Coalition for Effective Teaching Seeks Ways to Build and Support Teams of Effective Teachers – EffectiveTeachingPhilly.org

PHILADELPHIA (April 13th, 2013) – A broad coalition of youth focused nonprofit leaders today called for both the School District and the teachers’ union to support measures to bolster more effective teaching in Philadelphia’s public school classrooms.

As the District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) ramp up negotiations to reach agreement on a new labor contract, the Coalition for Effective Teaching publicly called on both sides to support contract and management changes including: giving all schools principals and selection committees) the power to hire teachers based on their track record in the classroom and on the needs of students in that school; ending years of service as a basis for retaining, transferring or assigning teachers; and paying more to teachers when they earn degrees or certifications that lead to documented gains in student achievement.

“The next labor contract provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve teacher effectiveness in the classroom,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth and leader of the Coalition. Among the organizations in the Coalition are the Philadelphia Education Fund, the United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey, The Urban League of Philadelphia, Education Voters Pennsylvania, ASPIRA of Pennsylvania, and Congreso de Latinos Unidos. The Coalition hopes other organizations will join, as well.

“We all understand that the District needs to find ways to balance its budget,” said Cooper, “but if the nex

t contract doesn’t also focus on supporting great teaching—if we miss the chance to implement changes that are proven to raise student achievement in public schools—then we will have failed to do all that we can for the future of our children and our city.”

The Coalition delivered its recommendations via a position paper delivered to both District and PFT headquarters today, as well as to the leader of the principals’ union. The paper cites two kinds of reforms and calls both kinds crucial to supporting the needs of children: (1) changes in the existing teacher and principal labor contracts, and (2) management reforms that can be implemented immediately under existing law and contracts.

“Although teachers, principals, and administrators all contend that the best interests of children are paramount, we continue to see low-performing schools, especially in areas that serve low-income and minority students,” said Patricia A. Coulter, President and CEO of The Urban League of Philadelphia. “It is time for all of the parties involved to put aside their partisan interests and create reforms that will provide the quality education our children deserve. Every aspect of urban life—commerce, culture, public safety—requires an educated population. If we do not provide that education, we all fail. Now is the time to act. Our future depends on it.”

“We recognize that the District faces a number of significant challenges and that ensuring financial viability is at the top of the list. However, how we recruit, develop and retain high-quality, effective teachers and principals matters as much as the bottom line on the balance sheet, because there are real children whose future relies on the people behind the dollar signs,” says Jill Michal, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. “Our ability to do these things well requires a contract that ensures that our schools meet or exceed the highest standards of education that every child deserves.”

These changes to the teachers and principals contracts are sought by the Coalition:

– Maintain class-size limits but allow for flexibility to support innovations such as blended-learning models

– Give all schools full site selection, whereby principals and school selection committees hire teachers on the basis of qualifications and their track record in the classroom, and on the needs of students in that school. Teachers should no longer be assigned to schools based on how long they have been teaching;

– End all transfer and rehiring policies that supersede full site selection and the hiring decisions made by principals and their school committees;

– Increase a teacher’s pay for additional qualifications only in the cases of degrees and certifications which research has shown lead to gains in student achievement. Also pay more to teachers who accept roles as “teacher leaders” or other leadership roles designed to prepare them for becoming principals or administrators; and

Needed management reforms that don’t require contract or legal changes include:

• Improving teacher support by increasing the effectiveness of principals throughout District schools. To get there, the District should:

• Ensure it has a rigorous principal evaluation program that identifies effective principals;

• Find the resources to pay principals for meeting high and clearly defined standards for student performance and school safety;

• Implement training for principals who show promise so that they can become highly effective building leaders;

• Ensure that all principals who need it receive coaching and support to improve their teacher evaluation skills, so that they in turn can provide constructive development, coaching and feedback to their teachers;

• Insist that principals not rate teachers who are unsuccessful in contributing to students’ academic growth as “satisfactory” on annual performance evaluations;

• Ensure that principals evaluate all teachers fairly and honestly, so that they clearly understand their strengths and areas in which they must improve; and Remove ineffective principals from positions of academic leadership.

Raising expectations for school leaders with regard to student safety:

• Establish standards for school safety that in addition to the academic achievement of students will be considered as core elements of evaluating principal effectiveness;

• Require principals in the District’s most unsafe schools to adopt proven practices to reduce conflict and violence and to participate in training on strategies to promote a positive school climate while keeping students in school; and

• Remove principals from any building leadership role in which they have been unable to demonstrate meaningful progress in making their school safer.

Overhauling recruiting and new- teacher training strategies:

• Create a plan to rebuild the District’s teacher pipeline using expert organizations that have a proven track record of designing and implementing effective teacher recruitment practices that result in the hiring of more promising teachers of diverse backgrounds;

• Develop practical and scalable models for supporting new teachers that include a year of coaching and a clear orientation to District standards and instructional practices; and

• Implement research-proven training models to help teachers build their instruction, content, and classroom-management skills.

The Coalition launched a website today: EffectiveTeachingPhilly.org. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to log–on and to become members of the Coalition and/or endorse the Coalition’s efforts.

To contact coalition members directly:

Aspira – Marta Sierra–msierra@aspirapa.org–215-455-1300

Congreso-Yvette A. Núñez,nunezy@congreso.net, 267-241-9361

Education Voters–Susan Gobreski-susan@educationvoterspa.org–267-972-8066

Public Citizens for Children and Youth–Sheila Simmons–Sheila.simmons@gmail.com, 215-963-6880

Philadelphia Education Fund– Kimberly Imperiale- Kimperiale@philaedfund.org, (610) 659-5919

United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey – Chris Murray–cmurray@uwgpsnj.org– 610-864-9123

Urban League of Philadelphia-Nadine Bonner-nbonner@urbanleaguephila.org-215-985-3220