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SchoolSpring » Archive

What to ask when checking references

January 30th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Many times things are missed in the reference checking process because the right questions might not be asked. Here are some examples of questions to ask a candidate’s reference, in order to get a sense if they are a good fit for your school. 1. How does this individual approach team-work? 2. Is this individual a good team player? Do they contribute to team work output or do they cause conflict? 3. How does this individual receive feedback? … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Recruiting, teacher evaluation, Uncategorized

Why Become a Highly Qualfied Teacher?

January 28th, 2011 | Add a Comment

‘Some districts require’ their teachers to be “Highly Qualified” (HQT), and individual states have specific descriptions of what a teacher must do to become an HQT. Urban, hard to teach districts are suppose to employ only Highly Qualified teachers and if a teacher is not Highly Qualified, parents and students are supposed to be notified. Should you take the steps to become Highly Qualified? Consider the new legislation before you make your decision. On January 23, 2011 Valerie Strauss, for The Washington Post, wrote, “So they’ve gone ahead and done it. U.S. legislators passed legislation that includes people in teacher training programs as “highly qualified” teachers.” “Opponents of this definition of “highly qualified” note that these non-certified teachers are concentrated in high-poverty schools, serving children who actually need … Read entire article »

Filed under: Student Performance, Teacher motivation, Teacher skills

How to recruit, grow, and keep teachers in a tough urban climate

January 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

Boston thinks it has the answer…the Boston Teacher Residency Institute (btr). Although the tough economic times have made teaching jobs tough to get, inner city schools have a hard time recruiting and retaining quality teachers because their applicants are not prepared to teach in that type of environment. (…”no education theory class will help Clinton Lassiter engage a student who says that her top goal for eighth grade is to not get pregnant”) “Former Boston superintendent Thomas Payzant, who helped start btr, recalls that his biggest problem with new teachers was not subject knowledge or pedagogy, but under-preparation for the environment.” “’What we were getting when teachers arrived in Boston classrooms were people who were pretty well grounded in content and had some sense of how to teach. But they were not … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Recruiting

Teachers worth $400,000?

January 11th, 2011 | Add a Comment

School Administrators – How are you to create a budget that will wind up giving students the education they deserve , quality teachers they deserve, and the resources to obtain that education, but on the other hand satisfy the tax-payers in your town where teacher salaries are constantly scrutinized and judged? The Huffington Post recently reported the following… Consider the recent findings that showed quality teachers are worth $400,000; however in-effective teachers could be costing the Nation trillions of dollars. “The policy of eliminating the least effective teachers is very consistent with the McKinsey analysis of the policies found in high-performing school systems around the world (Barber and Mourshed 2007). Their analysis suggests that the best school systems do not allow ineffective teachers to remain in the classroom for long.” Full Article … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured

Firing Teachers, Paying Teachers More, Pay based on Student Performance, and Allowing Teachers to Strike…

January 2nd, 2011 | Add a Comment

“ATLANTA — An overwhelming majority of Americans are frustrated that it’s too difficult to get rid of bad teachers, while most also believe that teachers aren’t paid enough, a new poll shows. The Associated Press-Stanford University poll found that 78 percent think it should be easier for school administrators to fire poorly performing teachers. Yet overall, the public wants to reward teachers – 57 percent say they are paid too little, with just 7 percent believing they are overpaid and most of the rest saying they’re paid about right. School districts have struggled for years … Read entire article »

Filed under: Education Reform, Featured, Firing Teachers, Future of Education, Student Performance, teacher evaluation, Teacher motivation, Teacher Pay, Teacher Strikes