Research makes clear that teachers are the most important variable in student success, yet the profession is not organized to reward excellence, promote teacher development, or retain top performers in the classroom.  Nearly half of teachers leave urban schools within their first three years in the classroom—just as they reach their peak effectiveness. Only by fundamentally altering the teaching career to meet the expectations of a 21st century workforce can we meet the ambitious goals we have established for student performance. The strength of the overall education system depends on a pipeline of teachers building experience and committing to stay on as classroom leaders through a second stage of their careers.

Teach Plus addresses the urgent need for effective, experienced teachers in urban classrooms. We work with both solutions-oriented teachers and education policy leaders in transforming the profession to reward excellence and results.  Our programs focus on demonstrably effective teachers in the second stage of their careers (years 3 through 10) who want to continue classroom teaching while also expanding their impact as leaders in their schools and in national, state, and district policy.

Teach Plus works to retain great teachers in urban schools. To this end, Teach Plus seeks to amplify a new voice of outstanding, early career teachers who want to transform the teaching profession to reward, develop and retain excellent teachers. Our goal is to both help these teachers become informed advocates for change and to incubate their innovative ideas for retaining teachers like them. We also work with state, district and school leaders to implement policy reforms aimed at retaining effective teachers in urban classrooms.

The Teaching Policy Fellowship engages early-career teachers (years 3-10) in work on issues related to the future of the teaching profession. The program is selective, admitting only 25 teachers per city for 18 months. Teaching Policy Fellows meet monthly to interact directly with policy leaders and research experts; analyze policy; study innovative practices; and advocate for reforms that would retain them in the profession.

We strive to produce impact that will positively affect students in urban schools. We aim to retain and develop more top teachers so that more students will have access to these teachers. Therefore, the majority of work in which Fellows engage falls under the umbrella of “teacher quality” policy. To further teachers’ ability to impact policy related to the teaching profession, we expect to cover the following topics during the Fellowship:

• Education Reform & Policy: History, Levers, and Local Context
• Demographics & Norms of the Teaching Profession
• Defining Teacher Effectiveness
• Teacher Evaluation
• Career Growth, Leadership, and Sustainability
• Compensation & Benefits
• Distribution & Staffing
• Teachers Unions
• Professional Development & Working Conditions

We do not have a set curriculum because policy changes constantly and we want to position ourselves so that we are always ready to take advantage of open policy windows. Fellows will make impact in each local site. The area of impact depends on the policy and practice context.

Fellows will advance key education reforms by working with policy makers on a monthly basis, writing policy briefs and op-eds, and speaking at hearings and committee meetings. Teach Plus will ensure visibility for Fellows’ work by connecting them to a broad network of education leaders and policy makers and by hosting a series of public events and targeted meetings.

We seek teachers who are passionate about their profession and their students. We seek teachers who have had success with students and who are leaders in the classroom and beyond. We seek teachers who have the enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and communication skills to be effective advocates for the teaching profession.

We are recruiting classroom teachers who currently have 2-10 years of teaching experience and who teach in Chicago district or charter schools that serve a student population with at least 50% free- or reduced-price lunch.

Anyone can nominate an eligible teacher for the Teaching Policy Fellowship. We rely on principals, central office staff, nonprofit organization leaders, other teachers and community members to connect teachers to this unique opportunity. Teach Plus will contact nominated teachers to invite them to apply to the Fellowship. Nominees are not required to apply nor are they guaranteed acceptance.

All applications must be received by midnight on Monday, April 16, 2012.

Fellows will be selected for an 18-month term. Work will span the Fall 2012, Spring 2013, and Fall 2013 academic periods. During this time, Fellows are expected to attend all sessions and to complete all reading, writing and group work between sessions. We strive to create a highly professional and academically rigorous environment where teachers hold themselves accountable to one another. Fellows receive a $2,400 stipend during their 18-month commitment.

The Teaching Policy Fellowship follows a carefully designed curriculum. Sessions include content-rich discussion, interactive instruction, small group activities, case studies, and traditional lecture.

We believe that Fellows will be able to serve as key advocates for the teaching profession if they have (1) access to information, (2) the time to discuss these ideas with colleagues, and (3) a platform to make their voices heard. The format of the Fellowship is centered on creating such opportunities for teachers to be at the center of education reform. Working with experts in the field, Fellows will gain knowledge of policy and then use that knowledge, along with their unique perspective as classroom teachers, to formulate ideas. Their work will result in a series of policy briefs and events that articulate the voice of early career teachers on the future of the teaching profession.

Fellows will be expected to attend four-hour monthly sessions, and to complete readings and participate in online and live conversations between sessions.  Fellows will also participate in at least one working group session per month.

Meetings will be held on a monthly basis for four hours after school in the evening starting in September 2012. 

During the summer, Fellows may have the opportunity to attend conferences and make speaking appearances. However, the monthly meetings pause between June and September for summer break.

Teach Plus continues to support and engage alumni of the Fellowship by connecting alumni with advocacy opportunities both locally and nationally.

Teaching Policy Fellows across the nation have taken on leadership in a variety of ways and advocated for innovative policies that would retain great teachers. Fellows have testified before the U.S. Congress, spoken at both national and local education convenings, and published several influential reports and articles. Indianapolis Fellows in the 2007 cohort spearheaded changes to the Indianapolis Public School’s Reduction in Force policy, making seniority only one part of a larger consideration of a teacher’s performance in deciding which teachers to retain or layoff (read more). The 2007 cohort of Boston Fellows proposed a model to recruit and support highly effective teachers in the lowest performing schools which is currently being implemented in Boston Public Schools as the T3: Teacher Turnaround Teams (learn more about T3). Recent publications and examples of Fellows’ work are here.