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jennjones219

I was alarmed when I read recently that the teacher turnover rate for most districts in the United States is close to 20 percent.  This undoubtedly is problematic with regards to student achievement and school budgets.  According to recent research conducted by NCT (National Teaching Commission) and America’s Future, it is estimated that the 20% turnover rate will cast $7.3 billion a year.  If we know that a high teacher turnover rate hinders students achievement, diminishes staff morale, and blows budgets, then why aren’t we doing all that we can to retain quality teachers?

The New Teacher Project (TNTP), July 2012

In July 2012, The New Teacher Project (TNTP), a national non-profit focused on effective teaching, released The Irreplaceable:  Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools.  The research examined over 90, 000 teachers spanning four large, diverse urban school districts and used value-added test data to establish criteria for an “irreplaceable” teacher.  The New Teacher project identifies an irreplaceable teacher as one who is so successful at advancing student learning that he or she is nearly impossible to replace.  The irreplaceable are our “very best” teachers.  They not only advance test score, but they make differences in the lives of their students and families they serve.  Students whose teachers help them make gains are more likely to go on to higher education, earn higher salaries as adults and are less likely to become teenage parents.

Sounds like the type of teachers we want to keep, right?  So how can we keep them happy and working for our schools?

Support Them

Think back to when you first began teaching…I know, I am asking a lot!  What was your induction like?  What supports were in place?  Did you have a mentor?  If your experience was anything like mine, you are feeling cheated right now.  But honestly, the induction process is so very important and school districts across the Unites States could study Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) in Maryland to learn how valuable induction and support models are to new teachers. 

BCPS has implemented site-based mentoring and an end-of-year reflective institute for first year teachers.  Pay increases are awarded based on achievement units – credits for professional development, evaluation scores, and teacher effectiveness.  As a result, BCPS has eliminated the step or lane salary increases.  BCPS has also partnered up with Building a Teaching Effectiveness Network (BTEN), a program developed in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers; Institute of Healthcare Improvement; the Carnegie Foundation; and three partnering school divisions in Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City.  BTEN allows BCPS to be more diagnostic about assessing and meeting the needs of new teachers.

Recognize Them

According to the TNTP report, The Irreplaceables, teachers want to be recognized for their accomplishments publicly.  They also reported wanting to be told that they are “high-performing.”  While this may seem like a “no-brainer” you would be surprised how many times I am told stories by teachers who would have stayed in the profession doing what they loved if “someone would have actually noticed the great works they were doing.”  Compliments and praise are free!  Genuinely praise someone in your building or district today – the results may astound you!

Empower Them

Having had the opportunity to sit on many school improvement panels over the years, I am always perplexed when I see the same faces around the table time and time again.  As leaders, we should “share the wealth” and identify paths for teacher leader roles – yes, this means getting to know folks and their strengths and weaknesses!  I challenge each of you to go out of your way and empower a teacher today!  Put them in charge of something that matters to them and that is important.  This goes a long way during a time when budgets are tight and it costs nothing!

Provide Necessary Resources

Enlist the help of your PTOs and PTAs.  Fundraise, get creative but help them get the tools they need to be able to teach our children.  Build this into your school improvement plan and be strategic so that each team can get some of the items that they have been requesting.  Find out what is important to them and make efforts to obtain what is needed to meet their needs.

In this age of teacher effectiveness, we must get better at recognizing and empowering our “rock star” teachers.  With a national teacher turnover rate at nearly 20 percent, we cannot afford not to.

Source:  The Irreplaceables:  Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools (p.16), TNTP, 2012, New York, NY:  TNTP.

jennjones219

In class this week, the Fredericksburg cohort met for our first EDLP 713 session.  The highlight of the evening came with the discussion surrounding each colleague’s individual journey with respect to their program evaluations.  I appreciated the exercise and the collaboration was helpful for me in several ways.  Most importantly, we were able to get a sense of where each individual was with respect to the pacing in their endeavors.

Each individual discussed their chosen program of evaluation and the methods they wanted to employ to measure the outcomes.  As I listened, I heard many ways in which I could improve my own evaluation as well as build in dependability measures for accountability. 

As I listened to the methodology being employed by most of my classmates, I was prompted to reflect on the epistemology associated with the Social Justice Branch’s ontology, upon which my project is largely based. 

My philosophical assumptions are enmeshed in the Constructivists’ Approach, the belief that individuals create meaning through interaction and reflection.  The epistemological assumption for Constructivists’ assumes “researchers and their participants interact through meaningful dialogue to create knowledge (Guba & Lincoln, 2005).  Because I am committed to the constructivists’ approach towards research, the use of interviews and authentic time spent with students and their families are important considerations for my chosen study.

In conclusion, it was enlightening to hear other’s ideas and share my experiences with others.  Our workgroups, which we are calling “C-A-P-S” (Collaborative Accountability Partners), will be much richer given our collective expertise.

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of qualitative research.         Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage.

jennjones219

Research (Weiner, 1996; Nicholls, 1982; Dweck, 2002, 1999) indicates that one of the most important things educators do is communicate to students that what we will learn is important, that we can learn it well, and that we won’t give up on them in the process.  If research tells us this truth, then why do we continue to struggle with holding high standards and expectations for ALL students?

I believe that educators must clearly communicate standards and expectations, and believe that with effective effort, ALL students can achieve!

Standards exemplify to students what is important:  What it is that we want them to accomplish and how we would like for them to conduct themselves?  According to Jon Saphier (Research for Better Teaching, RBT), teachers set standards of performance through: 1.Quality and quantity of work. 2. Work habits and procedures. 3. Business and housekeeping routines. 4.  Interpersonal behavior.

According to Ann Stern, a senior consultant at Research for Better Teaching (RBT), teachers can exemplify and reinforce the value of effective effort by:

• Sharing personal stories of effective effort.
• Demonstrate how individuals have achieved and excelled due to persistence, determination and hard work.
• Praise effort, not intelligence.
• When students succeed, ask them to identify what accounted for their success, and hold them accountable for determining how their effort played a role.

Empowering ALL students to hold high expectations for themselves and others is the key to any learning institution.  By building the character of individuals, educators are building citizens of worth which exponentially benefits society as a whole.  Success breeds success – why not brush up on your standards and hold expectations high for ALL?

jennjones219

            Some interesting events have unfolded which have forced me to take stock and ask some pretty pointed questions when it comes to the delivery of professional development.  How do we as educators prefer to receive professional development?  There seems to be a growing perception that society (in general) is looking for more alternative means of professional development opportunities (i.e. on-line and/or hybrid course offerings).  When this discussion comes up, I am quick to ask how do you know what the educators want in terms of the delivery of professional development? 

            Oddly enough, I was reading over the October 11, 2012, ASCD SMART BRIEF and noticed that there was a survey in the EdPulse section which was asking educators how they preferred to receive professional development.   The choices up for vote included:  Print materials (i.e. books, newsletters, magazines), Online materials (i.e. e-books, digital newsletters and magazines), Streaming video/DVDs, Webinars/podcasts, Off-site conferences and institutes, Online courses, Job-embedded learning (i.e. coaching, PLCs, study groups).  The results posted on October 18, 2012, from the poll may surprise some of us!  The survey says:

• 32. 67% prefer off-site conferences and institutes
• 32.30%  prefer job-embedded learning
• 12.38%  prefer print materials
• 7.18%    prefer on-line materials
• 6.93%    prefer webinars/podcasts
• 4.95%    prefer streaming videos/DVDs
• 3.59%    prefer online courses

            It is no surprise to me that educators still prefer a venue to come together face-to-face with their colleagues to network and share ideas.  I am surprised that online learning appeared to come in dead last on this poll.  Some take aways from this data….I will remain a firm believer in knowing my clientele and basing my course offerings on their demands.  It would be interesting to survey the educators in my local school division to gauge their preferences.  Hopefully this can be incorporated in part of the work of our steering committee as we revamp our county-wide professional development plan.

jennjones219

Many school districts in states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are raising concerns about their technological preparedness when it comes to administering online assessments in two years.  In a time when human and capital resources are scarce, uncertainties surrounding funding and infrastructure needs abound. 

Two consortia, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC received federal funding to create CCSS online tests; both intend to use technology for interactive test questions, simulations, new graphics, and faster exam results.  Both are currently developing technology guidelines which indicate the needs for having specific technologies in place, such as computing devices that have at least 1 gigabyte of computer memory, a screen display size of 9.5 inches or greater, and Internet accessibility.  Technology Readiness Data collection is underway for states participating in the CCSS.  Thus far, the findings suggest that there is a vast range of common-core technology readiness among states.  What can be done to bring more school districts into “ready” status?

Some states already conduct their testing administrations on-line while others are still administering paper/pencil tests.  Although Virginia has not adopted the CCSS, in the year 2000, the state adopted a plan to administer all of the State Standards of Learning (SOL) Tests online for all grade 3 – 12 by the year 2014.  Currently, Virginia is on track with this initiative and will fully implement on-line testing with the Writing tests administered in grades 5, 8 and 11 in Spring 2013. 

The takeaway here is that we can learn from those states who have already implemented online assessments.  Our leaders need to come together and discuss what worked and how to avoid what didn’t.  Policies need to be carefully crafted and diligently implemented to have the most positive outcomes for our treasured students.