Ensuring Equitable Access to Excellent Educators

1. Ensuring Equitable Access to Excellent Educators November 17, 2014

2. Core principles Equality of opportunity

3. Requirements of state plans What and When • Deadline: June 1, 2015 • Plans must meet the following six requirements: • Describe and provide documentation of the steps the SEA took to consult with stakeholders. • Identify equity gaps. • Explain the likely cause(s) of the identified equity gaps. • Set forth the SEA’s steps to eliminate identified equity gaps. • Describe the measures that the SEA will use to evaluate progress toward eliminating the identified equity gaps. • Describe how the SEA will publicly report on its progress in eliminating the identified gaps, including timelines for this reporting.

4. Consultation and Input

5. Consultation and input Importance of meaningful stakeholder involvement • Critical partners in developing and implementing State Plan • LEAs • Teachers and principals • Unions • Civil rights groups and community based organizations • Teacher preparation programs • Others • Consult with stakeholders across the state – in rural, urban, suburban and tribal areas • Don’t make it an empty ‘check the box’ exercise • Consult early and often • Provide enough time and explanation to allow for meaningful participation and feedback

6. How might an SEA Consult? Examples • Disseminate information on the gaps identified in the data (including how the SEA defined key terms) • Pose specific questions to stakeholders, including questions regarding the root causes of existing gaps, possible strategies to address identified gaps, and plans for measuring and publicly reporting progress • Share multiple drafts of the State Plan as it is developed

7. Identification of Equity Gaps

8. Identifying equity gaps • Equity Gap: • The difference between the rate at which students from low-income families or students of color are taught by a certain group of educators and the rate at which their peers are taught by that group of educators. • Example: • 7% of teachers in high-poverty schools are in their first year; • 4% of teachers in low-poverty schools are in their first year • Equity gap: 3 percentage points

9. Identifying equity gaps • Which Gaps? • At minimum, State Plans must identify equity gaps related to inexperienced, unqualified, and out-of-field teachers and may supplement with additional gaps to align with SEA’s priorities • SEAs must define these terms with specific data metrics but have discretion in choosing the definition • Example: could define inexperienced as teachers in first year • SEAs may define “unqualified” as those who have been rated ineffective by educator evaluation and support systems. • Students from low-income families and students of color • Example: an SEA might use three metrics to identify gaps • First year teachers (inexperience); teachers rated as ineffective (unqualified), and teachers not deemed “Highly Qualified Teachers” (out-of-field)

10. What Data to use? • Use most recent available data on each metric the SEA chooses to use to identify gaps • Student level data is ideal – allows analysis of access to excellent educators within schools as well as across schools • School level data allowed • Sources of Data • States know their available sources best; FAQs list suggestions • Optional: consider the data file the Department sent on November 10, 2014. Webinar on December 9, 2014 for SEA data staff.

11. Explanation of Existing Equity Gaps

12. Root cause analysis • What? Identification of underlying causes of equity gaps • Why? Allows the State to identify appropriate strategies to close the gaps • When? After identifying equity gaps; before identifying strategies to address those gaps • How? Examine multiple sources of data including quantitative data or statistics, input from stakeholders, research by experts, and lessons learned in other States or districts

13. Root causes of equity gaps examples • Possible root causes of equity gaps: • lack of effective or stable school leadership • poor working conditions • lack of a comprehensive human capital strategy focused on ensuring equitable access in hardest to staff schools • No retention strategy aimed at keeping effective teachers • Reliance on teachers hired after the school year has started • Insufficient supply of well-prepared educators • Insufficient development and support for educators • Insufficient or inequitable salary and compensation policies • Likely to be different across geographic contexts (rural, urban, suburban) and school level (elementary, middle, high)

14. Strategies

15. How to address inequitable access Strategies • Strategies are determined by the SEA and its stakeholders • Strategies should be: • Evidence based; • Responsive to root causes; and • Targeted to the schools or districts driving equity gaps • Note: it is ok to focus strategies on a select number of LEAs or schools • Include ambitious but realistic timelines for each strategy, including sources of funds and other resources needed for implementation

16. How to address inequitable access Example • An SEA identifies a gap in access to teachers rated as highly effective for its low-income students: • 12% of teachers in its lowest poverty quartile schools are rated as highly effective; only 6% in its highest poverty quartile schools • The SEA determines that one root cause is that the highest poverty quartile schools have an inadequate supply of candidates from which to hire • The SEA, in consultation with LEAs and IHEs, adopts 2 strategies designed to address the root cause: • Focus teacher prep programs on teaching in high poverty schools, • Strengthen recruiting tools available to highest poverty schools

17. How to address inequitable access • Some strategies best accomplished at SEA level • Others best accomplished at LEA level. In this case, include plan to engage LEAs in action: • Highlight and share promising practices and relevant data • Facilitate cross-district collaboration • Ensure Title I LEAs are taking steps to carry out their assurance that students from low-income families and students of color are not taught at higher rates by unqualified, out-of-field, or inexperienced teachers (ESEA sec. 1112(c)(1)(L)) • Issue a State rule requiring an LEA with any of the State’s highest poverty or highest minority schools to: • Publish data on access to excellent educators in those schools, and • Develop plans to improve access in those schools

18. Funding State and Federal Support • Consider providing additional State funds to LEAs with highest-poverty & highest-minority schools for this work • Many sources of federal funds can be also be used: • Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs (ESEA Title I, Part A) • Improving Teacher Quality State Grants (ESEA Title II, Part A) • English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act (ESEA Title III, Part A) • School Improvement Grants (SIG) (ESEA, Title I) • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, Part B) • Competitive programs

19. Measuring and Reporting Progress

20. Measuring & Reporting progress Tracking equitable access • Describe the method and timeline the SEA will use to measure progress in eliminating equity gaps • The Department suggests setting long term goals and annual targets • Consider measuring and reporting progress in addressing root causes as well as equity gaps • Example: track # applicants per opening at highest poverty schools if inadequate supply was identified as a root cause for gap in access to teachers rated as highly effective. • Describe how the SEA will publicly report on progress

21. Additional Resources

22. Help with state plans Resources available for creation and implementation • Equitable Access Support Network: • Convenings, webinars, and state-specific supports, including voluntary review of draft plans • EASN@ed.gov • Center on Great Teachers and Leaders • Equitable Access Toolkit (Stakeholder engagement guide, data analysis tool, root cause workbook, sample plan) • gtlcenter@air.org

23. Questions

24. Thank You