Nice to see my friend Cyndi on the front page of the P & C, rather than the usual poseurs who claim to be making a difference. She really is. I may need to change my category to "sung" heroes. [See Seasoned teachers wanted in struggling schools.]Would you believe that CCSD officials have never tried before to point more experienced teachers towards working in its failing schools? What can I say? They admit it themselves.
The reporter is a bit confused about the difference between an experienced teacher and an NBCT--but I'll let that one pass. At least we finally have the statistic that CCSD has been hiding (where its NBCTs are working): "Only 36 of the county's 293 National Board Certified teachers [. . .] work in schools rated unsatisfactory on the state report card."
Now, why would that be? Hmm. Maybe because the incentive money that comes with NBCT certification doesn't require any such commitment from those teachers? I've pointed out previously that a stipulation to work for a certain period in an under-performing school would spread some of that state money to the schools that really need those teachers. I guess the state legislature doesn't want to upset the education apple cart.In the "Ripley's Believe It or Not" category, we have Superintendent McGinley, who now wields the power to place teachers that was taken away from the constituent boards, pleading that experienced teachers volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts--no other reward, mind you--to go from the relatively tolerable environments they are now in and dive into the great unknown.
Except it's not the great unknown. What's known is that these schools have great difficulty in keeping faculty year after year. You don't need to teach in one of these schools to know why. Just look at some of the comments on the above-referenced article in the P & C's online edition. For example,
As a Nationally Board Certified teacher who has taught in a "failing" school for the last 7 years, I can tell you why good teachers do not stay in these schools. The paperwork required of these teachers is punitive, many of the administrators are not effective, the students are disrespectful and disruptive, and the teachers can drive down the street a few miles and work in a school where they don't have to deal with any of these things--for the same pay.
All of that being said, a good teacher in one of these schools CAN make a difference. My students consistently score well on tests--and they love to learn--despite where they come from. Not everyone can teach in these schools, but if you have the "gift" and can do it--those kids need you!
If you haven't taught in one of these schools, how do you know "you have the 'gift'"? Does being a highly effective teacher in another environment guarantee it? What happens if you don't? Even the head of the New Teacher Project (yes, let's not forget them--the ones who got paid so much by CCSD for failing to recruit the number of new teachers they promised) said he hadn't previously heard of "such an organized emotional appeal." It comes with a recruiting video but not much else.
Some comments did make sense. Even Daly (of the NTP) pointed out that "the district should make those schools worth wanting, . . . . Schools need to have strong team cultures and good academic instruction so that high-performing teachers will want to go there and stay."
And Kent Riddle, chairman of the Charleston Teacher Alliance, "said the district should focus on the bigger issue of why low-performing schools lack quality teachers. School officials should ask teachers why they leave such schools and evaluate whether those issues are ones they can address."
Ask the teachers? What a novel idea! Certainly McGinley doesn't have any firm ideas in mind other than emotional calls to the altar. Her theorizing about financial incentives and guaranteed jobs held in the school left behind is simply pie in the sky by and by.
Next we know, experienced teachers in the district will be blamed for not heeding the call.
NOTE: For a taste of what goes on in Sacramento, California, see Why couldn't they find the teachers they needed? post of March 1, 2008
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5 comments:
I agree with this comment copied from the P&C blog:
Posted by belovedbliff (anonymous) on March 6, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am always baffled bad the faulty assumption that Nationally Board Certified teachers would somehow do better at lower performing schools than teachers who were not.
Show me this data, please.
Kent Riddle has the right idea: ask teachers why they are leaving low-performing schools or do not wish to go there. You will find the answer has rarely to do with students. The leadership is often sorely lacking and there are structures in place that create multiple obstacles to student achievement and hinder teacher morale.
Dr. McGinley speaks a good game and so does the school board, but why haven't I seen them at my failing school?
"Charleston's Shame" (the unofficial sister blog of this one) addresses this issue, too.
When do they EVER ask the teachers? And when was the last time any of these administrators actually took the time to teach in any of these schools? That should be mandated. Get out of your office and come teach in the classroom.
It's so frustrating to watch decisions being made for change year after year, with so little(if any) input from the people actually affected.
You Clelia, of course, make no difference, because you choose to work for a private school rather than CCSD.
Dr. Francis, one time principal of Burke (2004-2005, I believe) always managed to teach a math class at whatever school he was assigned to administer, but he was a rare example of someone who was in touch with the frontlines of teaching. Of course, CCSD always manages to move or stiffle any administrator that would be so unconventional as to follow common sense instead of the instruction manual. Until schools and the people who actually run them on a day-to-day basis are allowed to be creative, the system will continue to produce failing schools.
Did anyone notice that the statistics on discipline in the Sunday P&C reflected a very telling detail. At least 36 of Charleston County's 82 stand alone schools or school programs are considered to be too lopsided in their racial make up to be counted. That means that nearly 50% of CCSD schools are considered very nearly segregated...mostly with minority and kids from low income families herded into schools that comprise a majority of the failing school list.
CCSD can't really blame this on attendance zones because it doesn't pay attention to them anyway. You might also look at the way CCSD "assigns" students to a limited number of choices under NCLB rules. It doesn't just allow anyone to go to any none failing school. Certain people are allowed to transfer to certain schools while others are steered toward other schools.
This is all just a numbers game. When principals and teachers point this out or try to do something about it, they get transferred ... just like what happened to Dr. Francis.
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