A new take on performance-based compensation for teachers from TeacherSolutions, a unique panel of excellent teachers from across the country who meet (both in-person and virtually) to think through education issues from a teacher's perspective.

What's in the report?

Teachers will support performance-pay plans that advance student achievement and the teaching profession, says a first-of-its-kind report written by a diverse group of expert teachers from across the United States. The new TeacherSolutionsSM study proposes radical changes in the way teachers have traditionally been compensated, including:

• Rewarding small teams of teachers who raise student achievement together;
• Rewarding teachers who accept challenging assignments in high-needs schools and strengthen connections between school and community; and
• Redesigning pay systems so that teacher success, not seniority or graduate degrees, determines maximum teacher pay.

The value of the report is not only in its recommendations, but in who they come from and how they were developed:

"What's unique about this report is that it's the first time that classroom teachers -- not policy wonks or politicians, but great teachers -- have weighed in on this policy issue in a nationally publicized report," said Barnett Berry, founder and president of the Center for Teaching Quality. "If we want pay plans to gain acceptance on the ground, the voices of accomplished teachers must be heard."

Links to the report, the executive summary, and news analysis of the report can be found at the Teacher Leaders Network website.

TLN and TeacherSolutions are projects of the Center for Teaching Quality, a national research-based advocacy organization focusing on teacher quality and teacher leadership.

Here at TEN, we're excited to a see such a strong model for teacher-led conversation on serious educational issues--the kinds of conversations we hope to be having on TEN!

Labels: resources

TEN is going through some big changes in the next few months!

In response to feedback from TEN users, we're redeveloping the site to look, feel, and, most importantly, work the way you want it to. The new site will make it a snap to:

• Start your own discussions
• Sort and search the information on the TEN site
• Meet other TEN members--both online and in person
  
• Access multimedia resources including video clips

The new site is in development right now, so if you have any ideas, be sure to email them to me or leave a comment below.

In the meantime...
TEN's discussion communities and resource collection are on hiatus to facilitate the redevelopment. For the next few months, the TEN blog will be your one-stop shop for education news, discussion questions, resources, and upcoming opportunities. The TEN blog will be updated almost every day, so come back often!

Trouble remembering to visit TEN? We've got you covered!

• Subscribe to receive an email whenever the TEN blog has been updated.
• Subscribe to our monthly update newsletter. (Sign up for this if you never registered for TEN or are a new visitor. TEN members: you are already subscribed!)
• Use an RSS reader to keep up with your blogs? Here's our Feedburner Feed.
  

We are looking forward to unveiling the new TEN over the summer, and will have several exciting (re)Launch events in August! Stay tuned!

Labels: TEN stuff

From the Chicago Foundation for Education (CFE):

Apply for a $300 CFE Study Group Team Member Grant!
Applications are due postmarked by Friday, April 20, 2007!!!

What are Study Group Team Member Grants?
$300 Team Member Grants provide teachers interested in participating in 12 hours of Study Group Meetings with the coaching and support needed to learn and implement new teaching strategies. Study Groups are led by fellow CPS teachers who have been awarded CFE Coach Grants to mentor teams of 6-8 teachers in an area of expertise that they have developed.

How Can I Apply?
Teachers can apply by looking through the Study Group Grant Catalog and completing an application based on the Study Group Instructional Strategy that they are interested in adapting and implementing in their classroom. Catalogs are available at all CPS schools, and on our website at www.cfegrants.org

From the Chicago Schools Alliance:

Apply now to be on a Practice-Based Inquiry School Visit Team!

• Spend a week focused on learning and teaching
• See how another school operates up-close and in-depth
• Get trained in and use Practice-based Inquiry®
• Have great conversations with fellow professionals
• Help improve a school’s practices
• Get CPDU credits

WHO?
Experienced teachers (with a minimum of 2-5 years classroom teaching experience in the grade levels of the host school).
The final team selected will represent a diverse mix of grade levels, disciplines, and experiences. At least one team member will be an administrator. Teachers from AMPS schools are especially invited to participate.

WHEN & WHERE?
North Grand HS (4338 W. Wabansia): HS teachers wanted Apr 30 to May 4.
Chavez ES (4747 S. Marshfield): Elementary teachers wanted May 7 to May 11.

Visit days begin no later than 8:00 a.m. and end by 5:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday night's dinner/work session ends by 8:30 p.m.

HOW?
Teachers must be nominated by their principals. Ask your principal to nominate you!
Email Kim Zalent, kzalent@bpichicago.org, the following information:
1. Name, school, contact information (email and phone - work and cell).
2. A paragraph or two about your qualifications and experience, as well as the reason you are applying and what you think you will contribute to this visit. Be sure to include the number of years you have taught, the grade level, subject areas and type of schools (e.g. start-up, student population, location.). Again, one or two paragraphs is fine. Attach your resume if you have one.
3. Principal's nomination can be in the same email or separate.

If in doubt, apply! Call Kim Zalent, (312) 641-5570, with any questions. More information is available at www.chicagoschoolsalliance.org.

Labels: resources

Looking for one simple way to rev up your technological know-how? This is it.

In a nutshell, RSS (short for lots of things, including Really Simple Syndication) is an easy way for you to find, all in one place, what's new on your favorite websites. You "subscribe" to the sites you're interested in, and then any new content on those sites is delivered to one place, called an aggregator. Will Richardson, probably the top writer on technology in education, has published a guide to getting started with RSS. I couldn't say it any better, so here's how he explains some of the things you can do with RSS:

For instance, say you're a political science teacher and you've found 20 or 30 Weblog and media sites on the Internet that are consistently publishing interesting and relevant information for you and your students. Finding the time to click through to those sites and keep abreast of any new information on a regular basis would be nearly impossible. But what if you only had to go to one place to read all of the new content on all of those sites? Wouldn't be so difficult, would it?

Here's another scenario: you currently get the headlines from The New York Times via an e-mail message that arrives each morning. But more and more, your e-mail box is being clogged up by spammers selling everything from pornography to mortgages. There are new virus warnings every day. That New York Times content is getting lost in the morass that e-mail has become. Not so with RSS. The New York Times, as well as hundreds of other newspapers, has a number of virus free "feeds" that your aggregator can collect. And in general, you know that everything in your aggregator is something you want to read because you subscribed to it. No ads, no spam, just new content from the sources you read.

Ready to get started? Go to Richardson's easy-to-follow guide and go for it! And don't forget to add TEN's RSS feed as one of your subscriptions!

Labels: resources, TEN stuff

At the end of this year, over 100 principals will retire from Chicago Public Schools. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the exodus of principals from CPS in the last year--the result of retiring baby boomers combined with the expiration of "a pension sweetener"--will mean that "about half of the system's roughly 600 principals soon will be relatively new to their jobs, with no more than three years experience."

The wave of principal retirements is not limited to Chicago. According to the
National Association of Elementary School Principals, "More and more principals have been nearing retirement eligibility for at least the past 12 years; fewer and fewer individuals are attracted to filling these demanding positions."

Why the shortage? According to e-Lead, an online resource center for principals, to some extent the candidates are there...they just don't want the job:

One of the primary factors that appears to be contributing to the dearth of applicants is the relatively low salaries vis-a-vis the increased number of work hours...[C]andidates are frequently unwilling to accept the increase in responsibility for such a nominal sum of money. Others do not relish the principal's role as a "jack of all trades, master of none." Many perceive the role of principal to be unrewarding in that it may leave little time for interaction with students and participation in the act of learning, as the principal can become overwhelmed with disciplinary and managerial issues. It is important to note, however, that some people feel that the apparent shortage of candidates is misleading in that it implies that there are not qualified candidates out there. In reality, say some, there are plenty of qualified candidates, but few who are motivated to apply or few who are "ready" to succeed in the job.

So, how about you? Would you ever consider making the jump from teacher to principal?

Labels: conversations

Practical Theory, an education blog I particularly enjoy, written by the principal of a new school in Philadelphia, pointed me to a fascinating opinion piece in EdWeek.

In the piece, Jane Owen, a former teacher (now a professor of education), deals with an issue that is very close to the heart of why TEN was created:

As educators, we have been a sleeping giant for too long. Our numbers are in the millions, and yet we meekly stand by as politicians mock the value of education, the contribution of educators, and the ultimate worth of children. We have been pressured by accountability until we have violated our own integrity and the integrity of our profession by hurting children.

Where is our voice? It is time for the sleeping giant to stir, awaken with a roar, and take back our profession, our integrity, and the education of our children. It is time we quit being obedient sheep following the leader, and it is time we pledged our resources, our intellect, and our hearts to a battle that has the potential to be the crowning accomplishment, the capstone, of our careers...

Who is better equipped than we to redefine and renew public education? Who else possesses the determination and educational vision, albeit left sleeping too long, that can now be awakened, honed to a sharp edge, and applied decisively? Who else has the knowledge, the training, and the love to make education something exciting and beautiful again?

If teachers want to join the public discourse on education, we need to start defining our terms and shy away from vagueness. Owens' piece itself is nothing earth-shattering. It's a start. Are we ready to take the next step?

Labels: conversations

By law, Illinois has limited itself to 30 charter schools in Chicago, 15 in the suburbs, and 15 downstate. In the last few years, a few of the larger charter operators such as Chicago International Charter Schools (CICS) have exploited a loophole in the law that allowed multiple campuses to exist under the same charter.

Last week, the Illinois House defeated a bill that would have closed the loophole, making multiple campuses a thing of the past.

The Trib came out firmly against the bill, taking its originator, State Rep Monique Davis (D-Chicago) to task for her opposition to charters.

"Instead of opening charter schools, we need to go in there and see what the hell is going on in our schools," she said.

How about both, Ms. Davis? Without the success of charter schools, most parents stuck in perpetually failing neighborhood schools might not know better alternatives exist for their kids.

According to the editorial, "the real reason this stinker of a bill made it out of a House committee: Charter teachers don't have to be union members, which drives the teachers unions bonkers."

In a move tailor-made for "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" jokes, the Chicago Teachers Union (along with its national AFT affiliate) announced this week its plans to unionize charter school teachers.

I'm sure we have both charter school teachers and union members in the ranks of TEN readers (as well as lots of teachers who can't figure out what all the fuss is about). From your perspective: should we limit the number of charter schools or lift the cap? Should charter school teachers be unionized, or is the current individualized contract system working fine?

Labels: conversations

Two interesting research studies were being discussed on various education analysis sites this week. Both studies dealt with whether it makes sense to require/reward degrees for teachers.

In 21 states, BA degrees are now required for teachers in state Pre-K programs. In every state, K-12 teachers with MAs are rewarded with higher pay scales and sometimes have an easier track through recertification.

But do they work?

Yet if there's one thing that all the research studies out there agree on, it's that there is no relationship between having a Master's degree and classroom effectivenes. In fact, the latest large-scale study on the issue found--incredibly--that teachers who go back to get a Master's degree after starting teaching are actually less effective than those who don't...
-- The Quick and the ED

Yet Diane M. Early, a researcher at UNC-Chapel Hill—and one of 19 authors of the new paper in Child Development—said there is “no clear pattern” showing a relationship between a four-year degree and positive academic outcomes for children.
--EdWeek

A degree is only as valuable as its associated program. Should salary increases be tied to Master's degrees that don't have a proven impact on teacher performance? Should pre-K teachers be required to get a Bachelor's degree? And if we do think degrees should be part of teacher prep, how can we make them more worthwhile?

Leave comments below.

Labels: conversations