Students deserve great teachers. And teachers deserve the support they need to become great.

The quote frames educational quality as a reciprocal obligation: students are entitled to excellent instruction, and society owes teachers the conditions that make excellence possible. It implies that “great teaching” is not merely an individual trait but something cultivated through training, feedback, resources, time, and institutional backing. Coming from Gates—whose philanthropy has emphasized education reform and teacher effectiveness—it also signals a policy stance: improving outcomes requires investing in teacher development rather than relying on accountability pressures alone. The parallel structure (“Students deserve… And teachers deserve…”) underscores a systems view in which student success and teacher support are inseparable.