More Effort, More Resources Needed To Address Issues In Teacher Quality Report
(PHILADELPHIA) May 23, 2013 – The recent report by the National Council for Teacher Quality is evidence that the School District of Philadelphia needs much more effort from its management and more resources to train, attract, support and keep quality teachers for Philadelphia children.
PCCY Executive Director Donna Cooper says, “It is impossible for the School Reform Commission and Superintendent Hite to carry out the report’s best recommendations if the District is forced to make $300 million in budget cuts.“
The well-researched report presents compelling data about the challenges the District faces with hiring, pay scale, evaluation and support for teachers. The report can found at: http://www.nctq.org/tr3/districtStudies/viewStudy.jsp?id=11
PCCY notes that while Philadelphia should be a place where the region’s best teachers want to work and feel supported for outstanding results, the report shows that experienced teachers can make nearly a third more if they teach in the suburbs. For the District to offer competitive salaries for starting and experienced teachers, more resources are needed.
One of the recommendations – extending the teacher work day from seven to eight hours – would give teachers more time to prepare for their classes and to help struggling students. It would also require more resources. Teachers must be paid for a 15 percent extension to their workday.
The report also points out that principals are trained on low-cost retention strategies. As a result, 80 percent of teachers who resigned in 2012 left the district before the end of their fifth year of teaching. Improving teacher retention will require better-trained principals who can employ thoughtful strategies to support new teachers. Again, these strategies require additional resources.
The report highlights an alarmingly high rate of teacher absenteeism. In some cases the working conditions or ineffective principals may contribute to the fact that the teacher misses work. Addressing the causes of teacher absenteeism can save funds that can be better used to support the other pressing challenges identified by the report.
The report also confirms that the recommendations of the Coalition for Effective Teaching, in which PCCY is a founding member, makes the right recommendations for improved management practices and changes to the teachers union contract. The details if the Coalition’s efforts can be found here: https://www.childrenfirstpa.org/?page=PCCYandSchools__188
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