Tiff at the SRC
by Dale Mezzacappa on Feb 18 2009
There was a testy exchange, to put it mildly, at the School Reform Commission meeting today. Superintendent Arlene Ackerman lit into to commissioners Heidi Ramirez and Martin Bednarek for failing to support two resolutions contracting with Teach for America the the New Teacher Project for next year.
Ackerman accused the two of making a deal and snapped, "The SRC should reform itself." She warned that the failure to act now could result in schools opening in September with hundreds of vacancies.
Despite the tongue-lashing, the two stuck to their guns.
Ramirez said she has not received data she has been requesting for months about the "long term supply and demand" situation for teachers in the city and was reluctant to keep relying so heavily on TFA and NTP to fill vacancies until she had more information. Among other things, she said she wanted data on where the district would be hit hardest with retirements and what local universities were or weren't doing to supply teachers in the needed areas.
Bednarek didn't express substantive concerns, but said he would stand by the SRC's practice of deferring to a fellow commissioner who questioned a resolution. Since there are only four members of the SRC, a tie equals a defeat -- so the resolutions didn't pass.
Ackerman was livid, accusing the two of putting SRC "tradition" before the needs of children. Later, she said that she wasn't sure any amount of information would satisfy Ramirez.
But underlying this spat is a crucial issue: teacher quality. Ackerman unveiled the first draft of the strategic plan yesterday, and the big news is the intention to adopt a "turnaround" strategy for the lowest performing schools that will involve rebuilding staff and leadership either internally or by bringing in outside managers. Sprinkled throughout were references to professional development, the need to step up teacher recruitment and streamline hiring, and plans to hold adults accountable for results. But the kind of wholesale change that Ackerman is seeking through the "Imagine 2014" process -- the name for the five-year plan -- will never happen unless teaching and learning in the classroom is transformed. And that won't happen unless the district has a detailed plan -- and the means -- to build and support a stable, high-quality teaching force.
Comments (18)
Submitted by a parent (not verified) on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 23:32.
good thing Sandra was up there telling everyone to behave........It's hard to believe Rendell or Nutter didn't reappoint her yet........ Ackerman would be a dead duck without her.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 12:07.
Ackerman showed disregard and disrespect for her bosses - I assume that is similar to the level of disregard and disrespect she shows toward teachers/staff. Ramirez may have some self interest in her questioning since she works at Temple but the ongoing issue of teacher staffing is critical. TFA should be a "short gap" solution to a long term problem of teacher staffing. "New" teachers may be more pliable because they are new but, as a parent, I want my children to have teachers with more than a summer program's experience.
Submitted by Helen Gym on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 04:12.
Parents United for Public Education has long been concerned about the Teach for America contract. At the time we raised concerns about the contract (almost two years ago), TFA's Philadelphia chapter had the highest attrition rate in the country. In our opinion, the District's overreliance on TFA contributed to staffing problems and instability in the district. In a district where more than half the teaching staff have less than five years experience, we felt the District erred in relying too much on staffing through what were essentially temp programs that distracted it from a serious need to invest in recruitment and professional development initiatives.
Several years ago I participated in a Campaign for Human Capital, headed by Tomas Hanna (in a different role at the time). The Campaign was supposed to be a serious recruitment and development effort by the District to improve its professional staff and invest in teaching and learning in the District - in my mind one of the fundamental building blocks of any reform effort. To see that Campaign completely abandoned in the years since and to end up here, with complaints that inquiry about a TFA contract would impact staffing in the district is disappointing to say the least.
Submitted by Mike Wang (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 00:28.
Thanks for the comments and debate on such a critical issue. I wanted to offer some facts regarding the Teach For America program as it is often misperceived.
First, Teach For America's Philadelphia site never had the highest attrition rate in the country. I'm not sure where that statement comes from but it is untrue. Over 90% of Teach For America teachers continue teaching beyond their first year -- this dwarfs the percentage of traditionally prepared teachers who enter the classroom teaching in our city's most under resourced schools. Over 60% of Teach For America teachers continue teaching beyond their two year commitment according to a recently released independent study from Harvard University and that number in Philadelphia is slight lower at just over 50%. Over the long run, nearly 70% of Teach For America alumni continue in education with half of those remaining in teaching while the other half are involved in education in other capacities (including over one dozen principals in the Philadelphia area, administrators at the School District of Philadelphia, and dozens of alumni of the program still working in schools serving low-income communities in programs such as City Year, Big Brother, Big Sister, Philadelphia Futures, Congreso, and other capacities.) Since 2003, Teach For America's alumni base in Philadelphia has grown by nearly 500 young people, a vast majority of whom are working to create educational opportunities for young people in our city.
More to the point, multiple studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of Teach For America teachers. By way of example, last April the Urban Institute released a study on high school teachers finding that the impact of placing a Teach For America corps member in a classroom serving low income communities was three times greater than in terms of student outcomes than placing even a veteran teacher certified in that subject area. The report attributed these gains to Teach For America's recruitment, selection, and professional support model which extends over the course of two years and is not limited to the summer. This report, and others with similar findings, has been peer reviewed and is considered to meet all relevant academic criteria for a valid and reliable study. In fact in evaluating the research on Teach For America, while there is much suspect research questioning the impact of the program, the more methodologically rigorous the study, the more positive impact on student achievement is shown. All of this data and more is available on the Teach For America website (www.teachforamerica.org) and we are happy to provide more information through our Philadelphia office.
Teach For America is a small percentage of new hires in the School District of Philadelphia. The role of the organization is not to supplant other sources for new teachers, rather to complement those sources (including colleges of education) with a pool of people who are highly qualified, diverse geographically, racially, and in their expertise, and who in addition to making highly effective teachers often have the potential to serve as leaders in education, including as principals. Many major urban school systems, including New York, DC, and others, are viewing Teach For America as just one critical component in a multi-tiered comprehensive plan for creating human capital. In other words, Teach For America isn’t the problem, it’s part of the solution.
Personally, I welcome a robust debate over the role of alternative education programs in our community but I hope we can start the conversation understanding the facts as opposed to perpetuating common misperceptions. Feel free to contact me directly with concerns or questions through our website.
Mike Wang
Executive Director
Teach For America Philadelphia
Submitted by EnoughIsEnuff!!! (not verified) on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 16:20.
I wish to challenge the post by Mr. Wang. He mentions that 90% of the Teach For America teachers remain after their first year compared to traditional teachers. He fails to mention that TFA teachers are required by contract to remain for 2 years, not 1. Obviously the TFAs have a strong deterent from leaving their first year as they won't have the TFA program pay off their student loans. Are there any fines for them leaving early? Traditional teachers don't have any such requirements so of course they will leave when they find out how bad things really are in the district.
Mr. Wang then mentions a 60% retention rate for TFAs (although he does admit that only 50% of Philly TFAs stay after their two years). but doesn't say how long they are staying. Is this Harvard study done by the same people that do the Edison studies whenever Edison needs some positive PR (which is mainly paid for by Edison).
The next percentage mentioned is 70% for TFAs that stay long term. Of couse, the percentage of TFAs that actually remain in the classroom drops to 35%. That is only 3% more than the Literacy Intern Program retention rate that caused Paul Vallas to shut down that program here in Philly during its second year. It will be interesting to see how things play out in New Orleans where Paul replaced all the experienced teachers with TFAs. Two years later we hear that Paul is once again jumping ship. Could it be that the house of cards he has built is about to collapse? Get out before another scandal (remember the "balanced deficit" he left Philly with?) hits the news!
Sorry, Mr. Wang, but I find TFA a cheap fix by politicians who are actually interested in unionbusting than helping the kids. If they were truly interested in fixing the schools they would have tried what we suggested years ago. Do you really think the jiffy-quick indoctrination course TFAs get is equal to the years of college and student teaching most teachers must go through? Ask any veteran teacher and you will hear that most of the learning about teaching only starts after you step into the classroom. Newbies learn early on that if you want to get the answer to a problem you go to a veteran teacher who has encountered that problem. They know the solutions. Two years is a little more than a blip on the radar of a teaching career.
Submitted by Just a Thought (not verified) on Mon, 04/06/2009 - 14:24.
I just wanted to clarify. There are no fines associated with leaving the TFA program and TFA does not pay off any loans. (TFA corps members are often eligible for an Americorps grant but traditional route teachers are eligible for loan repayment programs if they teach in high need schools as well.) There really is no financial penalty for leaving.
I think it is valid to question TFA as well as other strategies for education reform. I am a former TFA corps member myself. I did teach beyond my two year commitment and I do still work in education - though I am no longer in the classroom. TFA is not perfect but I was a dues paying, loyal union member the entire time I was a teacher and I resent being called union busting. I worked hard as a teacher and I respect those that remain in the classroom and fight against the many obstacles present. I respect teachers - no matter how they came to the profession. I am surprised you don't share that sentiment.
Submitted by EnoughIsEnuff!!! (not verified) on Mon, 04/06/2009 - 15:06.
Justa,
The question of a penalty arises from the fact that some charter schools (Chester Charter) do require their teachers to agree not to leave during the year and notify the school if leaving that year, let them know by May. I asked if TFA had such a requirement too. I would assume that any loans offered by TFA would be forfeited if leaving within the two year period. I know one teacher who received a financial incentive to join TFA, but did not need the financial loan since she had paid off her school loans already. She is leaving after her second year.
As a union member you are the exception. While unionbusting might not apply to you personally it does to TFA strongholds like New Orleans. Paul Vallas replaced 55% of the certified teaching staff with TFA teachers. Vallas publically cited his inability to get his way with unions in Philly and Chicago. Of course, that's water under the bridge as Paul is jumping ship down in the Big Easy this year.
I admire anyone who has the guts to step into the classroom, but question how well prepared many TFAs are when entering the classroom for the first time. One of my coworkers prepared TFA teachers last summer and said the course was a crash course in how to teach. Often TFA teachers are put into classrooms that bear little resemblance to what they have learned in their previous areas of employment. Even as a teacher who was certified I found my greatest learning came from extensive years as a substitute teacher and the first five years of teaching in Philly. That's a teacher's bootcamp. After two years most teachers are still getting the hang of things. That had nothing to do with how hard they work, but the fact that there is so much you need to learn that the schools, unions, professors, principals, etc. don't tell you.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 09:37.
Please look at these two statements:
"Do you really think the jiffy-quick indoctrination course TFAs get is equal to the years of college and student teaching most teachers must go through?"
"Ask any veteran teacher and you will hear that most of the learning about teaching only starts after you step into the classroom"
My question: If most of the learning about teaching only starts after you step into the classroom, then what is the significant difference between someone getting "the jiffy-quick indoctrination course" and someone getting the (more drawn-out and expensive indoctrination course) college education?
That's an honest question.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 22:20.
Okay TaFAy,
The point is you prepare for teaching with a teaching degree as opposed to taste of teaching course that the TFA program offers. Either way, once you step in the classroom you enter a whole new learning experience. You either sink or swim. I credit my survival to the ability to sub nearly every day of the year than I do my college courses. That said, most TFAs leave after their two years are up because they realize the program is not what they were told. My friends daughter is waitressing now after leaving her first post TFA job. It's like reading about combat and actually being in it. The college program will teach you all the techniques and such of teaching, but being able to actually do it begins when you step into the classroom all alone and remain there throughout the day.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 23:07.
This is the sales pitch that the district falls for from TFA. This is what Ackerman will replace seasoned teachers in failing schools with, inexperienced salespeople ("highly qualified" at what?), rather than actually fixing the problems of the district. That way she can 'break' the teachers union and save the district tons. The TFA people misrepresent themselves - they are gaining teaching experience at the cost of our Philadelphia students' education. Cheap labor is never a good thing.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 00:43.
How true! That is why the majority of TFAs leave when their two year tour of duty ends. Any teacher who thinks they have it all down in two years is a liar. You're still learning the ropes even at that point. However, TFAs allow Nutter and the like to pretend they have a solution to Philly's money woes when in reality they are nothing more than a cheap fix.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 09:41.
Question:
Do TFA teachers join the union?
Philly Teaching Fellows do.
Submitted by Down in the Basement (not verified) on Mon, 03/16/2009 - 00:41.
I am curious if Sandra...I can call her "Sandra"...?...I am curious if Sandra...is related to the Mr. Glenn who was in the news last fall...Mr. Glenn was a deputy something or other...who was in the news for awhile...he got into a tiff with Chief Ramsey...
He is no longer deputy mayor...I wonder...I wonder...if Sandra is related to Mr. Glenn...I wonder...
Submitted by TFA Alum (not verified) on Mon, 03/16/2009 - 21:29.
I am a special education teacher in SW Philly. I came to the Philadelphia School District via TFA. If it were not for the accommodations provided by TFA I would not have been able to succeed in the classroom. I'm one person, but I am not the only TFAer still teaching in a public school classroom after my 2 year commitment to TFA.
I consistently receive students 4-6 years below grade level in reading and 3-5 years below grade level in math from 'veteran' teachers who have passed out one too many worksheets or spent too many Friday afternoons showing movies in class. I set big goals for my students year after year and they see success - on average my students grow 1.5 to 2 years in both reading and math. I work my students hard to get them back into the general education classroom and if it were not for TFA I would not be able to do what I do - giving hope to the next generation is one of the greatest rewards in my life.
Stop bashing TFA because you view it as a short term fix to a problem - see it for it really is, a large group of highly educated and dedicated people committed to giving the children of Philly the best possible education.
Submitted by Ron Whitehorne on Tue, 03/17/2009 - 15:58.
I'm writing an article on TFA for the next edition of the Notebook and would be interested in interviewing you. Please email me at rwhite101@comcast.net
You are to be commended for your hard work and dedication.
Submitted by TJ (not verified) on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 09:35.
TFA is a "large group of highly educated and dedicated people...". HUH? First of all, they are, what, on average of about 21 years old. With the exception of maybe a few, they have at most a BA degree. None in education. I know what you are really saying, you are saying, "TFA'ers went to Ivy League, or other highly selective colleges like Middlebury, UVA, and Johns Hopkins. Most SDP teachers did not, so we are smarter". Also, I have worked in the education biz for over 10 years. 99% of my colleagues are dedicated people committed to giving the children of Philly the best possible education.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 09:39.
New college graduates, are, what, 22? What's your point about TFAs being 21?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 13:43.
The Notebook: "How can we encourage a more positive school climate?"
Perhaps, start with disciplining students...perhaps forbid gangs of students from dragging out other students from classrooms...a la South Philly High School...
Now, there is a novel idea...
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