Constructing High Performance

1
Constructing High Performance Equitable
Education for All Students
2
HQ Only a Starting Point

• HQ is a standard for minimum qualifications and
  focuses on subject matter knowledgenot
  pedagogical knowledge or skills.
• HQ is aimed at ensuring that every student has a
  fair chance of having quality instruction.

3
Title IIA Has a Second Goal

• The HQ goal is meaningless unless all children
  have access to the very best teachers.
• Consequently, a second important goal of Title
  II, Part A is to assure that all school systems
  have reasonable equity goals and are making
  progress toward meeting those goals.

4
HQ Alone Is Insufficient

• Reaching 100 HQ is a commendable goal, but one
  that still short changes children, and ultimately
  impacts the economic development of our state
• If HQ is the minimum, what should be our target?

5
Beyond the Minimum

• Students and parents should expect
• Teachers who have advanced knowledge and skills
• Teachers who are experienced
• Teachers who continue to learn
• Teachers who have a high degree of self-efficacy
• Teachers who value collaborative work

6
Questions We Hope Dont Come Up at Luncheon
Presentations

• Do you have schools in your system with a
  concentration of high-poverty or minority
  students (and schools otherwise hard to staff)
  that are more likely to have teachers who are
  less prepared, less experienced, and/or less
  effective?
• Do you have classrooms within your schools with a
  concentration of high-poverty, minority, or
  otherwise at-risk students that are more likely
  to have teachers who are less prepared, less
  experienced, and/or less effective?

7
Components of the Equity Definition

• Annual needs assessment includes required equity
  components
• Equity of stakeholder involvement
• Highly qualified teacher equity
• Teacher experience equity
• Class size equity
• Teacher preparation and ability to meet diverse
  needs of students (professional learning)
• Retention of highly qualified, effective teachers
• Recruitment and placement of highly qualified,
  effective teachers

8
Weve Come a Long Way

• No more teaching out of field
• Most systems have 90 HQT rates
• Increased pathways into teaching
• Improved professional development
• Connecting work of teacher with impacts on
  student learning
• Increased induction and retention efforts

9
Stronger Equity Focus

• We need to shift our focus to
• Defining what equity means
• Having real discussions about equity (with the
  right people at the table)
• Strategically hiring placing effective teachers
  
• Using data to analyze report equity issues
• Using equity data to assess needs, plan and make
  changes
• Making equity a school system and school priority

10
Creating a Stronger Equity Focus

• Title IIA Coordinators
• What to look for?
• What to do?

11
What Effective Teachers Do

• Effective Teachers
• Teach rather than cover the curriculum
• Value collaborative work deprivatizing practice
  by working with other teachers
• Value professional learning
• Partner with parents
• Are child-centered rather than subject
  matter-centered or procedure-centered

12
What Effective Principals Do

• Effective Principals Are
• Instructional leaders rather than managers of
  facilities
• Collaborative
• Value distributed leadership
• Understand teachers from hiring to retirement
• Culture builders who value the school learning
  community understand continuous improvement

13
When We Dont have Effective Principals

• Staggering Losses
• Year 1 12 leave
• Year 2 19 have left
• Year 3 28 have left
• Year 4 34 have left
• Year 5 46 have left
• Richard
  Ingersoll, 2008

14
When We Dont have Effective Principals

• Many teachers move or leave because of
  dissatisfaction with working conditions
• Inadequate administrative support
• Student discipline problems
• Lack of faculty influence
• Inadequate time to prep
• Intrusions on teaching time
• Lack of competence of colleagues

15
The Equity Formula

• Research has indicated that students who achieve
  at the most dramatic rates are those that are in
  highly effective schools and are given the most
  effective teachers within those schools (Marzano,
  2003).
• In addition, the research also indicates that
  there is a direct correlation between leadership
  and student achievement (Waters, Marzano,
  McNulty, 2003 and Leithwood, Seashore Louis,
  Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004).

16
The Equity Role of Title IIA Coordinators

• Regular communication with the superintendent
  school leaders about Title IIA
• Collaboratively developed, implemented, and
  monitored Equity Plan
• District staff visible in the schools
• Professional learning for school leaders on
  equity issues
• Know the Look Fors

17
Look Fors

• School is not organized operated as a learning
  community
• Few, if any, faculty meetings
• No structures in place that support teachers
  working together
• How principals and other administrators spend
  their time
• How teachers are involved (or not involved) in
  school decision-making

18
Look Fors

• Misguided attempts to help students resulting
  in lower standards (grade inflation, easy
  assignments)
• Reliance on traditional teaching strategies
  textbook, little technology, few labs, most work
  in rows rather than groups
• Classrooms that are very rule-oriented (rules
  more important than learning)

19
Look Fors

• In elementary schools
• New teachers classrooms, equipment, mentoring
• Placement of students
• In secondary schools
• New teachers classrooms, equipment, mentoring
• Assignment to least desirable classes/students
• Assignment of non-teaching responsibilities

20
Improving Schools Means Focusing on Equity

• If You Need Additional Information
• Talk with your regional GaPSC Title IIA
  consultant
• or contact
• Anne Marie Fenton
• Program Director, Title IIA and Educator
  Assessment
• annemarie.fenton_at_gapsc.com
• David M. Hill, Ph.D.
• Director, Educator Preparation Division
• david.hill_at_gapsc.com