Meeting the highly qualified teacher challenge

1. Meeting the highly qualified teacher challenge

2. USDOE - Continued emphasis on equitable distribution • OESE priority (of 3): Teacher quality, equity and effectiveness • “ensuring that poor or minority children are not taught by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field teachers at higher rates than are other children”

3. Highly qualified teachers – the ‘floor’ – inputs100% by end of 2006-07 • Bachelor’s degree • State certification • Demonstration of content knowledge (exam, coursework, HOUSSE)

4. Highly effective teachers – the goal - outputs Available research says: • Years of experience • Contextual training • Value-added: student results

5. New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality • State actions to reduce gap: • Focus resources and TA on high-need, low performing schools • Collect and widely disseminate HQT data • Engage teacher education institutions in preparing candidates for shortage fields • Strategies for certification, induction, ongoing professional development and teacher retention

6. New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality • State actions to reduce gap (con’t): • Collaborate with network providers for targeted, HQ PD • Advocate for additional fiscal resources for high need schools • Require (and monitor) LEA teacher quality plans

7. New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality Impact on LEAs • HQT lists – for LEAs/districts not meeting HQT AMO of: • 90% in 2004-05 – data avail July 2006 • 95% in 2005-06 – preliminary data now • 100% in 2006-07 – BEDS surveys just completed

8. New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality Impact on LEAs (con’t) • Teacher quality plan required now for LEAs on 2004-05 lists • Teacher quality plan, including equitable distribution of HQ and experienced teachers, will be required of all LEAs in 2006-07 consolidated application • Continued use of HOUSSE to get eligible teachers HQ • Board of Regents: limit incidental teaching?

9. NYS Equity Gap • In 2004-05, a large difference between the top and bottom quartiles (high poverty/high minority and low poverty/low minority) in classes with HQ teachers • New York is second from the bottom in the size of the gap at the elementary level (16% difference – 82% vs. 98%) • New York is sixth from the bottom in the size of the secondary gap (17% difference – 80% vs. 97%)

10. The equity gap exists at multiple levels: • State – large and small urban districts • District – high poverty/minority buildings • State plan – to begin reporting on district gaps in 2008 • Classroom assignments – which teachers get the ‘difficult students’?

11. HQT gaps • In 2004-05, of the 42,143 core courses not taught by HQ teachers, 87% (71% @ secondary level) were taught by teachers not certified for the subject areas to which they were assigned • Statewide not-HQ courses • Science (14%) • English (13%) • Math (12%) • Some regions: high % of foreign language courses not taught by HQ teachers (9% statewide, 25% in some regions) • Secondary special classes are more likely to have not-HQ teaching of core courses than elementary special classes

12. Continuing challenges • Accurate and timely data • Full dissemination of data & implications • Contractual barriers • Proliferating requirements • Limited resources – fiscal and human

13. Emerging Research - Strategies to Improve Effective Teaching • Improving the working environment • Building school capacity to support teachers • Teacher career ladders and leadership • Induction/mentoring support • Placement practices

14. Emerging Research - Strategies to Improve Effective Teaching (con’t) • Pipeline strategies • Preparation for teaching in high need schools • Expanding the teaching pool • Hiring practices • Recruiting minority teachers • Monetary strategies • Performance-based pay • Financial incentives from http://www.tqsource.org/strategies/

15. In your work with districts, how might you help them define teaching effectiveness? • Base of “highly qualified” • Experience – who gets assigned to what buildings and classrooms? • What other factors highly impact teaching effectiveness – consider APPR, job-embedded PD, working conditions, mentoring & induction support, distributed leadership …?

16. Possible SCDN leadership roles? • Examine local data related to the placement of experienced and highly qualified teachers • Dig deeply into multiple layers of teacher data • Help build the case (with teachers, administrators, other stakeholders) for equitable building and classroom placement of experienced and highly qualified, experienced, and effective teachers • Include teaching quality issues in school improvement planning, including resource allocation

17. Possible SCDN leadership roles? (con’t) • How to help build learning environments that support recruitment and encourage retention? • Assist in ensuring that eligible teachers are documented as highly qualified (HOUSSE & other routes) • Help develop local plans and rubrics (including non-evaluative) that assess teaching quality

18. Guiding questions • What roles related to teaching quality, experience and effectiveness might your region address? • What roles related to the equitable distribution of highly effective teaching might your network address? • What kinds of support might you need from SED? Questions, information or TA requests: Alysan Slighter 518-473-7155 aslighte@mail.nysed.gov