The following is a list of recent resources for those focused on the professional improvement of teachers, principals, and other educational leaders.
How do teacher leaders drive instructional improvement? In the American Institutes for Research’s first report, From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness Across the Career Continuum National and State Teachers of the Year rated teacher leadership repeatedly as one of their most significant supports and growth experiences across their careers. In our second report, Great to Influential: Teacher Leaders’ Roles to Support Instruction we offer insights from teacher leaders themselves on this topic, exploring the specific ways in which teacher leaders can support instructional improvement.
Challenges of teacher compensation: More and more states are struggling to find enough teachers to fill their classrooms, and keeping current teachers on staff is another growing concern. Teacher compensation is one reason for these challenges. A new education policy analysis from Education Commission of the States, State teacher salary schedules, provides one tool used to attract and retain teachers is statewide salary schedules, an instrument that 17 states currently have in place. Additionally, salary schedules are viewed as a way to help equalize pay between school districts. Though not a soundproof solution, salary schedules can help close the gap between the highest-paid and lowest-paid teachers in a state.
CCSSO Releases Principles for Teacher Support and Evaluation Systems. These principles can be used as a guide to designing, or refining, systems that support educators. While many states already have such systems in place, the Every Student Succeeds Act gives every state an opportunity to take a renewed look at these systems.
Indiana bill aims for more minority teachers. The Indiana legislature passed a bill that will help get more minority teachers into classrooms by providing financial assistance for minority students who wish to pursue education as a career. (CBS4 Indy, March 10).
Massachusetts Offers Potential Path on Teacher Evaluations, Report Says. (U.S. News & World Report-March 16). As states continue struggling to adopt and use new teacher evaluation systems–one of the most difficult policy shifts they’ve grappled with over the last few years of intense changes to the K-12 system–a new report says Massachusetts’ model may provide a path forward.
Holding Teacher Preparation Accountable: This brief discusses four major national initiatives intended to improve teacher quality by holding teacher education accountable for its arrangements and/or its outcomes: 1) the U.S. Department of Education’s state and institutional reporting requirements in the Higher Education Act (HEA); 2) the standards and procedures of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP); 3) the National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) Teacher Prep Review; and 4) the edTPA uniform teacher performance assessment. (Source: National Education Policy Center).
Teacher Career Advancement Initiatives: Lessons Learned from Eight Case Studies. The purpose of this report is to describe what we learned from studying eight teacher career advancement initiatives implemented across a variety of contexts, including urban, suburban, and rural districts; high poverty and affluent districts; and in schools/districts both with and without strong union presence. The authors will also be sharing highlights at the Illinois P20 Council meeting on April 26.
