Both Michael Fullan’s The Moral Imperative of School Leadership (2003) and The Moral Imperative Realized (2011) resonate with me as a school leader. Fullan (2003) defines “the moral imperative” as raising student achievement for all students and narrowing the achievement gap. Paramount is establishing strong relationships with teachers during the “deep cultural change” through respect, competence, personal regard for others, and integrity. It is about celebrating small successes, modelling hope, optimism, lifelong learning, and caring for others. As Fullan (2003) strongly states: “Conflict avoidance in the face of poor performance is an act of moral neglect” (p. 32).

To achieve the moral imperative, principals need to be instructional leaders, focused on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and the professional culture. The principal’s role is to guide and support using a distributive leadership model. He talks about getting the right teachers on the bus and in the right seats, in order to steer the bus. One’s success can be measured by not only by the impact of the change but with how many school leaders are left behind to continue implementation when the principal’s tenure is over. Fullan (2011) emphasizes through a professional learning community, teachers are engaged in job-embedded learning. It is through teachers supporting and pressuring each other that results in the impact making its way into the classroom.

Reflection
Reality is administrators’ days are filled with the day-to-day operations. We must remember the importance of being instructional leaders – to do classroom walk-throughs, to engage with teachers on instruction. Fullan’s books remind me of what is important – student achievement – and how to get there - by being instructional leaders. This is what makes being in education so exciting and complex: we cannot give up any student. A wonderful quote that comes to mind is from Mary Jean Gallagher, at the fall 2011 Quest conference: "When you leave a child behind, you might leave the next Prime Minister behind." Each student is unique; education is the equalizer to a better future. What a legacy each of us will leave behind :-)

Follow-Up: The Four-Letter Word That Can Help New Teachers

Follow-Up: The Four-Letter Word That Can Help New Teachers

By Kate Mulcahy on January 24, 2012 2:35 PM

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_ahead/2012/01/the_four-letter_word_that_can_prepare_new_teachers_for_success.html

It's a four-letter word, but it's what most teachers would say when asked to name the key factor in improving our profession: Time. We need more time to plan, learn, and collaborate, so that our time with students is more effective. And it shouldn't be surprising that (as my colleagues have stated in their responses below) preservice teachers need more guided time in classrooms.

Ideally, a new teacher should develop her own craft under the guidance of a mentor. As policy expert Dana Barlin states, "One of a mentor's chief jobs is to help a new teacher close the 'knowing-doing' gap by learning to apply knowledge of best practices to daily classroom routines."

A new teacher should see educational theory applied in real time by a skilled veteran and not have to guess what it's supposed to look like in her own classroom. The knowing-doing gap can be disheartening for a new teacher who is comparing her chaotic classroom to the ideal classrooms of her teacher-education textbooks, and she could easily settle on blaming herself for her classroom short comings, questioning whether she should be a teacher at all.

Skilled veterans can also benefit from mentoring experiences. My own mentor told me that having a new teacher in her classroom kept her teaching "fresh." In my own experience, I have seen the pendulum can swing to the other extreme: after several years of teaching, even the best teacher can lose his or her connections with new techniques or technologies. A new teacher will bring new ideas.

Finally, as Anna pointed out, if new teachers had the time to develop their skills under the leadership of a mentor, students might not suffer the growing pains. Right now, most new teachers (62 percent, by one estimate) feel underprepared. Consider this next to the fact that 50 percent of teachers leave the profession after only five years (nice—if sobering—stats, Linda!). By not taking the time to fully prepare our new teachers, it's clear that we are setting them up to fail.

Now, I'm no statistician, but I know that this situation adds up to trouble for our kids—who matter most, and would most benefit from new teachers having more quality time in a mentor's classroom. They would have confident, capable teachers who would be there—more than a year or two—to support their students. The only question is will our profession move itself out of the current broken teacher-educational model? Seems like only time will tell.

Kate Mulcahy, a Boettcher Teachers Program graduate, has taught for five years as an English & English-Language Learner teacher at Northglenn High School in Colorado.


Reflections

We all know teaching is complex. My own high schools teachers often stood in front of the class, lectured, and covered curriculum - some did not even learn students' names. To be effective, you needed to know your subject material and be able to manage the classroom so students sat quietly in rows. Fortunately, I had a forward-thinking mathematics education instructor when earning my BEd teaching degree along with an associate teacher who allowed me to try non-traditional teaching practices.

I know why I have been an effective educator - throughout my career, I have had experienced educators and mentors who have supported and invested in my professional growth and development. Take my first year of teaching, my math department head was assigned as my mentor at the all-girls independent school. The endless hours he spent listening and offering advice to me made all the difference from quitting. During my second to fifth years of teaching, my mentor was my math head in Belleville. Again, I had a mentor who sterring me in the right direction. When I transferred to the York Region DSB, I was given leadership positions as assistant math head, math head, and now vice-principal. I konw I would never had gotten to where I am without former principals and vice-principals who served as mentors and encouraged me. Teaching is a journey and life-long learning -- it is an art and science.

As I have grown so much through my mentors, I have given back to the profession by hosting 20 teacher candidates and volunteers. It's always welcoming to know the latest happenings in the faculty of education. Observing teacher candidates in the classroom allows me to reflect on my own practices.

New teachers bring enthusiasm and passion to the profession. Experienced teachers bring experience to the profession. We need each other! In Ontario, we have the New Teacher Induction Programme (NTIP) in which each new teacher is assigned an experienced teacher to serve as mentor. For NTIP to truly be beneficial, it would be great for the mentor to visit the new teacher's classroom (and vice-versa) and offer descriptive feedback on the lesson - non-evaluative. The professional dialogue would be growth to both mentor and mentee. Trust is so important to make this work.

As a vice-principal, I do my best to support new teachers. I will never forget those who supported and encouraged me. Teaching is difficult - especially if you are assigned to courses that the experienced teachers don't want (fortunately I didn't get that). When I was department head, I always believed the toughest courses should go to experienced teachers. New teachers are hired for potential - it's our responsibility to ensure they experience a successful year. Now in my 16th year in education, I still have the passion and enthusiasm for teaching as I did when I was a teacher candidate.

What's Worth Fighting For in the Principalship 2nd Edition

What’s Worth Fighting For in the Principalship 2nd Edition by Michael Fullan

We are reminded that teachers and administration are the top 2 factors to improving student achievement (Leithwood, 2007). As the daily operations of a school can consume an administrator’s entire day, Fullan emphasizes the need to balance both operational leadership and instructional leadership. It is through emphasis on professional development of teachers that the achievement gap can be closed, but it is not easy: “Changing culture is the principal’s hardest job because there is so much previous structure and culture to overcome” (p. 18)

Fullan reminds us of the importance of creating professional learning communities. Teachers can work collaboratively to discuss teaching and learning, observe each other teach, and use data to inform instruction and for accountability purposes. The role of principal is to create those conditions conductive to PLCs as they are the lead teacher or instructional leader: “Effective principals spend their time creating the conditions for teachers and teacher leaders to zero-in on effective instructional practices, and to use data on student learning both as a lever for improvement and as a source for external accountability” (p. 17)

Getting the right people on the bus is vital for sustainability. That includes literacy teachers, subject heads, and encouraging strong curriculum leaders to pursue administration. For professional learning to be effective, it must make its way into the classroom. Through distributive leadership, teachers come to see how change is applicable in their subject disciplines and courses.

The Value of Teachers

Great article from the NY Times, January 11, 2012. Once again, goes to show the impact of effective teachers - as Ken Leithwood has found is the #1 factor to improving student achievement. As administrators, we must focus our energies in supporting teachers with ensuring instruction is differentiated and driven by assessment for learning. Every student needs an important adult...


The Value of Teachers

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF


Suppose your child is about to enter the fourth grade and has been assigned to an excellent teacher. Then the teacher decides to quit. What should you do?

The correct answer? Panic!

Well, not exactly. But a landmark new research paper underscores that the difference between a strong teacher and a weak teacher lasts a lifetime. Having a good fourth-grade teacher makes a student 1.25 percent more likely to go to college, the research suggests, and 1.25 percent less likely to get pregnant as a teenager. Each of the students will go on as an adult to earn, on average, $25,000 more over a lifetime — or about $700,000 in gains for an average size class — all attributable to that ace teacher back in the fourth grade. That’s right: A great teacher is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to each year’s students, just in the extra income they will earn.

The study, by economists at Harvard and Columbia universities, finds that if a great teacher is leaving, parents should hold bake sales or pass the hat around in hopes of collectively offering the teacher as much as a $100,000 bonus to stay for an extra year. Sure, that’s implausible — but their children would gain a benefit that far exceeds even that sum.

Conversely, a very poor teacher has the same effect as a pupil missing 40 percent of the school year. We don’t allow that kind of truancy, so it’s not clear why we should put up with such poor teaching. In fact, the study shows that parents should pay a bad teacher $100,000 to retire (assuming the replacement is of average quality) because a weak teacher holds children back so much.

Our faltering education system may be the most important long-term threat to America’s economy and national well-being, so it’s frustrating that the presidential campaign is mostly ignoring the issue. Candidates are bloviating about all kinds of imaginary or exaggerated threats, while ignoring the most crucial one.

Mitt Romney, who after his victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday seems increasingly likely to be the Republican nominee, refers to education only in passing on his Web site. The topic receives no substantive discussion in his 160-page “Believe in America” economic plan.

This latest study should elevate the issue on the national agenda, because it not only underscores the importance of education but also illuminates how we might improve schools.

An essential answer: more good teachers. Or, to put it another way, fewer bad teachers. The obvious policy solution is more pay for good teachers, more dismissals for weak teachers.

One of the paradoxes of the school reform debate is that teachers’ unions have resisted a focus on teacher quality; instead, they emphasize that the home is the foremost influence and that teachers can only do so much.

That’s all true, and (as I’ve often written) we need an array of other antipoverty measures as well, especially early childhood programs. But the evidence is now overwhelming that even in a grim high-poverty school, some teachers have far more impact on their students than those in the classroom next door. Three consecutive years of data from student tests — the “value added” between student scores at the beginning and end of each year — reveal a great deal about whether a teacher is working out, the researchers found.

This study, by Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard University and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University, was influential because it involved a huge database of one million students followed from fourth grade to adulthood.

The blog of the Albert Shanker Institute, endowed by the American Federation of Teachers, praised the study as “one of the most dense, important and interesting analyses on this topic in a very long time” — although it cautioned against policy conclusions (of the kind that I’m reaching).

What shone through the study was the variation among teachers. Great teachers not only raised test scores significantly — an effect that mostly faded within a few years — but also left their students with better life outcomes. A great teacher (defined as one better than 84 percent of peers) for a single year between fourth and eighth grades resulted in students earning almost 1 percent more at age 28.

Suppose that the bottom 5 percent of teachers could be replaced by teachers of average quality. The three economists found that each student in the classroom would have extra cumulative lifetime earnings of more than $52,000. That’s more than $1.4 million in gains for the classroom.

Some Republicans worry that a federal role in education smacks of socialism. On the contrary, schools represent a tough-minded business investment in our economic future. And, increasingly, we’re getting solid evidence of what reforms may help: teacher evaluations based on student performance, higher pay and prestige for good teachers, dismissals for weak teachers.

That, and not most of the fireworks that passes for politics these days, is the debate we should be having on a national stage.

What Works in Schools

What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action by Robert Marzano c2003 ASCD

What Works in Schools uses 35 years of research to organize 3 level factors that impact student achievement: school-level, teacher-level, and student-level.

School-Level Factors
1. Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (identify essential content, organize, sequence)
2. Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback (high expectations for all students; communicate learning goals; timely, descriptive feedback)
3. Parent and Community Involvement
4. Safe and Orderly Environment (school wide rules and procedures with consequences)
5. Collegiality and Professionalism (correlates to school climate and student achievement)

Teacher-Level Factors
6. Instructional Strategies
7. Classroom Management
8. Classroom Curriculum Design (sequencing and pacing of content – to facilitate construction of meaning)

Student-Level Factors
9. Home Environment (much stronger relationship with student achievement than do household income, occupation, and education)
10. Learned Intelligence and Background Knowledge
11. Student Motivation

It is very clear that the teacher is key to improving student achievement: “54 percentile point discrepancy in achievement gains between students with least effective teachers versus those with most effective teachers – 29 percentage points versus 83 percentage points respectively over three years” (p. 73). Administrators need to be the instructional leaders who respect and trust teachers as they facilitate implementation of the reforms. With data being the driving force to improving student achievement, administrators need to work with teachers to, as discussed in chapter 17: 1. Take pulse of school; 2. Identify and implement intervention; 3. Examine effect on achievement; 4. Move to next issue.

Marzano reminds us teachers need to see how the PD learned can be applicable to their subject disciplines if it is to make its way into classrooms. When I was a classroom teacher, I viewed my classroom as a “laboratory” where I conducted action research. I remember investigating the impact of using reading-to-learn and writing-to-learn strategies on student achievement and the affective. Two years ago, I was involved with a small group of teachers at my former school in a ministry project on Assessment for Learning, with culminated in a video being produced. The education officers provided monthly workshops after which one of them observed the class during implementation, followed by feedback. This repeated itself on a monthly basis and allowed for much growth and reflection. Through the process, my confidence grew as my assessment was now driving the instruction. Such learning became lasting in all my classes as I wrote learning goals on the chalkboard, co-constructed the success criteria with the class, provided descriptive feedback, and students self and peer assessed. The impact on student achievement was significant.

We are reminded: “If a school is willing to do all that it can at the school level and if all teachers in the school are at least competent in their profession, the school can have a tremendous impact on student achievement” (p. 75). It is focusing on teachers and their instructional practices that makes all the difference. Marzano’s 9 are: Identifying similarities and differences; summarizing and note taking; reinforcing effort and providing recognition; homework and practice; non-linguistic representations (mental images, pictures, graphic organizers, act out, physical models); cooperative learning; setting objectives and providing feedback; generating and testing hypotheses; questions/cues/advance organizers. Interesting data provided: “schools generally account for only 20 percent of the variance in student achievement and that student background characteristics account for the other 80 percent...the negative effects of these factors can be overcome” (p. 123, 125).

* The videos are available on the Ontario Ministry of Education web site: http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/aer2/aervideo/planningassessmentwithinstruction.html

Creating the Opportunity to Learn

Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap by Wade Boykin and Pedro Noguera. ASCD, 2011

Reflections
The focus of Creating the Opportunity to Learn is to close the achievement gap of Blacks and Latinos. I am reminded of the quote “Good for all. Essential for some” by then-Education Officer Anthony Azzopardi back in 2005 when I was contracted to help rewrite the Ontario high school mathematics curriculum. The reality is teachers have students with varying abilities, interests, and readiness. There may be students who have immigrated to Canada from war countries and have not been in school for a few years. There may be students living in poverty. There may be students functioning at the beginnings of the English language. To close the achievement gap, which has remained virtually unchanged, we must meet the needs of our at-risks students. Research gives us hope: “Under the right conditions, poor and minority group children can achieve at high levels” (p. xi)”.

It all begins with relationships and having high expectations for all students. Students know if we genuinely care. We must be disturbed with the findings of the meta-analysis from 1968 to 2003 of Tenenbaum & Ruck (2007): “Teachers have more positive expectations for White students than they do for Black or Latino students. Teachers direct more positive speech (in the form of praise, affirmations, and positive feedback) toward White students” (in Boykin & Noguera, p. 79). With low expectations, these students get asked low-ordered questions, receive more criticism than praise, and less time to answer questions. Sizer (1984) reminds us that “schools should function as the equalizers of opportunity” (in Boykin & Noguera, p. 199) so we must confront out stereotypes.

In addition to high expectations for all students, we need to focus on teachers’ instructional and assessment practices. Much has been written about differentiating instruction and assessment for learning. The focus is on meeting students’ academic, social, and emotional needs – not just “cover curriculum”. At my previous school, I was a part of a pilot study on implementing Assessment for Learning (AfL) – writing and sharing learning goals, co-constructing success criteria with the class, providing descriptive feedback, and student self and peer assessment. My class in the video studyquickly saw how Alf made them actively engaged in their learning, resulting in: “The more self-efficacious a student is, the more likely he or she will pursue adaptive self-regulatory learning strategies and believe that effort matters. The more self-regulated a student is, the more confident he or she will be about the possibility of success and believe that efforts will make him or her ‘smarter’” (p. 67). Similar findings occurred in all subsequent classes, including grade 9 applied mathematics, with AfL being used to drive the instruction.

As Chenoweth (2007) reminds us: “...simply must do whatever it takes to meet the educational and social needs of the children they serve...there is no one single factor that is at the core of a successful school...there is no magic bullet” (in Boykin and Noguera p. 179). Further, “catching up is difficult, particularly when one considers that middle-class White students often have access to substantially superior resources, both within school and at home, that affect learning outcomes” (p. 15). Through the complexity, we cannot give up. We know from the research of Ken Leithwood that the teacher is key. Through quality teacher-student relationships, teachers are empathetic, supportive, fair, and genuinely care. With each small success, students gain confidence and self-efficacy. We need all students actively engaged in higher-order thinking, critical thinking, and problem solving – and they need to see what they are learning relevant and meaningful. We need teachers engaged in professional learning conversations about best practices and development. We need parents as partners. We may need the support of guidance counsellors, administration, and the school social worker. This is a team effort and a worthy one.

Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity

Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All By Avis Glaze, Ruth Mattingley, Ben Levin. Published by Pearson Canada, 2012

Equity is defined as giving each student what is needed to be successful – what that looks like differs from student to student. Having high expectations for all students is paramount in reducing the achievement gap. Regardless of student’s race, culture, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, special needs, “All students come to school with a range of strengths and talents. It is important for educators to build on students’ prior knowledge and experiences and not focus solely on the challenges they face” (p. ix). Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All describes 21 high-impact strategies organized into 5 key areas of focus for equity of outcomes:
• Strategy 1: High expectations for all students (failure is not an option)
• Inclusive School Culture
o Strategy 2: Build relationships
o Strategy 3: Help students feel safe and respected at school
o Strategy 4: Offer flexible programming
o Strategy 5: Establish career development as an integral part of the
curriculum
• Instructional Practices
o Strategy 6: Focus on literacy across all subjects
o Strategy 7: Develop oral language
o Strategy 8: Differentiate instruction
o Strategy 9: Emphasize higher-order and critical thinking skills
o Strategy 10: Make formative assessment integral to learning
o Strategy 11: Integrate the arts
• Culturally Responsive Classroom Experiences
o Strategy 12: Practise culturally responsive teaching
o Strategy 13: Make classroom activities culturally responsive
o Strategy 14: Select culturally reflective learning materials and resources
• Early Interventions
o Strategy 15: Implement early and ongoing interventions
o Strategy 16: Provide tutoring
o Strategy 17: Support summer learning opportunities
o Strategy 18: Strengthen access to guidance and counselling
• Character Development
o Strategy 19: Identify character attributes
o Strategy 20: Promote inclusive practices
o Strategy 21: Maximize student engagement

Reflections
I truly believe all students can achieve and be successful. As educators, we must put students at the forefront – support them academically, socially, and emotionally. We know from Ken Leithwood that teachers are the number 1 factor to student success and they need to differentiate instruction and use assessment for learning to drive their teaching. Students need to experience genuine success which builds confidence and the desire to learn more. They need to know we care: “Teaching is about human relationships. The more we as educators learn about our students, the more they are likely to learn from us” (Cummins, 2007, in Glaze et al, p. 45). As a vice-principal, I strive to be visible in the hallways, visit classrooms, and get to know students as they work in the library or are called down to my office.

School is our second home – or home away from home. We must take good care of it – that means ensuring it is a safe place to be, where we treat each other with respect, and where each student is here to learn and can reach their potential. All students feel welcomed (regardless of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, special needs) and are connected to the school (including participation in clubs and sports). They see themselves represented in curriculum and are given a voice on how the school culture can be improved. Bullying and any type of discrimination or harassment are unacceptable and will be dealt with consequences and with learning outcomes. For teachers, instructional time is preserved, and where the workplace is a professional learning community so they can continue to develop. Administrators are responsible for providing such conditions and by serving as instructional leaders.

I agree that literacy is key. When I taught high school mathematics, I modelled and expected students to strengthen their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Each subject discipline has its own vocabulary which needs to be explicitly taught. Reading a mathematical text is not the same as reading a novel in English class. I am proud to have introduced ESL mathematics at the grades 9 and 10 academic levels at my previous school – we focused on literacy to get at the mathematics. As vice-principal, I work with the 5% of the student population who for whatever reasons are not attending class regularly and are disengaged. In my diagnostic questions, I ask about how much reading they do outside of school. If students don’t read then they can read aloud for 20 minutes in my office. I walk the talk as reading is a gift that opens doors to learning.

When I was mathematics head, I received criticism from colleagues for “saving” students. For 3 years, part of my timetable was with the Alternative Education department. Since class maximum is 16 students, I would, with parental and student approval, move students into my Alt Educ class with a level change. Previously, they were resistant to the move and only become receptive when they see the realities of failure. As a vice-principal, I wear a “guidance counsellor hat” and see if a level change can be made before the mid-term; else it becomes me intervening and working with both student and teacher. Fortunately, I also have my student success teacher, special education, ESL, and child-youth worker for support.

Ultimately, it is Character Education traits that I want to see as the end product of our graduating students. My board, York Region DSB, has 10 such traits, spearheaded by Glaze when she was a superintendent in York Region: respect, honesty, courage, optimism, responsibility, perseverance, empathy, fairness, integrity, initiative. The learning skills component of the report card is so important since we need students to adapt to the ever-changing society (e.g., explosion of technology). I am enthused when conducting Teacher Performance Appraisals as a vice-principal that teachers track students’ learning skills and ask them to self-assess them with reasons.

One area of inequity that continues to “bug” me is the private schools where students can buy their credit with high marks (universities treat the mark at face-value). This is so unfair to students who live in poverty. I have students in my office who no longer live at home and must self-support, while others have parents who must work 2 jobs to put food on the table.

Teaching Boys Who Struggle in School

Teaching Boys Who Struggle in School: Strategies that Turn Underachievers into Successful LearnersBy: Kathleen Cleveland
ASCD, 2011

Teaching Boys Who Struggle in School (2011) seeks to “examine how the way we ‘do school’ might be interfering with an underachieving boy’s potential for achievement” (p. 8). Fear of failure is a reality as some boys prefer to “self-sabotage”. Cleveland describes the Boy Code as: “to behave like superheroes and hide their emotions, but they also do not want to be perceived as smart, always fight instead of talking through a conflict, and do not enjoy reading and writing...boys often purposely shun such tasks in order to avoid being associated with anything feminine or ‘girly,’ thereby stunting their ability to master the kind of skills necessary for success in school and, arguably, outside of school as well” (p. 40).

The book seeks 4 overarching goals: (1) Replace negative attitudes about learning with productive perspectives; (2) Reconnect with school, with learning, and belief as a competent learner; (3) Rebuild life skills and learning skills that lead to academic success and success in life; and (4) Reduce need to use unproductive and distracting behaviours as means of self-protection. The author describes 6 pathways to re-engagement:

(1) Support
• trusting student-teacher relationships
• nonthreatening learning environment
(2) Guide
• clear expectations (how and what teacher communicates)
• informational feedback (identify strengths [the medal], shortcomings, and
how to improve [the mission] – before summative assessment)
• positive reinforcement
(3) Reinforce
• tools for communication (physical domain – appropriate distance, maintain
eye contact, use facial expressions; verbal – voice modulation, taking
turns; cognitive – detect emotions in others, anticipate other’s reaction)
• tools for collaboration (cooperative learning)
(4) Adjust
• zones of comfort (adjust physical environment)
(5) Ignite
• active learning (“All genuine learning is active, not passive. It involves
the use of the mind, not just the memory. It is the process of discovery, in
which the student is the main agent, not the teacher” p. 175)
(6) Empower
• engaging literacy-building activities (“Reading is the key to academic
achievement” (p. 215); “If a boy cannot read, and if he cannot or will not
read, his ability to write is also diminished in nearly equal proportion”
(p. 189)

Reflections

During my 16 years as an educator, I have and continue to come across underachieving boys who are disengaged or disinterested in school. I am committed to never giving up on any child. Teaching is complex – that’s why there are no easy solutions and we must keep trying to see what works.

My board, York Region DSB, has made literacy central focus of all we do: “All teachers are teachers of literacy”. As a mathematics teacher, I have incorporated literacy and have published my action research study on “Using Journal Writing to Explore ‘They Communicate to Learn Mathematics and They Learn to Communicate Mathematically” in the Ontario Action Researcher journal (available on-line http://oar.nipissingu.ca/archive-Vol7No2-V722E.htm ). A similar, non-published study, was conducted on reading-to-learn mathematics. When I was mathematics head, I introduced ESL mathematics courses at the grades 9 and 10 academic levels. The intent was to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening as central to learning mathematics. In my current role as vice-principal, I diagnostically ask if student’s literacy skills are weak. I encourage them to read at home – whatever they are interested in and in whatever format (newspaper, magazine, book). It disheartens me to hear boys tell me they hate reading and thus do not do it. I have had an ELL boy read for 20 minutes in my office. Reading is a gift and opens doors to learning. One gets better at it through practice.

One group of students we do not do an effective job is supporting students identified with ADD/ADHD. Most often boys, they cannot focus, sit still, and are disorganized. Lost in School, by Ross Greene states we need to explicitly teach students the skills they lack. There is no point calling home to parents to tell them their child is disorganized – they know that. How do we help them become organized? We need to adapt our instruction and assessment practices to the needs of our learners. For instance, can we expect our ADD/ADHD students to concurrently listen to the teacher and copy notes? Whatever is written in the notes, does it get into the binder?

In my role as vice-principal, I monitor attendance and speak with students when I notice numerous absences and lates on the truancy list. For some students, truancy discontinues after an initial meeting with me. For others, truancy continues and I need to establish a working relationship with the student as I try to determine the reason for this behaviour. Often times, there are personal issues, other times students just don’t like school, or have gotten into a hole and they deal through avoidance. Being punitive is ineffective. Supporting students is vital as Cleveland reminds us: “The problem of underachievement didn’t happen overnight, and we need to recognize that finding solutions will take time too” (p. 218). There is never blame.

Resilient School Leaders: Strategies for Turning Adversity into Achievement

Resilient School Leaders: Strategies for Turning Adversity into AchievementBy: Jerry L. Patterson and Paul Kelleher
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005

Resilient School Leaders: Strategies for Turning Adversity into Achievement (2005) answers the question, “How can leaders move ahead in the face of adversity?” (p. v) through interviews with 25 leading educational leaders. Patterson and Kelleher define resiliency as “using your energy productively to emerge from adversity stronger than ever” (p. 3). There are 3 principles to resiliency: optimism, hope, and efficacy (confidence in own abilities) along with 4 stages to the resilience cycle: deteriorating, adapting, recovering, and growing.

Individual chapters focus on the 6 strengths of resilient leaders:

1. Resilient leaders accurately assess past and current realities (filled with disruptions; need high tolerance)
2. Resilient leaders are positive about future possibilities (Optimism – focus on opportunities, not obstacles; maintain positive perspective)
3. Resilient leaders remain true to personal values (stay focus on being value-driven)
4. Resilient leaders maintain a strong sense of personal efficacy (Efficacy – recover quickly from setbacks)
5. Resilient leaders invest personal energy wisely (renew physical energy through periodic recovery time; develop emotional empathy; maintain clear mental focus and concentration)
6. Resilient leaders act on the courage of personal convictions (Hope – clear about and act on what matters most; remain courageous; acknowledge and learn from mistakes)

Being a resilient leader means making informed judgments and good decisions: “as horrible as it is...it will pass” (p. 120). We are reminded: “We all are here to improve the conditions of children. If someone starts with the ‘yes, but’ replies, my answer is that we as adults are in this system to figure out how to make the conditions over which we have control better” (p. 137).

An important application of the reading is to explicitly define and make public my Resilience Capacity, which consists of personal values, personal efficacy, and personal energy:

• Personal Values consists of core values, educational values, and program values. My core values focus on developing good citizens. The York Region DSB has for years focused on its 10 Character Education Traits: respect, responsibility, honesty, empathy, fairness, initiative, courage, integrity, perseverance, and optimism. I have resonated with the traits as these are the “end products” we want/hope/expect of our graduates. My educational values focus on student achievement and learning. Our director of education, Ken Thurston, adds well-being. It is about meeting students’ needs academically, socially, and emotionally – or educating the whole child. Equity permeates everything we do – which means giving each student what they need and what that is for each student looks differently from other students. To close the achievement gap, we must have high expectations for each and every student. Programme values focus on differentiating instruction and assessment for learning. Research shows the number 1 factor to improvement student achievement is the teacher – thus, as administrators, we are instructional leaders supporting instructional change.

• Personal efficacy consists of competence and confidence along with strong connections to others. Having been a vice-principal for 4 months, I continue to develop self-confidence and competence through achieving small successes, more challenging tasks. Fortunately, I work as a member of the administrative team so I am never alone. Before major decisions are made, I speak with my principal and vice-principal, which gives me self-confidence when others do not agree. I have been so fortunate throughout my career to have mentors guiding and supporting me through. For instance, my former principal and vice-principal took me under their wing. I find myself using similar approaches and asking myself how they would handle the situation. For instance, in meetings with parents and students, I need time to investigate and take the information, delaying decisions until informed decisions can be made. Also, what is the end goal I am striving to get at? I’m finding what people want is to be heard.

• Personal energy consists of physical fuel, emotional mastery, mental focus, and spiritual wellspring. Mind and body go hand-in-hand. Physically, I run and am training for my 8th full marathon for May 6, 2012 (Toronto Marathon). Running is a stress-reliever for me as it helps clear my mind. I just need to remind myself not to overtrain as rest and recovery are important. Emotionally, my former principal told me I have high emotional intelligence – i.e., ability to control own’s own emotions and to have empathy to others. A great quote is “to disarm opponents, not fight with them” (p. 118). As a vice-principal, it is easier for me to make informed decisions (rather than make decisions through emotions) since I mediate conflict. Mentally, I feel this is my weakness since I am a “workaholic”. I can go for hours without rest. I need to watch out for burnout as work does consume my life. Fortunately, Bud (my Chow Chow) has needs such as walks – so he helps keep me mentally focussed. A great quote: “School leaders are ‘energy creators’” (p. 115) – “to mobilize and inspire others...to persuade and influence, to put others at their ease” (p. 115). Spiritually, I am not religious.

Running blog: http://lim314159.blogspot.com

Do Teachers Need to Relearn How to Learn?

Do Teachers Need to Relearn How to Learn?http://salsichteach.edublogs.org/
Jan 2nd, 2012
by Mr. Salsich.

I guess I’m a “techy” teacher. I finally accepted the label – given to me by co-workers – sometime in the past year, but I’m still a little surprised by the fact. After all, I had never been on the Internet until after I received my undergraduate degree and it wasn’t until I started teaching (about 7 years ago) that I really began to learn about computers and technology.

How did I get to be here?
Now technology is completely integrated into my life, and more importantly, into my instruction. How did this happen? I never took any classes about how to use technology in class, I never read a book on the subject, nobody sat down with me and walked me through the steps of how to use a blog (or a wiki, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). So how did I learn all of the technology I use in my instruction and in my online collaborations with teachers? I learned it on my own.

Well, kind of…
I have had minimal PD (professional development) on how to integrate technology into instruction, but much of that has been superficial, focusing on how to adapt old lessons into “new” ones using some specific web tool. However, one technology PD session did have a big impact on me. David Warlick spoke to the entire faculty a few years back and the main idea I got from his presentation was this: Students are using the internet to learn how to do anything they want to do. He was speaking primarily about middle school and high school students, but I figured the same would be true for me as well. So, I started using the internet to learn how to do what I wanted to do – blog, make videos, make podcasts, publish student work, etc. Of course it wasn’t easy, but I wanted to learn it so I did. (That is key – my learning was self-directed.)

I quickly realized that if I had a question about how to do something, chances were that thousands of other people had already had the same question, and perhaps a dozen or even hundreds had left tips and instructions that answered my specific question. I just had to use critical thinking skills to locate the information on the Internet. In that way, I wasn’t actually learning on my own, I was learning from hundreds of people that I had never met.

Now, after a few years of tinkering with technology, I’m involved with a few committees that are looking into ways to increase technology integration into instruction. The thing that occasionally surprises me about these meetings (and about tech integration in general) is how often everything comes back to PD. If we are talking about the possibility of using Edmodo (just as an example – it could be wikis, blogs, etc.), inevitably the response is, “Well, the teachers need PD first.” Why? I don’t get it.

Why can’t teachers transfer their learning?
I think it’s safe to say that all teachers, regardless of the state or district, have had PD in some web 2.0 tool. Maybe it was blogging, or wikis, or even just how to use the school’s email account. My feeling is, if a teacher can do a few basic computer skills (format in MS Word, copy and paste, attach a document to an email or upload a photo, and perhaps add a hyperlink) they should be able to transfer that knowledge across various internet programs.

Teachers sometimes express surprise when a student can’t write a response to a question that is virtually the same as one they answered the day before simply because it is worded differently. Yet teachers can’t apply what they know about Facebook (or shutterfly, gmail, youtube, etc.) to use edmodo or a wiki? I’m not saying they should be able to master a new program immediately – like anything new it takes time, but they should have the flexibility of thinking to apply what they already know. If teachers can’t transfer their knowledge, how are they going to teach students to do so?

I understand that time and countless other responsibilities are often the hurdles for teachers to integrate more technology into their instruction, but that’s a topic for another time (Kathleen Morris has a great post about overcoming obstacles to tech integration.) What I’m wondering is whether we teachers know how to transfer our technological knowledge and use the Internet to actively seek answers to questions on our own. In other words, are we independent learners?

Dependent on PD
I suspect that the main reason many teachers don’t transfer their knowledge and actively seek answers to their questions about tech is that they simply aren’t very interested in learning it. The key to David Warlick’s statement is that people can leverage the internet to learn anything they want to learn. But let’s put that aside for now and assume for the sake of argument that teachers need to learn how to use tech whether they want to or not. Why do they often profess helplessness and state that they can’t learn it without PD?

If we expect our students to use “critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making” (ISTE student nets 4) and “apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes” (ISTE student nets 1.a), shouldn’t we be able to do the same as teachers? If we can’t apply these skills in our own learning, how can we teach our students to use them?

Besides the lack of time and/or motivation, I’m beginning to wonder if teachers really know how to learn new skills independently. We come from a system of education where everything was fed to us. As a student (even through my master’s degree), if I was told I needed to learn something there was a clear process I had to go through to learn it; sign up (and pay) for the right course with the available expert, buy some textbooks, go to class, follow directions, and collect my credits to show that I had learned it. Most PD follows a similar process (although greatly abbreviated).

So that is the paradigm that teachers have for their own learning – they feel that they need to be learn, especially where learning about technology is concerned. But how would they know this new way of learning if it’s rarely been modeled for them? And if this is how they view their own learning, can we really expect them to teach students how to be independent learners?

A different kind of PD?
So perhaps instead of endless PD sessions for each “new” technology or different web application, teachers need PD on how to be self-directed learners. I’m not exactly sure what this would entail, but it could start with learning how to do an efficient web search – not just Google, but YouTube and other video sites for tutorials. I think it is also vital that the similarity between applications is emphasized so that teachers begin to understand that they can transfer their learning. I think specific skills such as these are necessary to help teachers begin to become more self-directed learners, but ultimately it is a shift in thinking.

Learners are no longer dependent on learning directly from an expert, the information is literally at their fingertips, they just need to know how to access it. And most important, learners of all ages need to be the drivers of their learning. Just like our students, teachers need to seek answers through active exploration. Again, if we are not independent learners, how can we expect our students to be?

This article gave me a lot to think about as I reflected on my own experiences as a student in high school and university as well as my practices when I was in the classroom as a mathematics teacher. In my current role as vice-principal, I support teachers and students with using technology as a tool to learning and teaching.
I remember using a typewriter to type my essays in both high school and university. It was only when I was in the faculty of education that I used a computer to type my assignments. I found it far superior since I could make changes after the initial paper was composed. Previously, I would write everything by hand and then type it out. It would not be long afterwards that I would sit in front of the computer and compose my thoughts and edit as I went along.

Although we had access to the Internet, I resisted getting an e-mail account from the university. It was in 1995, as part of my B.Ed. science education class that the professor encouraged us to continue class discussions on-line using First Class. I became addicted to being on-line, quickly figuring out how much learning took place through reading and replying to posts – which expanded my own perspectives on teaching and learning. I checked numerous times each day to see if I had an e-mail sent to me.

I still remember the huge main frame computers in the university computer labs. I took 2 half courses in computer programming, learning SAS and Fortran. I took a night course at York University on Numerical Methods and had to write computer programmes to solve mathematical questions/problems. Everyone in the class used C+ programme, while I used Fortran. In 2nd year, I had to learn MAPLE software to solve 1st and 2nd year calculus and linear algebra questions/problems. No longer could I memorize my way through as writing computer programmes required logical reasoning and application of concepts. I struggled with the MAPLE course.

Desperate to be employed as a newly-minted teacher, my first position was at an all-girls independent school teaching grades 7, 8, and 10 advanced computer studies in 1996 (in addition to a split grades 8/9 mathematics class – back in the days of destreamed!). I had to take an additional qualifications course at University of Toronto and learned Turing, which has similar structure to Fortran. It was a steep learning curve teaching computer studies as I had to teach students QuickBasic programming (similar to Turing and Fortran), spreadsheets, databases, and HTML web page design. I learned a lot from teaching computer studies and enjoyed it a lot. I had to be a “student” at all times as I had prior experience with these computer hardware and software. I had to learn by doing. Fortunately, I had a trusted colleague who taught senior computers and he answered my questions without making me feel inadequate.

When I became redundant after 1 year, I applied to every board of education in Ontario, taking the first job offered to me – Belleville. It was full-time mathematics position and the principal said I was #7 in queue to teach computer studies (which I wanted as well). I put to good use my experiences using Geometer’s Sketchpad software and TI-graphing calculators. Ontario did not purchase provincial license for the Geometer’s Sketchpad software yet nor did ministry providing funding for graphing calculators yet. I invited my principal to observe a graphing calculator lesson and he was so impressed with how students were actively engaged in exploring mathematical concepts that he used school funds to purchase a class set of graphing calculators.

Throughout my 15 years as a mathematics teacher, I used the technology as a tool towards developing deeper conceptual understanding. Worksheets were created with the availability of print resources and numerous conferences/workshops attended. I was enthusiastic to use the technology since I saw students transformed from passive to active learners. Students who were disrupted in traditional teacher-directed lessons “ate” the technology learning episodes. I have wonderful memories of students “dragging” a vertex in Geometer’s Sketchpad to observe what happens, my 9 applieds become so proficient in using graphing calculators to create scatterplots, and my grade 9s using CBR motion detectors to “Match It” graph activity. The problem solving and communication that occurred – wow!

Reading the article, I must ask myself, “Was I ready for the explosion in technology?” My answer is “No”. When I was a young teacher (I’m still young at heart and students “complain” that I have the mind of a 14 year old!), I remember being told at a conference if teachers wanted to engage students, use music. Now a-days, it’s through technology. I remember students using iPods in class to listen to music and had cell phones – they now have Blackberries (I just upgraded my cell phone to a Blackberry last month and love it!). Why is it students who are disruptive and disengaged (I see them in my office daily as a vice-principal), are producers and consumers of technology – they use blogs, Facebook, create web pages, and have written video game programmes? We have a lot of teaching to the 21st century – technology definitely does that.

The question posed in the article: “Students are using the Internet to learn how to do anything they want to do” is so true. For myself, I must ask when was the last time I used a paper dictionary or thesaurus in my work? Google is so important in my work – I can find anything on the Internet! But I need to know the reliability of the source. As educators, we must explicitly teach students to critically think in order to locate the information needed.

With the 21st century classroom, we must ask ourselves what are the “big ideas” we want from our students. What’s nice in Ontario is we assess students using 4 categories of the achievement chart. As a mathematics student, the focus was on skills and procedures. With the 4-year curriculum in the late 1990s, knowledge is 1 (or 4) categories – we need to also assess students’ application, communication, and thinking. Communication and thinking are key – if students can communicate, they understand. Memorization can only get you so far – as I found out in 4th year undergraduate mathematics!

I regret not using Smartboards when I was in the classroom. For some reason, I was and continue to be intimidated by it. Yet, I observed many teachers using Smartboards which actively engaged our kinaesthetic learners. I also never used a class Moodle, which I see many teachers at my current school using. This reiterates that learning can happen 24-7. Also, I don’t use Facebook (and are told not to use it with students) – as vice-principal, I have dealt with students bad mouthing each other, causing conflict.

I love learning and am a life-long learner. I never would have anticipated how technology has exploded. I have embraced technology as a tool for teaching and learning. To do so otherwise would mean disconnect between students and teachers. Also, students have taught me a lot – technology transforms teacher from knowledge provider to facilitator in the learning process – we have lots to learn from each other. I love blogging (have maintained a running blog for a few years). I also love Tweeting. The hope is these tools are integrated into the classroom – not something that is done outside of school.

Next goal: Learn the benefits of iPad. I used my annual PD funds to purchase an iPad2 – everyone raves about it and says it’s the apps that make it amazing.

Seven signs of leadership potential

Published Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 8:13AM EDT
Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/seven-signs-of-leadership-potential/article2132136/

Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders?

By Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran

(Jossey-Bass, 279 pages, $33.95)

Leadership scholarship is all over the map on defining the prerequisites for being a top executive. But even if you know which attributes to seek, how can you be sure the person you are scouting has the strengths you are seeking (without the flaws you fear)?

Because of this dual difficulty – what to search for, and how to gauge if the characteristics are there – too many leadership selection processes backfire.

Indeed, succession planning experts Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran say organizations today are lousy at picking leaders. “The truth is that we don’t do a competent job of selecting the men and women who have what it takes to lead,” they write in Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders?

They argue that seven criteria pop up over and over again as the most vital for effective leadership – the DNA, or essential building blocks, of overall success. The trick is how to spot the seven signs:

Integrity

Leadership potential starts with this attribute, because no leader can be effective without integrity. The authors note that leaders can be downright dangerous if they lack integrity, as we saw, for example, with Enron’s meltdown last decade.

This is a difficult characteristic to assess, so in job interviews the consultants outline several hypothetical situations drawn from business case studies to see whether the people being interviewed can recognize subtle ethical issues buried within. “Does she recognize hidden issues involving trust, consistency, or transparency? Does she perceive how circumstances might unfairly affect others? Can she draw a connection between integrity issues and overall organizational performance?” they write.

Empathy

Just as it’s impossible to be an effective leader without integrity, it’s impossible to lead without knowing what makes people tick. Leaders need to be in touch with the emotions and needs of their followers, handling social relations adeptly. A 360-degree review, with questions probing these abilities, can help assess a candidate. Pay particular attention to responses about the person’s listening skills. As well, the authors use crisis simulations, to see how empathetic the person is to others under pressure; or a discussion of a case study in which empathy plays a role.

Emotional intelligence

Leaders need to understand their blind spots and weaknesses, and control themselves under the scrutiny that comes with their position. This is particularly important when people move into new positions outside their comfort zones. When recruiting, probe candidates about their past experiences, looking for what they have learned – and how honest they are in revealing a less-than-sterling performance. Also, look for individuals who are passionately committed to career development, taking charge of their own careers.

Vision

Leaders imagine a better future, offering direction to followers. In assessing candidates, look for innovative thinking, keeping in mind that it often comes from a blend of diverse experiences. Also, pay particular attention in interviews to the candidate’s ability to create win-win situations even when a situation seems hopeless. A winning candidate should have a healthy blend of realism and optimism, and a track record of persuading others to accept change.

Judgment

A leader must make good decisions. This generally requires experience, and an ability to control the emotional influences that distort decision-making. The consultants test a candidate’s ability to think through issues by using case studies, ideally ones that reflect issues in the candidate’s own organization. The precise answer is not as important as their thinking process under pressure.

Courage

The individual must be capable of withstanding the pressures of leadership, facing attacks and setbacks with aplomb and continuing to take educated risks. The consultants offer candidates a hypothetical scenario, and evaluate the answers according to three key elements of courage: commitment to core values, ability to navigate uncertainty, and patience.

Passion

Leaders are passionate, thirsting with a drive to succeed ethically. The consultants find that in interviews for leadership positions, passionate candidates speak convincingly about how the organizational mission and their personal passions are intertwined. “Using the details of one’s life story to show why the job matters on a visceral level is important. A passionate candidate will explain how this life story feeds into the demands of the job for which she is interviewing,” they note.

Candidate selection, be it for hiring or promotion, is always complicated. You may not do a lousy job at leadership selection and the seven criteria raised here are not novel, but the book, which is clearly written and thorough, would certainly help to give an improved focus and some valuable techniques for your leadership recruitment.

I have always wanted to be a teacher since grade 4. I had many wonderful teachers in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools who truly care about students. They have been excellent role models for me. I am a life-long learner and continue to enjoy implement research-based educational reforms as we strive to improve the learning and achievement of ALL students.

I spent 15 years in the classroom as a teacher of mathematics and had the enthusiasm and passion of teaching students similar to that when I was a teacher candidate at York University. It was always about the kids - laughing with them (at them if there was a solid teacher-student relationship), building their confidence, and watching them grow academically. I learned early that in addition to academics, I needed to support students socially and emotionally - wearing a "guidance counsellor hat". Although my 4-years in Belleville focussed on teaching senior mathematics for university-preparation, the last 10 years in York Region have shifted to teaching essentials and applied/college level classes - especially students who "hate" mathematics or are disengaged - I found it a "calling" to support these students.

In my current role as vice-principal, my day-to-day realities focuses on working with the 5% of students -- e.g., attendance issues, behavioural issues. My heart is with these students as I believe if we can get to these students then we can close the achievement gap. I went into teaching to help students similar to me -- but quickly found myself inadequate teaching students who do not share the same enthusiasm to learning as myself. It's about active listening and hearing their stories - and then being a part of the process. I have hope for each student that they will turn out fine -- and I truly believe that.

I could have remained in the classroom for the next 16 years until retirement. This article reminded me of the support I received throughout my career from educators with more experience - fellow teaching colleagues, department heads, and administrators. They steered me in the right direction, encouraged me to seek leadership opportunities, and continue to be my mentors. In return, when I was a teacher, I would "hand-pick" my students who I felt would make great teachers -- it was their warm personality, their work ethic, their sense of care, their humour -- I am so thrilled to see, even after a decade, getting e-mails of them going into teaching. I also encourage teachers to take on leadership opportunities such as department headships. In the Honour Specialist Mathematics course I teach for Queen's University, one on-line posting is to answer whether leaders are born or nurtured. All my students believe leaders are nurtured -- education is a giving profession and we need to keep nurturing each other.

Merit Pay (New York Times article)

In Washington, Large Rewards in Teacher Pay
(New York Times, January 1, 2012)
WASHINGTON — During her first six years of teaching in this city’s struggling schools, Tiffany Johnson got a series of small raises that brought her annual salary to $63,000, from about $50,000. This year, her seventh, Ms. Johnson earns $87,000.
That latest 38 percent jump, unheard of in public education, came after Ms. Johnson was rated “highly effective” two years in a row under Washington’s new teacher evaluation system. Those ratings also netted her back-to-back bonuses totaling $30,000.
“Lots of teachers leave the profession, but this has kept me invested to stay,” said Ms. Johnson, 29, who is a special-education teacher at the Ron H. Brown Middle School in Northeast Washington. “I know they value me.”
That is exactly the idea behind what admirers consider the nation’s most advanced merit pay system for public school teachers. This fall, the District of Columbia Public Schools gave sizable bonuses to 476 of its 3,600 educators, with 235 of them getting unusually large pay raises.
“We want to make great teachers rich,” said Jason Kamras, the district’s chief of human capital.
The profession is notorious for losing thousands of its brightest young teachers within a few years, which many experts attribute to low starting salaries and a traditional step-raise structure that rewards years of service and academic degrees rather than success in the classroom.
Many districts have tried over the last decade to experiment with performance pay systems but have frequently been thwarted by powerful teachers’ unions that negotiated the traditional pay structures. Those that have implemented merit pay have generally offered bonuses of a few thousand dollars, often as an incentive to work in hard-to-staff schools or to work extra hours to improve students’ scores. Several respected studies have found that such payments have scant effect on student achievement; since most good teachers already work hard, before and after class, there are limits to how much more can be coaxed out of them with financial incentives.
But Washington is the leader among a handful of large cities that are seeking a more fundamental overhaul of teacher pay. Alongside the aggressive new evaluation system that has made the city famous for firing poor-performing teachers — more than 400 over the past two years — is a bonus-and-raise structure aimed at luring talented people to the profession and persuading the most effective to stick with it.
“The most important role for incentives is in shaping who enters the teaching profession and who stays,” said Eric A. Hanushek, a professor of economics at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. “Washington’s incentive system will attract talented teachers, and it’ll help keep the best ones.”
Under the system, known as Impact Plus, teachers rated “highly effective” earn bonuses ranging from $2,400 to $25,000. Teachers who get that rating two years in a row are eligible for a large permanent pay increase to make their salary equivalent to that of a colleague with five more years of experience and a more advanced degree.
Those rewards come with risk: to receive the bonuses and raises, teachers must sign away some job security provisions outlined in their union contract. About 20 percent of the teachers eligible for the raises this year and 30 percent of those eligible for bonuses turned them down rather than give up those protections.
One persistent critic of the system is Nathan Saunders, president of the Washington Teachers Union, who argues that the evaluations do not adequately take into account the difficulties of working in poor neighborhoods. He also says that performance pay inappropriately singles out stars.
“This boutique program discourages teachers from working together,” Mr. Saunders said.
Several other big-city school systems have recently tried to break out of the mold of paying all teachers according to a single salary schedule.
In 2007, Denver enacted a merit pay system, which President Obama has praised but experts see as flawed. It gives larger monetary awards to teachers who earn advanced degrees than to those who significantly improve student achievement, though there is little evidence that students learn more when taught by teachers with advanced degrees.
The system in Houston, also adopted in 2007, defines classroom success so broadly that it rewards more than half of all teachers with bonuses. The amounts are smaller than those in Washington; the maximum possible bonus last year was $11,330.
This fall, the Miami-Dade County School District gave one-time bonuses, financed with $14 million in federal grant money, to 120 teachers. Eighty-four of them received $4,000 each, and 12 got the top payout of $25,000.
Karen Sutton, who teaches honors English at a Miami high school, was one of the 12.
“To have somebody say you’ve done a great job, that feels wonderful,” said Ms. Sutton, 56, who is in her 23rd year of teaching in Miami and has a salary of about $55,000. “But does it affect how I teach or whether I keep teaching? No. I’ve never thought, ‘If I get a bonus, I’ll stick this out.’ ”
Marta Maria Arrocha, who is 47 and teaches reading to fourth graders, was another $25,000 winner, which she described as exhilarating. Still, Ms. Arrocha, who has been teaching nine years, said she “would tend to discourage students who say they want to go into teaching.”
“I try to nitpick — is this really what you want to do?” she said. “A lot of people look down on this profession.”
Washington, like several other cities that have rolled out merit pay programs, first promoted the plan mainly by emphasizing the top compensation that someone could earn in a single year: about $130,000 annually in salary and performance bonuses. But earning that much is rare if not impossible — it requires the most experienced teachers, with the most advanced degrees, to have the best possible performance, something yet to be achieved.
Mr. Kamras, who helped design the Washington system, said he considered the most important aspect of Impact Plus to be the permanent increases awarded to outstanding teachers early in their careers, many of whom might otherwise leave the profession.
Take Mark LaLonde. At 32, he is in his seventh year as a social studies teacher at a high school in Washington. But he lives in Baltimore, where his wife works, and had considered working in the Baltimore schools to avoid the tiresome commute. But he gave up that flirtation after receiving the “highly effective” rating twice and having his salary increase to $87,000 from about $58,000 last year. He also earned a bonus of $10,000 for two consecutive years. In Baltimore, the union pay scale suggests that he would be making in the low $50,000s.
Jimmie Roberts, who is 28 and tutors slow readers, saw his salary increase to about $75,000 in 2011-12, from about $52,000 last year, in addition to receiving $30,000 in bonuses over two years. The money and recognition, he said, helped dispel the discouragement he had felt having to work a second job, as a greeter in a wine bar on nights and weekends, to pay off college loans.
Ms. Johnson, the seventh-grade special-education teacher, received her highly effective rating — and all the extra money — because her students’ test scores had improved significantly, and because administrators who had visited her classroom came away impressed.
“She’ll get a class full of kids who are below basic, who can’t read, and by the time they leave, they’ll be scoring well above basic or proficient,” said Remidene Diakite, the assistant principal at Ms. Johnson’s school. “A big part of her success is she puts so much effort into figuring out her students and teaching to their weaknesses.”

I first learned of this article from my Twitter account. I replied on Twitter with "I never knew teaching was about getting rich". I remember back in my BEd programme when a teacher candidate said he wants to be a millionaire. Another student replied with "You're in the wrong profession". Like any profession, teachers need to be paid to put food on the table - but becoming a teacher must NEVER be about the salary, holidays, pension...it's about genuine desire to make a positive difference in our young people. It happens through how much you care about students. It shows through one's enthusiasm and passion for students by supporting them academically, socially, and emotionally. To survive as a teacher, the rewards cannot be monetary - but internally, knowing one has been a part of the process of a child's life.

My concern with merit pay is this could lead to competitiveness between teachers. With the numerous educational reforms, it is important for teachers to work collaboratively to determine how these reforms would look like in the classroom to impact student learning and achievement. We have moved from "covering the curriculum" to meeting students' individual needs through differentiating the instruction. Teachers cannot work in isolation but in a professional learning community. In the high schools, teachers are departmentalized by subject-discipline - it's about helping each other e.g., sharing best practices. It is not about being a "star".

With merit pay, who would want to teach in poor neighbourhoods with students who are the neediest? Who would want to teach in Alternative Education or Special Education? Yet, these are the students who need the most effective teachers.

Currently, exceptional teachers are recognized with certificates or plaques through teaching awards. In my board, we have a monthly "North Star" award to recognize a teacher in York Region DSB who has made a difference. The OSSTF union recognizes 1 teacher per high school at the end of the year. Subject associations have awards to recognize teachers. The province has prestigious awards to recognize teachers as does the federal government's Prime Ministers awards.

Fortunately in Ontario, the retention rate has decreased considerably since the 1990s with teacher support programmes such as the New Teacher Induction Programme. When we lose a teacher, we need to ask as administrators what we could have done differently to prevent the loss. We hire based on potential and need to support our new teachers so that potential materializes. The key is hiring well - hiring those who have the passion, enthusiasm, and truly care about kids and want to make a difference. It's never about blaming kids but having hope that all students will be fine. With the lack of hiring of contract teachers, we have a pool of candidates to choose from. Nobody said teaching is easy - one has 30+ years to keep learning and growing to be the best educator one can be. The greatest reward a teacher can receive are "thank yous" from students and parents -- these are priceless and far outweigh a financial bonus.