levels of technological understanding and advanced academic knowledge. A solid education in mathematics and science can be used in every profession and vocation. In short, the traditional Three R's must be complemented with new skills and knowledge, and both first-time and experienced teachers must know how to impart this knowledge.

Houston 's rapidly changing community and constantly evolving population pose additional challenges. Teachers must enter their classrooms prepared to work with students from other countries and different cultures, and where English is a second language. Each year our schools grapple with teacher flight, as up to half of these vital educators leave their professions after only three years in the classrooms. Although teacher-education research has added new knowledge about how students learn and how teachers should teach, much of that knowledge is Not incorporated into the curricula of the colleges of education and the public school classroom. The result is a "theory-practice" split in public school classrooms.

Recently, Houston moved closer to addressing these issues when we became one of only eight U.S. cities to receive a $3 .9 million Department of Education grant to upgrade the quality of teacher-preparation programs at our universities. During the next five years, a unique partnership of four universities, six school districts, the Houston Community College System and the Houston A+ Challenge will match the award to create a national exemplar for reform of teacher education from pre-kindergarten through college. Houston is uniquely positioned to accomplish this goal for several reasons. The new dean of the college of education at the University of Houston main campus, Robert K. Wimpelberg, is preparing the college to meet today's challenges by producing teachers who can show students how to succeed in a world where information moves at the speed of light and productivity is the key to success. UH-Downtown's Urban Education program is widely recognized for successfully preparing instructors for the unique challenges of the urban classroom. More than 80 percent of UH Downtown's urban teacher-education graduates are still in urban classrooms, surpassing the national retention rate of 50 percent. Our other higher education partners, Texas Southern University, St. Thomas University and Houston Community College, are also committed to addressing the changing demands in teacher education. The five school district partners - Aldine, Spring Branch, Houston , Humble and North Forest - understand that major reforms and restructuring of the teaching process must be made if they are to continue their growth in student achievement. Houston A+ Challenge and the Houston Independent School District recently received an invitation-only grant from the Carnegie Corp. to plan a $20 million program to restructure all 23 comprehensive high schools in HISD. This grant, together with the Department of Education grant, will allow the city to implement broad, systemic change in public education.

These two projects, along with current Houston A+ Challenge school reform initiatives, could become a national model for how to create a large, urban public education collaboration that covers pre-kindergarten through college. This model could also demonstrate the strengths of the U.S. education system and the ways in which it can be improved as we move toward a truly global, technology-based economy. Under this grant, the universities will restructure teacher preparation into a seamless approach to training that starts in the college and continues through a teacher's first two years in the classroom. The colleges of education and arts and sciences at each campus will revise core and major courses so new teachers acquire the skills and extensive academic knowledge they need to understand and teach mathematics, reading and other subjects at all grade levels. This comprehensive, broad-based, all-inclusive approach is the best way to revitalize our teacher-preparation programs. All the work to date to reform public schools will be for naught if our teachers are not prepared for the classroom of the new century.

(Smith is the president of the University of Houston-main campus and chancellor of the University of Houston System. Clarke is executive director of The Houston A+ Challenge.)