Celine Coggins, Ph.D. Founder & CEO

1. Celine Coggins, Ph.D. Founder & CEO

2. Overview • Who We Are • What We Do • Teaching Policy Fellows • T+ Network • T3: Turnaround Teacher Teams • What We’ve Learned

3. Mission Statement The mission of Teach Plus is to improve the achievement of urban children by ensuring that a greater proportion of students have access to excellent, experienced teachers. Teach Plus runs three programs designed to place teacher leaders at the center of reform. They are the: • Teaching Policy Fellowship, • T+ Network, and • T3: Turnaround Teacher Teams. Our programs focus on demonstrably effective teachers in the second stage of their careers (in most cases, years 3 through 10) who want to continue classroom teaching, while also expanding their impact as leaders in their schools and in state and district policy.

4. What We Know “ “ Teachers are the most important factor in student achievement. Four consecutive years of excellent teachers could close the achievement gap. Teacher experience is correlated with effectiveness. ” ” Nearly half of new teachers leave urban classrooms within 3 years, just as they are beginning to have the strongest impact on student learning. We’re giving effective teachers a reason to stay. “ “ Over 50% of urban teachers have less than 10 years in the classroom. When effective teachers leave the classroom there is a significant cost to students and schools. ” ”

5. Teach Plus Theory of Change Start Effective Teachers Barriers High Attrition of Effective Teachers Effective Teaching Not Defined Lack of Leadership Opportunities Inequitable Distribution of Teachers Teach Plus Teacher-Led Advocacy for Change Reward Effective Teaching New Ways for Teachers to Make Impact Incentives to Teach in High-Need schools Goal Raise Student Achievement

6. Our Geographies • We work with approximately 4,500 teachers in the following cities: • Boston, • Chicago, • Indianapolis, • Los Angeles, • Memphis, and • DC • We run an online fellowship for TFA alums in the following cities: • Baltimore, • Durham, • Las Vegas, • Mississippi Delta, and • New York City.

7. Teaching Policy Fellowship The Teaching Policy Fellows is a highly-selective program for teachers interested in having a voice in the decisions that affect their classrooms. Teachers meet in monthly sessions that during a cohort experience that spans two school years. • Teachers of urban charter and district schools in years 3-10 serve in cohorts of 20-25 teachers per city and earn a $3,000 stipend over 18-months. • There are 175 total Teach Plus Fellows and Fellowship Alumni.

8. Boston Indianapolis Fellowship Impact The Fellows proposed a model for staffing turnaround schools with teams of highly effective teacher leaders called T3. • T3 is now operating in six of Boston Public School district’s low performing schools. • Elevating an alternative teacher voice • Teach Plus Fellows have published over a dozen reports and articles in the past year and have blogs on EdWeek and Huffington Post. The Fellows secured a change to the teachers’ contract that incorporates performance into the layoff process, which had previously been quality-blind. The next year they advocated for a legislative change that changed layoff processes statewide.

9. Typology of Fellows Impact Fellowship Impact

10. T+ Network The T+ Network is a rapidly-growing national movement of teachers who believe a critical voice has been missing from education policy decision-making: the voice of teachers for kids. • Expanding series of interactive in-person and virtual forums, we provide opportunities for teachers to give direct feedback to policy makers. • Multi-tier engagement strategy to reach and mobilize the greatest number of reform-minded teachers. • In-person events use live-polling to gather data from all teachers (typically over 100 per event) • Online discussion forums • Weekly education policy news blast • Monthly education policy news letter

11. T+ Network Impact • Connecting teachers to policy makers and educating them on key reform issues. • Recent event speakers included Michelle Rhee, LA Superintendent John Deasey, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and AEI Director of Policy Studies Frederick Hess • Recent events: • Where are YOU in the Union? A conversation among early-career teachers and union leaders • Moving Beyond the LA Times: How do teachers define effective teaching? • Racing to the Top: A forum for teacher voice

12. T+ Network Impact 2) Demonstrating that reform-minded teachers exist. • Teach Plus has grown from 16 founding teachers to a national movement of 4,500 teachers in 2 years. 85% agree that some teachers in their building contribute more to student learning and ought to be rewarded. 89% believe it is a reasonable goal to expect teachers to attain one year’s worth of academic growth with students each year.

13. T+ Network Impact • Providing data policy makers can use. • As state policy makers were writing the MA Race to the Top proposal, 86% of T+ Network teachers agreed that growth in student learning should be included as part of a teacher’s evaluation. State leaders said this data was critical in their decision to be bold on evaluation reform. • In an event with union leaders, teachers cited “I don’t agree with the union’s vision and direction” as the #1 reason they are not involved in the union. • In Memphis, teachers voted on which new observation rubric to use in evaluation and how to weight the different elements of the evaluation tool. District leaders adopted teachers’ decision. • Connecting reform-minded teachers with each other.

14. T3: Turnaround Teacher Teams The T3 Initiativeis a first-of-its-kind program designed to ensure thatunderserved students have increased access to effective, experienced teachers. The concept was developed by Boston Teaching Policy Fellows. Teacher leaders: • Apply through a rigorous process that requires evidence of at least 3 years of effective teaching in an urban classroom; • Work as a team that comprises at least 25% of the school staff; • Receive specialized training; • Take on teacher leadership roles within the school; and • Earn additional compensation. T3 teachers are charged with producing dramatic gains in student achievement in a previously low-performing school.

15. T3 Impact T3 attracted large numbers of excellent teachers to work in low-performing schools, challenging the notion that great teachers do not want to teach in struggling schools. • There were more than six applicants for each position available • 100% of teachers offered T3 positions accepted. • Over 50% of first two cohorts fills a high need area. T3 demonstrated that it is possible to change the teaching culture of a school. T3 is a proof point that teachers can provide viable solutions to tough education policy problems.

16. T3 Impact T3 schools outperformed every possible comparison group on student learning growth. • All schools in MA • All schools in BPS • All turnaround schools statewide • All BPS turnaround schools On elementary math, T3 Schools as a whole outperformed 89% of schools in MA At the middle school level, the one T3 School outperformed • 96% of schools in ELA growth • 98% of schools in math growth