District Administration - September 2012 - (Page 14)

Br iefings Newsupdate PeoPle Watch Amplify And AT&T News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert murdoch created an education technology division, led by former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein. The group, called Amplify, teamed up with AT&T July 23 to deliver digital content through 4G tablets. sTepping up To The plATe After Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson suddenly announced on July 31 that he was leaving his post after just 13 months, the State Board of Education unanimously appointed Public Schools Chancellor pam stewart to serve as interim. Cuomo’s VeTo New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have made school districts responsible for funding the placement of special education students in private schools of their family’s choice. Cuomo said the bill “would result in incalculable additional costs.” finAnCiAl eduCATion On Aug. 1, to a room of teachers at the Federal Reserves, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said financial education and planning boost the economy, and students who learn those skills are likely to save more in life and better weather the market. union ClAsh in newARk The Newark (N.J.) Public Schools District Superintendent Cami Anderson wants to allow principals to select their teaching staff regardless of seniority. The district’s teachers’ union has said this invites favoritism and puts older teachers at a disadvantage. By Marion Herbert Telling Teachers They Are Irreplaceable ON JULY 30, THE NEW TEACHER Project (TNTP), a nonprofit dedicated to closing the achievement gap, released a study that, according to David Keeling, vice president of communications, tells a story of systemic neglect for our nation’s best teachers. The report, “The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools,” is the follow-up report to TNTP’s 2009 report, “Widget Effect,” which urged districts to revamp teacher evaluations. The new report examines four large urban school districts and recommends what districts can do to retain a high-performing teacher. Data shows that it may take 11 hires before finding someone equally as effective in the classroom. Root of the Problem According to the report, the crux of the retention problem is that principals make too little effort to retain high-performing teachers and to remove those that are lowperforming. In addition, poor school cultures and working conditions also drive away great teachers, and policies such as seniority and compensation structures prevent district leaders from incentivizing their workforce. “Principals are applying blanket retention strategies for all teachers, good and bad, and not addressing low-performing teachers in a manner that is direct and honest,” says Keeling. The Secret to Retention The bottom line is that if you’re doing a great job, you want your employer to recognize it. The data from this report shows that all too often, that is not happening. Of the 90,000 teachers studied in the report, roughly 20 percent, or 18,000, were deemed irreplaceable. It’s estimated that Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools in the nation’s 50 largest school districts, 10,000 high-performing teachers are lost each year. Keeling says that the report determined its definition of “irreplaceable” by studying value-added evaluations and student achievement data. TNTP recognizes, however, that these factors alone should not solely determine a teacher’s performance at the district level. The report recommends that districts make retention of high-performing teachers a priority by setting a goal to retain 90 percent each year, to monitor school working conditions, to protect irreplaceable teachers during layoffs, to pay them what they’re worth, and to elevate the expectations of the teaching profession schoolwide. Keeling says that simple human resource strategies such as talking to high-performing teachers and letting them know they’re valued can add two to eight years to their district careers. “It’s about building a profession based on respect and rigor,” says Keeling. “Far too often these teachers are treated as expendable, while in reality we ought to be fighting for them.” District Administration 14 September 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2012

District Administration - September/October 2012
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Product Focus
Resistance to High-Stakes Testing Spreads
Postgraduation for Special Needs Students
Rick & Becky DuFour
CIo News
Getting the Best ROI in Technology
Shaping a Digital Decade
Professional Opinion
Professional Opinion
Online Edge
Going Mobile
New Products
New Directions

District Administration - September 2012