New Orleans Casts A Wide Net For Teachers

[tonysam]

This is further down in the article, but it bears repeating:

Louisiana is conducting a groundbreaking study of teacher effectiveness. It looks at teachers from different teacher education programs and compares how their students do on standardized tests. Teachers who came through Teach For America and other nonprofits did very well in that study. Teachers from TFA outperformed other teachers who had a couple years of experience under their belts.

But those results have raised concerns among local educators, like Andre Perry of the University of New Orleans. Perry leads a group that helps run six charter schools in the city.

Perry says he is concerned that teachers from TFA and other programs who "descended" on New Orleans from outside the area may not stick around as long as homegrown teachers. Regardless of the test scores, "what's needed is some longevity in the profession," Perry says.


In fact, the same effectiveness study showed that teachers from TFA are much less likely to stay than other teachers. Few lasted in the profession more than three years.

link

[Fire1]

1. Well, do tell. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Well maybe the TFA teachers do better because

they are in training. I know our TFA are in class a couple nights a week.

[FBaggins]

13. I'm open to new things... but I hesitate to accept that they "do better"

based on test scores alone.

[sandnsea]

3. They get to the right question

"The experience of New Orleans over the long term could answer important questions: Should teacher training programs be more selective? Should low-performing urban districts cast their nets nationwide, to find the most dedicated teachers? Or should they focus on better training of teachers who are already in place?"

Or maybe they should just keep saying it's all the parents, despite the improvement in New Orleans schools.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I'm looking for evidence of this improvement you speak of

Surely you can point me in the right direction?

The article merely points out that TFA teachers perform better but are less likely to stay in the profession. I don't understand how you can call that improvement. :shrug:

[sandnsea]

5. Here

Lots of articles, take your pick.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADFA_enUS354&q=new+orleans+education+gains&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. But is it a significant improvement?

Nonetheless, more than half the students who took the test in those grades did not pass, and 60 percent of high school students got an unsatisfactory ranking in standardized English and math tests, a figure three to four times higher than the percentage throughout Louisiana. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/us/07orleans.html

And if the teachers are not being retained, how can this improvement translate into long term results?

[sandnsea]

7. Typical, ignore hundreds of articles

pick out one sentence. And then wonder why the education system never improves.

The answer to your question? That's why billions are being invested in innovative programs across the country, to find out what works and how to replicate those isolated improvements.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. I picked out the one sentence that summed up the overall theme

I can do that. I teach Reading:)

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sandnsea]

10. Just to repeat what I said

Just because a person knows how to read, it doesn't mean they comprehend.

Of all the things I've seen at DU, jeesh.

There are hundreds of articles about New Orleans' education gains since Katrina.

[FBaggins]

14. I'm not sure that their purpose is significant improvement in the classroom

And no, I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way (i.e., they're trying to get rid of long-term teachers, etc)

As I understand it, their purpose is to put future leaders or policymakers in to teaching jobs so that twenty years later, the Congresswoman making funding decisions for public schools is someone who has actually worked in a classroom.

To be blunt, even accepting the test-scores-equal-performance argument implicit in the article, I think this is what we should expect. This is because they're comparing them to OTHER new teachers... but TFA is far more selective than the teaching profession as a whole. Getting your certification doesn't entirely prepare you for your first couple years in the classroom... you grow into the job (as most other careers do). If you take nominally superior students and put them into the classroom, you should expect somewhat better performance.

But if they can't KEEP them in the classroom (which I don't think is their purpose), then "real teachers" will fairly quickly surpass them in performance. Even those who stay would need to take their careers seriously (essentially getting a certification) or those with the formal training will surpass them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. That's pretty much what the TFA folks here told me

They want a cadre of young people who they think will be leaders in 10 or 20 years and have teaching experience. They said they think that when they are elected reps they will look upon public education funding favorably. Or if they become leaders in the business community they will be more likely to be helpful to local public schools.

It seems their objective is more focused on shaping the values of these TFA teachers than doing what is best for our kids.

Interesting concept.

[FBaggins]

17. I wouldn't say that the focus is contradictory.

My (very limited and open to correction) understanding is that they primarily send these recruits into the poorest schools. The ones that are having trouble recruiting enough good teachers.

The premise strikes me as laudible... I have no idea whether in PRACTICE it remains so.

[tonysam]

18. But we know the reality TFA is being used to save money as these

"teachers" are merely temps.

THAT'S the outrage. Teaching is not a "Peace Corps" or "VISTA" type of endeavor, and the kids deserve better than to be taught by unqualified temps.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. I completely agree

I made that point to the TFA folks and they told me what I posted.

[tonysam]

20. These TFA "teachers" might actually care about what they are doing,

but districts are only looking at the "bottom line" and not looking at what is best for students.

[FBaggins]

21. I think it's likely... or at least possible

that BOTH the teachers and TFA "care about what they are doing", but that the districts (or perhaps better put SOME districts) are misusing them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Sad we can't have these discussion here in this forum without the teacher haters chiming in

[FBaggins]

12. True enough... but it's also sad

that too many assume that anyone who disagrees with them on one thing... disagrees on everything else and/or is a "teacher hater".

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. I'm not one to make that accusation

unless there is a history of teacher hater posts.