How to get a great teacher in every classroom
A new principal, Dan Conner, is in charge of transforming Des Moines' East High, one of 35 schools in Iowa recently included among the 5,000 lowest-performing in the nation. Read about the progress Conner has made so far with changing the culture at East. Find out how the state and community could help Iowa schools like East have a better chance of success.			Iowa's students deserve a great teacher in every classroom. Yet many have only a handful of great teachers over their years in elementary, middle and high school. This isn't acceptable when it's widely recognized that education will sort which individuals and nations thrive in a competitive global economy The top priority: Great teaching The Register's editorial • April 12, 2009 Iowa's students deserve a great teacher in every classroom. Yet many children have only a handful of great teachers over their years in elementary, middle and high school. The rest are likely a mix of good and average teachers, a few perhaps even poor. This is no longer acceptable when it's widely recognized that quality of education will callously sort which individuals and nations thrive in a competitive global economy. That's why President Barack Obama has made school reform a top priority, and why countries from China to Canada to Finland are doing the same thing. Teachers are the key. Last fall, Linda Lantor Fandel, the Register's deputy editorial-page editor, visited top-performing schools in Finland and Alberta, Canada, and she's reviewed research on student achievement around the world. What's clear: A rigorous curriculum is essential. So is plenty of help for students who don't understand something. Supportive parents are hugely important, of course. But no single factor inside the school building determines academic progress as much as an effective teacher - or someone who's not. In this second year of the Register's World-Class Schools series, we plan to focus on how Iowa can better ensure a great teacher in every classroom. Consensus has been growing on the linchpin role teachers play in student learning. "Studies that take into account all of the available evidence on teacher effectiveness suggest that students placed with high-performing teachers will progress three times as fast as those placed with low-performing teachers," according to the fall 2007 report "How the World's Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top," by McKinsey & Co. Having great teachers in every classroom is critical to creating educational equity, according to Douglas Harris, education policy expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "I think there's pretty widespread agreement that is the most important thing to do, and that is the weak point of the system now." Making teachers the strong point will require structural changes to Iowa's education system, which also will make the profession more prestigious. Here are some of the steps needed, which we'll explore in more depth this year: - Become more selective about admission to teacher-education programs. Programs must assure all candidates are intellectually curious and engaging. Yet many teacher-education programs aren't highly selective. The University of Northern Iowa program, for example, accepts 82 percent of applicants. From a big-picture perspective, Judy Jeffrey, Iowa Department of Education director, said, "We have to make sure we admit the very best candidates into our preparation programs. I think we are working on it, but at the same time there are extreme [teacher] shortages. We face a dilemma of needing people and wanting the very best and brightest. Could we do better? Yes, I think we could." Down at ground level, John Villotti, principal at Crestview Elementary in Clive, said teacher-education programs are designed to nurture and push along future teachers, and perhaps professors need to be more blunt about who doesn't seem to have the qualities of someone who will make it. - Provide teachers already in the classroom more time to work together. Teachers need time for collaboration with colleagues on how to best deliver lessons and for other professional development directly related to improving instruction. That's especially true for Iowa teachers as they move to put the new Iowa Core Curriculum in place. Many school districts are working hard to better support teachers, such as Des Moines, which plans to hire six new "school improvement leaders" for two middle schools struggling to meet requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The district is using federal money to do this. The Legislature should increase state dollars for such efforts as soon as the budget crisis eases. - Improve teacher evaluations. Evaluations should rely significantly on the academic growth students make annually, which should be measured differently for different subjects. Iowa requires teachers to use student performance data to make changes to improve instruction, but they are not judged on whether students make progress. Why not? Dan Smith, executive director of School Administrators of Iowa, said educators traditionally have resisted this approach because they feared there's not a fair way to measure progress. "We are becoming more comfortable that we can measure the effect of instruction" as administrators see firsthand the link between better professional development and higher student achievement. Administrators say it can be tough to fire a weak teacher. Mike Milligan, now retired but who served as Belle Plaine superintendent and a high school principal elsewhere before that, said no one wants to give up on a teacher, but when it becomes clear coaching isn't working, he or she has to go: "I have seen situations where the ISEA [the teachers' union], parents and even school boards have thwarted an administrator's attempt to get rid of an ineffective teacher." - Raise teacher salaries, especially starting pay. Entering the profession must become more attractive to the most talented college graduates. Iowa's minimum starting teacher salary is just $28,000. The average was $46,664 for 2007-08, which ranked 31st in the nation, based on National Education Association estimates. Research proves the value of a great teacher in every classroom, but it's also common sense. Great teachers are knowledgeable about their subjects and passionate about teaching. They make a subject relevant and realize different kids have different learning styles. They are deeply respectful toward their students. Iowa has some great teachers, but not nearly enough.