9 minute read
Educators Share
Governor’s Education Reform Commission
About 40 Georgia educators weighed in on teacher recruitment, retention and compensation this spring as guests of a subcommittee of the Governor’s Education Reform Commission. The subcommittee is headed by PAGE member Pam Williams, 2011 Georgia Teacher of the Year.
“It was a lively afternoon!” said PAGE Board Member Kelli De Guire of Gordon County. “As educators, it is vital that we keep up and stay informed. This commission will be changing the (QBE) school funding formula or create a new one, and it will affect our employment, compensation and retirement.”
Summarized below are comments submitted to the commission by several PAGE members invited to attend the subcommittee meeting.
Stephanie Davis Howard, Marietta High School, Cobb County, PAGE President-Elect
Attrition rates are higher in middle punitive outcomes at a higher rate. The Contrary to what we’d like to believe, a and high school teachers than elemen- key is consistency in administration of highly effective teacher does not multitary teachers, especially in math and the discipline policy. (Teachers are held task well. One can do two different jobs science. Factors that contribute may accountable for student progress, even adequately but not necessarily well. include the following: if a student is suspended, transient or An opportunity to come out of the
Increased Teacher Accountability: frequently absent.) classroom every few years — as a teachTeachers are accountable for student Compensation and Pay for er mentor, content area coach, adminisprogress, regardless of transiency, Performance: Furloughs, salary freezes trator or as a Response to Intervention truancy, motivation and other socio- and job losses due to decreased fund- or Student Support Team coordinator, economic factors. ing have significantly impacted educa- for example — without penalty, may
Additional Duties: With before- tors. Salaries should be commensurate strengthen teachers and give them a and after-school, lunch, restroom and with duties. Teachers used to rely on valuable new perspective. An alternabetween-class duties, teachers often summer jobs to supplement their tive is to offer a paid sabbatical during a cannot monitor students as they enter 10-month income, but the school year teacher’s tenure. the classroom. These demands also cut now begins in late July and many teach- Teacher Recruitment: Many people, into time to assist students and prepare ers spend summers completing profes- including some policymakers, still lessons. Under TKES, teachers are also sional learning and/or preparing for the harbor the attitude that, “If you can’t, expected to attend more evening and school year. If teachers are to work for teach.” Likewise, many intellectual stuweekend programs. a full year, their compensation should dents choose to study pre-med, pre-law,
Encroachment on Planning Periods: reflect this. Furthermore, teacher salary, engineering, etc. Teaching is sometimes Planning periods used for professional compensation and retirement should one’s back-up plan. We must recruit training and parent/teacher confer- be studied as a comprehensive pack- talented youth beginning in secondary ences, for example, can be scheduled age, not piecemeal. Look to packages school. more efficiently. Many teachers feel that offered by countries and states with Ineffective teachers still navigate meetings are held just to document col- high student success rates. through the system because the laboration. Until educators become more confi- right questions are not being asked.
Infringement on Instructional Time: dent with TKES, it should not be tied to Someone who does not like chilTeachers are held accountable for stu- the salary schedule. Reliability of SLDS, dren should not be in the classroom. dent progress, but students are often student and parent surveys, student Someone who cannot “deal” with a excused for field trips, assemblies, pep transiency and student motivation all diverse population should not be in rallies, school programs and club duties. influence performance, but how will public school. It does not take three
Testing: Test preparation, test review evaluations by less-than-effective admin- to four years to determine if this is the and testing take up much of the school istrators be addressed? How does the case. In fact, our faculty and adminisyear. In addition, changes in assess- system address content area teachers trative staff should reflect the district ment are made before good data can versus teachers of electives? Secondary demographics. be collected and students can benefit. science teachers, which have the high- Georgia has several military installaConsider implementing a new cohort est attrition rate, generally have both a tions. Service members who are sepawhen major changes are made in cur- lecture component and a lab compo- rating or retiring provide an excellent riculum or assessment. nent. These teachers likely feel under- pool of potential educators. Many are
Student Behavior and Discipline: compensated. competent in working with a diverse We need a paradigm shift regarding Guard Against Burnout: Give teach- population of young people. Georgia’s discipline. Disruptors in the classroom ers an opportunity to hold a variety of adoption of Green to Gold or similar impede student learning, but perhaps positions. Some packages offer leader- programs to move these individuals we should shift to more positive mea- ship opportunities, complete with a sti- quickly through a certification process sures. We know that minorities receive pend, concurrent with teaching duties. has been effective.
Kelli De Guire, Sonoraville High School, Gordon County
Money: We can dance around it all we want, but if you don’t pay teachers a better wage or if we continue to dissolve teacher benefits, which in the past were recruitment and retention tools, we will never be able to keep teachers.
Advancement: Teachers need a way to advance themselves and their pay outside of an administrative role. We should reexamine the Master Teacher system for those who teach non-standardized tested subjects. If the state wants teacher leaders, we need a clear path and the pay to go with it.
Standardized Testing: We need less testing and more teaching. And we certainly don’t want 50 percent of our pay dependent upon those tests.
Evaluations: Fair evaluations require evaluators who are experienced in the subject area.
Gifted Classes Testing: For gifted classes, the growth model provides limited or no information or even causes a negative indicator. (I have data supporting this.)
Laura Perryman, Blackmon Road Middle School, Muscogee County • Reduce classroom size. • Reduce days spent testing and allow more instructional time. • Return to block scheduling. • Schedule teachers for one subject and grade level. • Stop changing the standards, especially for math. • Provide better disciplinary support. • Provide parenting programs for parents with children who are repeat behavior offenders. • Equip every classroom with closed-circuit television. • Consider the following methods of enhancing teacher compensation: Assist with student loan debt; eliminate state tax for teachers or allow a tax credit/deduction; provide a sign-on bonus; issue annual cost-of-living raises and eliminate salary caps; provide a matching 401K program in addition to the current TRS; increase retirement multiplier to 2.5 percent per year; initiate a home-purchase assistance program; provide local fitness center/season passes to the theater/special events to help with work/life balance. Dr. Susan Mullins, Central Educational Center, Coweta County • The polarization of education ernment to do that to failing schools? along political lines in Georgia and Likely, he would not be a fan of such an the U.S. has done nothing to improve action, so why would he propose a plan schools, instruction, quality of teachers that could allow local communities’ and or student performance. citizens’ tax money to be handed to
A key component of quality educa- others who do not have local ties? tion is quality teachers. The polarized • Many teachers appear to feel quite climate discourages prospective teach- powerless, fail to register to vote or ers, particularly young students who are to participate in voting and fulfill the told by parents and their own teachers, prediction that we often hear from legto stay away from the field of educa- islators that teachers hold no political tion. power in the state. We must get teach-
Until faith and confidence in the ers to realize that each vote counts. teaching profession have been • Accomplishments of Georgia sturestored, efforts to improve education dents touted by former Superintendent “top down” are likely to have little John Barge in past years are often foreffect. gotten or not highlighted when legisla-
As with any business, growing your tors convene in Atlanta. own workforce by targeting prospective • Leading businesses in Georgia employees from your own ranks is vital should back our schools within their to growing the education workforce. local communities by investing time The points above work against this. and effort in local schools. Business
Georgia has middle and high school partners are wonderful additions to our programs that recruit high achieving schools. and highly motivated students into the • Teacher training should follow the teaching profession, but the committee model of businesses by having practicmembers didn’t seem to be aware of ing educators instruct in colleges of these programs. education. College of education cours• We have structures in place to es should be taught within a school allow our state superintendent and building and within authentic classroom the Department of Education to work settings with more time apprenticing with failing schools. Gov. Nathan Deal’s within the profession. Opportunity School District would • Efforts in states such as North create another layer of government, Carolina to save money by streamlining which could include privatization. The salary scales, discouraging advanced manager of the school also gets own- degrees, eliminating pensions and ership of school properties, and more reducing the teaching workforce have local control and local property tax negatively impacted student achievemoney would be stripped away. Would ment and the quality of the teaching Governor Deal allow the federal gov- workforce.
Susan N. Wilson, Blackmon Road Middle School, Muscogee County • Teachers wouldn’t mind TKES if we could do away with student surveys. Also, veteran teachers do not need six evaluations. • There’s been a push for us to click on the SLDS link to get “points” on the CCRPI score. We actually go on the site for meaningful information, but to just click on the site for points every day is a waste of our time. • There are too many changes each year — different standards, different tests. • Georgia has a lot of academic coaches for teachers who need it. It seems that money could be better spent on helping students. • It seems that blame always falls on teachers — not parents, not students, etc. Denise Fox, Academic Dean, Aaron Cohn Middle School, Muscogee County • SLOs are not a fair and consistent measure of teacher performance. • 25 percent of teacher evaluations should not be derived from student surveys. Students have a difficult time equating a rigorous teacher with a teacher who “cares” about them. • Reduce class sizes. • Get rid of furlough days. • Give districts and administration the freedom to deal with discipline issues. • Step raises are not given after year 19. Why? • Public perception about education needs to change: Do more to highlight the positives that are rarely reported to the media. n
