Wrong approach on schools
The state Education Department and the Legislature need to do something about the many schools that consistently perform below standards. But deploying some of the most accomplished teachers against their will isn’t the answer.
Putting top talent forward to help solve a crisis may seem to make sense, but in this case it’s a grossly oversimplified solution to a complex problem. A teacher’s success in one situation doesn’t predict excellence under different circumstances. That is, a teacher who is stellar in advanced math or science programs with a class of college-bound honors students may not have the skills, much less the motivation, to confront the demands of a classroom of young people who are failing academically.
Low school performance, after all, isn’t usually about teaching. It often goes hand in hand with low-income student populations whose challenges extend beyond school walls.
Even if such a plug-and-play approach worked, there’s another formidable obstacle that the state cannot ignore: collective bargaining agreements that grant teachers with longevity a big say in where they are assigned, including the school building in which they work. From the teachers’ perspective, they’ve earned that say, and they know where they would be not only most happy to work, but also most effective.
That’s not an unreasonable provision. As with tenure, it can shield teaching professionals from retaliation if they’re at odds with administrators. Moving unwilling teachers to where they may fail isn’t fair to them or to the students who end up with a misplaced, not to mention miserable, educator.
To no one’s surprise, the state’s powerful teachers union, New York State United Teachers, filed a lawsuit last week to block the Board of Regents transfer plan.
Better options exist, but they will take resources, and they will be neither easy nor cheap.
The Education Department should focus on programs that identify and train teachers specifically to work in poor-performing schools. Specialized training should be buttressed with expanded incentive programs that include bonus pay and student loan forgiveness. The new teachers need continued mentoring and support, mindful that the burnout rate is high among teachers in underperforming schools.
Efforts to attract minorities to the teaching profession should be expanded too, recognizing the value of diversity among teacher ranks. Researchers have found that having just one black teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade reduces by 39 percent the probability of low-income Africanamerican boys dropping out of high school.
New York doesn’t need a protracted legal battle over this. It needs the Regents, Education Department officials, and teachers to work together to find more ways to recruit, train and retain motivated, talented educators who want to make a difference where they’re needed most.