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The Teach Plus monthly newsletter includes all the content of a Weekly News Blast as well as an update from Founder & CEO Celine Coggins and a spotlight piece written by a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellow.

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The Teach Plus Weekly News Blast contains a selection of the week’s top stories in education policy. It also highlights the recent activities of Teach Plus and includes a “Take Action” section so you can know how to get involved in your city.

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Great teaching is no accident or miracle Posted: May 14, 2011 11:22 AM

Indianapolis teachers advocate for imminent layoffs to be based on effectiveness Posted: February 10, 2011 3:17 PM

Teacher Evaluation Reform in Massachusetts: Recommendations from Greater Boston Teachers Posted: January 19, 2011 11:30 AM

New Teachers are the New Majority Posted: January 18, 2011 10:49 AM

New York Times: Lesson Plan in Boston Schools: Don't Go It Alone Posted: August 9, 2010 5:29 PM

CommonWealth Magazine: Teacher Test Posted: October 31, 2009 1:53 PM

The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness Posted: February 11, 2009 3:19 PM

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October 2011

Everyone knows professional development is broken. Here’s your chance to fix it!

As many of you know, Teach Plus has partnered with Teach for America to deliver an online version of our Policy Fellows program to teams of TFA alumni who have remained in the classroom beyond their third year. The program launched in February 2011 and since that time, our teachers from New York City have been on a really exciting odyssey in entrepreneurship. They had an idea for the type of professional development they felt was missing and needed, so they spent the late winter and spring defining their goals and approach, researching the technology platforms available, negotiating with vendors, and engaging a group of teachers in a small-scale pilot. Every time they successfully arrived at the answer to one question on the path forward, they were “rewarded” with a dozen new, hard-to-answer questions—and they persevered through them.

To me, it is an incredible example of teachers taking ownership of their professional needs and developing a solution that has the potential to go to scale. Now we need your help. Below is a call for teachers to participate in a trial run of the program that will occur this fall. Get involved and help to put an end to the days of PD that makes you roll your eyes!

The Educator Exchange is a new platform developed by teachers to revolutionize professional development to meet individualized needs in real-time. Have you ever wished you could discuss that lesson you just taught with an excellent colleague? We have created a virtual community where you can upload lessons and receive timely, content-specific feedback from experienced colleagues. Likewise, you will have the opportunity to give your colleagues feedback.

Get involved! This fall, we will pilot the platform with middle school math teachers and middle school ELA teachers. You give us two hours per month from October through December and we’ll build you a community of excellent colleagues to share ideas and give you concrete feedback designed to help you become a better teacher. Please complete this short survey if you are interested.

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Top stories in education policy this week:

America for Teachers!: John H. Jackson urges the nation to avoid blaming teachers for shortcomings in our educational system…

Blame Game: Let’s Talk Honestly About Bad Teachers: … on the other hand, Andrew Rotherham says that it's time to speak candidly about removing under-performing teachers from the classroom.

Teacher Evaluation Scaled Back in Revised ESEA Draft: Proposed revisions to the ESEA are still being debated in Congress, but the provisions regarding evaluation systems have been scaled back.

Occupy the Classroom: New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that investing more in early childhood education is the best way to fight inequality.

Labor Board Votes to Block Push for Longer School Day in Chicago: Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push for a longer school day hits an obstacle as the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board votes unanimously to block to proposal.

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Teacher Spotlight: Los Angeles Fellow Kyle Hunsberger

This summer, I had an opportunity to work at Los Angeles Unified School District’s central headquarters through a District Fellows program along with five other teachers. Though it was very challenging (and sometimes very frustrating) going from the classroom to District headquarters, I am grateful to have seen the District’s inner workings firsthand. I learned quickly that there are tremendous opportunities for teachers to have a greater voice in District practices.

For example, LAUSD is currently in the process of piloting a new (and potentially controversial) teacher evaluation system. As part of a multiple-measure evaluation system, the District plans to include teacher contributions to student learning through the use of student outcome data, using a model called Academic Growth over Time (AGT). Unfortunately, a lot of the outcry about this new evaluation system misses the point. Teachers know the importance of giving our students meaningful feedback on their work—not as judgment, but as opportunity for improvement. Similarly, this same attitude of learning should be what drives teacher evaluations. By having better student growth data available, LAUSD will be able to proactively learn from their own teachers what teaching practices are working and, in so doing, develop more meaningful professional development opportunities. Also, all teachers will be able to proactively seek out coaching from other teachers in their buildings with stellar AGT results.

I am hopeful about the opportunities that Teach Plus Policy Fellows and teachers in the T+ Network have in shaping the new evaluation system and taking ownership of how a better evaluation system can lead to better support for teachers. Making an impact for kids is the reason teachers joined this profession. An evaluation system that provides options and pathways to do exactly that is one that would excite any teacher.

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Teach Plus in the News

As part of Ed Week Teacher's "Teaching Ahead" Roundtable, Boston Fellow alum Noah Patel imagines opportunities for teachers to grow in their careers.

LA Teaching Policy Fellow Daniel Jocz is highlighted in the Los Angeles Times for incorporating LGBT issues into his history lessons.

Chicago Teaching Policy Fellow Marilyn Rhames's Ed Week blog this week--"Students, Hold Your Applause Until the End"--chronicles the hardships and joys of being an educator.

LA Teaching Policy Fellow Kyle Hunsberger is quoted in this article about the Public School Choice strategy and its impact on his school.

Take Action

In Los Angeles, Boston, and Memphis: Join Teach Plus for a screening of American Teacher, a feature-length documentary that highlights different facts and perspectives concerning the big sacrifices of our nation’s teachers, and how these demands force many of our great teachers out of the profession. Watch the trailer and learn more about the issue of teacher compensation at www.theteachersalaryproject.org. For dates and details, click on your city: Los Angeles, Boston, or Memphis.

In Washington, D.C.: On Wednesday, November 9th, join us for an exciting conversation with D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson on the future of the teaching profession in D.C. Find out more and RSVP now!

In Washington, D.C.: Apply for the 2012 Washington, D.C. Teaching Policy Fellowship. Applications are due Monday, November 21st at midnight. Get started now!

In Indianapolis: Teach Plus is looking for teachers who are interested in sharing their stories through StoryCorps National Teacher Initiative, a national oral history project. Participants will receive a CD of the interview, be archived in the Library of Congress, and potentially be featured on NPR and in other media. Learn more and/or sign up!

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