The AFT continues to chart the course for quality in the classroom

The evidence is clear and compelling—teacher quality is the most important school factor in raising student achievement. Research shows that preparing new teachers to be successful in the classroom, and providing seasoned educators with ongoing professional development, is fundamental to improving teaching and learning in our nation’s public schools.

That message is not lost on the AFT, which has long advocated for initiatives—such as induction and peer support programs—designed both to strengthen teaching quality and to recruit and retain well-qualified teachers.

“Charting the Course,” the AFT’s new education agenda to reach all children, (see story on page 3) identifies teaching quality as one of the five areas that are key to student success. The union is “committed to pursuing improvements in teaching quality by working with states and local school districts to develop and implement high-quality professional development through legislation and negotiations,” a “Charting the Course” background paper stresses.

“We owe it to the future to guarantee that today’s students have access to the high-quality teachers, teaching and resources they need to be successful.”

Decades of experience

A number of AFT affiliates have well-established programs aimed at preserving quality in teaching, two of which were showcased during the 2007 QuEST (Quality Educational Standards in Teaching) conference.

 In one general session. Dal Lawrence, former president of the Toledo (Ohio) Federation of Teachers, detailed how his local blazed a new trail in peer support and review programs in the early 1980s, and leaders from AFT locals in Hamburg, N.Y., and Los Angeles
(Calif.) County told QuEST participants that many of the paths Toledo blazed remain viable today.

Lawrence, who served as president of the Toledo local from 1966 to 1996, described how frustrations with teacher induction in the late 1970s led him to propose a peer support and review program that would connect new teachers with outstanding veterans. A more ambitious districtwide program took root in 1981 when members responded enthusiastically to the question: “How would you like to be part of a profession that is respected for its excellence?”

The vision still holds sway for teachers today, said Cliff Huen, president of the Hamburg (N.Y.) Teachers Association. The Hamburg local was responsible for creating an award-winning peer coaching program in its 4,200-student system, a program that draws directly from the lessons learned in Toledo. And, like Lawrence, Huen says that “the easiest sell I had was to the membership” when asked if they wanted to have meaningful control over quality in the profession.

“We focus on everything [new teachers] never learned in college in order to survive,” said Kimberly DeGal, a mentor teacher in Hamburg.

The union-district cooperation that underpinned these efforts also speaks volumes about the best course of action when it comes to staffing all schools. Laura Rico, president of the ABC Federation of Teachers and an AFT vice president, told the audience how her local in Southern California and the ABC Unified School District cooperated on several fronts—from relocation allowances to greater say at the building level—to ensure that all schools are staffed by qualified instructors.

These lessons in California, New York and Ohio should not be lost in the ongoing debate over how best to ensure that every student is taught by outstanding educators, AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese said at the QuEST session. She urged the audience to remember the longer-term effects of programs like these—ensuring that thousands of new professionals get the expert support and assistance they need and deserve in the make-or-break first years of teaching.

Our profession

Many of the solutions showcased at QuEST also were the focus of “Meeting the Challenge: Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools,” a new AFT report released at the conference. The challenge of attracting and keeping qualified teachers in high-poverty schools can be met through collaboration between teacher unions and school districts, according to the new AFT report. Together, labor and management can address the problem by agreeing on financial incentive packages and programs designed to improve the teaching and learning conditions that promote teacher success.

“Meeting the Challenge” identifies examples and makes recommendations for policies and programs that have been proven effective:

■  Toledo, Ohio’s Behavior Specialist Program—where teachers who specialize in behavior management respond to student referrals from other teachers—is one example of union-district cooperation in response to school safety issues. Establishing and maintaining safe and orderly schools, including developing school safety plans and enforcing statewide discipline codes, is a crucial step in addressing the school staffing issue.

■  Successful induction programs conducted by the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, the ABC Federation of Teachers in Southern California, and the Illinois Federation of Teachers show how essential it is to target professional development to best address the needs of teachers and staff in challenging environments.

■  The report recommends improving recruitment through better marketing of the benefits of teaching in hard-to-staff schools. For example, the Philadelphia Teacher Ambassador Program uses current teachers to recruit new teachers. School districts also are encouraged to develop transfer policies that allow teachers to transfer to low-performing schools without penalty.

■  School staffing solutions also must identify and carry out school district and state responsibilities, particularly in terms of funding for salaries, incentives and other school improvements. For example, to help the city of Baltimore compete with wealthier surrounding counties, the union and the district negotiated a contract stipulating that certified teachers would be hired at the fourth step of the salary schedule—the equivalent of a $4,700 raise.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to figure out how to recruit and retain teachers in challenging areas. We can learn from districts that have had success,” said AFT president Edward J. McElroy, following the report’s release. “It takes adequate funding and strong teacher-district partnerships to negotiate effective remedies, and political will to fix the problem.”

The cost of doing nothing cannot be borne indefinitely, the report makes clear. To fill vacancies, school districts spend billions of dollars every year to recruit and train new teachers. Worse, because of the dearth of experienced teachers, students in high-poverty districts often are denied the best education possible, which puts them at a disadvantage when entering the workforce.

“Teaching quality is the most important school factor in improving school achievement, and teachers should play a central role in building and ensuring that quality,” the AFT’s education agenda states. “The most efficient way to strengthen teaching quality is to focus like a laser on recruiting and retaining well-qualified teachers. At the same time, we must work hard to create the professional conditions and competitive salary structure” needed to attract talented new teachers and accomplished veterans.

Both “Charting the Course” and “Meeting the Challenge” are available online at http://www.aft.org/teachers/pubs-reports/index.htm.