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A Discussion about Jack Dale's Article "A Teacher-Compensation
System for the 'No Child' Era"
Dear TNLI Friends and Fellows:
Pasted below and attached to this message please find an article
by Jack Dale, the superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools
in Virginia—which happens to be one of our TNLI affiliates.
You can find the Jack Dale article titled, “A Teacher-Compensation
System For the ‘No Child’ Era,” on www.edweek.org.
Superintendent Dale is very interested in getting feedback on
this article. We’d really like to hear from fellows all over
the country, so please read this article when you get a chance
and post your thoughts and comments to the listserv. Hopefully
we can get a good post-last-day-of-school discussion going.
Congratulations on another year of touching our children’s lives!
We look forward to an interesting listserv discussion.
Take care, and have a super summer!
Ben Iddings
Assistant Director of Programs
NYC HQ
6/24/05 |
| WOW!
This article is right on target. In my school in Delaware I
fall into the category of the teacher with the additional duties
of being a part of the leadership team and also someone who
tutors students during before and after school times. None of
these duties are compensated. While my principal does occasionally
allow me to leave early when I need to, I am still giving about
an additional 10 days of work to my students and my school with
no compensation. I am also someone who does not ask for the
school to give me time, but rather I freely give my time and
efforts where they are needed. I agree that the entire educational
package needs to be changed for "No Child to be Left Behind."
If we truly are going to leave no one behind that must also
include those who teach these children.
Denise Snyder
State of Delaware
6/24/05
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Dear TNPI
participants:
As
an employee of Fairfax County Public Schools, I can tell you
that this is an idea that Dr. Dale was formulating early into
his administrative tenure nearly one year ago. While it is
understandable that a number of teachers who have been in
the profession for quite a few years would view this as "rocking
the boat", we have to look beyond the generation of workers
who got into teaching for somewhat different reasons than
those who make the same career choice in this day and age.
I am periodically kidded by my friends about getting "two
months off" for the summer. I then pose the question
to them that always stops them dead in their tracks: "If
your company gave you two months off every year, but didn't
pay you for those two months, would you take that deal?"
Many, when faced with that predicament, would not switch places
with us.
So many
of us have assumed extra duties and responsibilities -- some
during the summer or after school hours (for stipend amounts),
and some simply because we are so accustomed to rolling up
our sleeves and doing what must be done to help the children
in our school succeed. I have often heard "No Child Left
Behind" referred to as "No Teacher Left Standing".
In order to break that mentality of the constant drain we
place on our teachers, we have to be fair about the time demands
we place on these professionals. Sure, it's nice to get out
of the school building early (occasionally), but then we must
account for the lesson plans and the burden of keeping our
students focused and on-task in our absence (the forgotten
part of the equation).
The proposal
is a good one, and would provide a uniform and structured
way to more efficiently take care of the things that we need
to. Additionally, it would keep so many of us from having
to look for other supplemental work to help compensate for
that two months of "unpaid leave." Let's hope that
those making the laws will consider the greater good of those
actually doing all the work. Kudos to Dr. Dale on a well thought-out
and extremely well-articulated argument.
F. Thomas
Jones
Fairfax County, VA
6/25/05 |
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Dear Jack
Dale,
I
like your ideas for changing the way we conceptualize teaching
and the ever-changing role of the teacher in today's classroom.
As a teacher who has never had the luxury of working on a
single track calendar, achieving what you suggest is an even
greater challenge but well worth the effort.
Unfortunately
in teaching, at least in the school where I currently teach,
there is an unspoken contract that says no one teacher is
allowed to be better than any other teacher and woe to those
who break that contract. This model of different kinds of
teachers that you propose can set those willing to take the
challenge up for failure. In order to be successful, there
needs to be strong accountability piece in place for everyone
involved and I am not talking about NCLB.
As an
administrator you may not be afraid of 'a shared-leadership
model' but many administrators are. Until this fear can be
overcome and administrators are trained to accept that they
do not know everything and perhaps, teachers are capable of
making decisions, you will struggle to implement your vision.
I wish
you luck Mr. Dale. I am already working on some of the things
that you propose in my year-round, urban school so I'll let
you know how it goes once the new school year gets started,
July 5.
Best of
luck,
Jill Manning
Los Angeles
6/26/05 |
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The reality
here, folks, is that teachers are paid on a salary basis,
even though it is calculated as an hourly wage. Although dedication
and diligence varies [and, as Andy Hargreaves once pointed
out so well, there can be too much of both, leading to burn
out], no teacher's work is confined to the official school
hours, although our superintendent would like to pretend such
a thing exists. All of us spend some of our 'own time' on
our job -- and some of us spend a lot more of our own time.
The
problem is not how we calculate teachers' pay; it is how much
we pay teachers. See the new book: Teachers Have
It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's
Teachers.
Leo Casey
NYC
6/27/05 |
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The reality is that there is no "traditional
role" for teachers any more, if there ever really was
one. None of the teachers I know in NYC, even the brand new
ones that I mentor, only work for 10 months, 8:30-3:00. I
get concerned when we set up a system in which we categorize
teachers into those who do more and those who do less. There
are times in all our careers that our life circumstances force
us to differentiate what we do for our schools.
Teachers are traditionally underpaid. If we really want to
change the public perception of what teachers do, we should
raise all salaries with the understanding that we all do take
on "additional" roles. As we induct new members
into our profession this understanding and expectation is
imparted to them.
Mr. Dale, if you really want to change perceptions
about teachers and teaching, (and I think you do, having heard
you speak at the ATE-Fairfax Teacher Researcher Conference
in April) don’t attempt to create a system that elevates only
some of us, enables others to "opt-out" of what
it truly means to be a teacher, and gives someone "above"
us the ability to select us for the roles we already do. I
don't believe that this is a good model or fit for the more
democratic, distributed leadership you envision.
Judi Fenton
NYC
7/1/05
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I appreciate
Mr. Dale's efforts to re-evaluate what is being asked of teachers
and how they are compensated. He mentions salaries of comparably
educated professionals, and salary increases would certainly
be nice. I am more concerned about the time required to do
what is being asked during the school year. A high school
teacher may work with as many as 180 students per day. How
many comparably educated professionals are responsible for
that many individuals with no support infrastructure? As a
science teacher I have no laboratory support and I have only
the same amount of prep time as everyone else. All of the
requirements for working with students must be met during
the school year. It is time for administrations to recognize
that the daily requirements exceed the time available to complete
them without taking all of a teacher's personal and family
time. I hope he will also consider these thoughts and I appreciate
the opportunity to add my two cents.
Helen
Gieske
State of Delaware
7/4/05
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Jack Dale's article was well written but I
found a few other categories missing from this "complete"
list of teacher roles:
State and Federal (NAEP) School Testing Coordinator, 11 months
of work (including normal teaching assignment),this position
has the ultimate responsibility to monitor all aspects of
testing to ensure that all students are provided an opportunity
to test with the appropriate accommodations and in a proper
setting. This person is ultimately responsible for misplaced
test books while in their possession of the school's test
books. Responsibility includes attending required state meetings
held outside the normal school hours and without pay or compensation
from the state. (There is actually a whole page of listed
responsibilities but it's at school.)
Student Assistant Programs, 11 months of work (including normal
teaching assignment), this position meets with other school
professionals on a regular (weekly) basis to discuss students
experiencing academic and/or behavior problems. This person
may have 6-7 students assigned to them for the year. It is
this person's responsibility to record all interventions,
testing results, meeting notes, etc. for each of these students
throughout the year as the students are monitored for improvement.
Both of these roles may sound familiar to teachers from other
states, especially since NCLB requires the testing for accountability.
Good luck with your teacher-compensation appeal!
Sherlynn Aurelio
State of Delaware
7/6/05
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