Collaborative for Teaching and Learning

Dr. Linda F. Hargan, President and CEO

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3

March 2003

IN THIS ISSUE...Teacher Quality
	ESEA: What the Law Says| Issues & Updates| Best Practices| How We Can Help| Recommended Reading| NCLB Resources| GreatSites!
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WHAT THE LAW SAYS

A primary focus of the No Child Left Behind legislation is the qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals working in Title I schools. Below is a summary of the new law's requirements:

Teachers in Title I Programs

• A State developed plan that ensures a staff of highly qualified teaching professionals. This plan must incorporate measurable goals and be assessed on an annual basis.
• Teachers providing instruction in core content subjects (eg., English, math, science, language arts, history, foreign languages, government, arts, civics, geography), must be certified by the state, hold a bachelor's degree and demonstrate competency in that subject area.
• Newly hired teachers must meet these requirements at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year; existing teachers, by the end of the 2005-06 school year;
• School districts must utilize a minimum of five percent (5%) of their Title I allocation for the provision of teacher professional development that enables teachers to become highly qualified.

Paraprofessionals in Title I Programs

• Paraprofessionals must have either a minimum of two years postsecondary education, or a high school diploma (or its equivalent) and demonstrated proficiency on a state or local academic assessment.
• Newly hired paraprofessionals must meet these requirements after January 2002; existing paraprofessionals, by 2006.
• Paraprofessionals may provide instructional support but only under the direct supervision of a teacher.

NOTE: These requirements are not applicable to paraprofessionals involved with translation or parental involvement issues.

ISSUES & UPDATES

Good Teachers: High Quality Versus Highly Qualified

The new law mandates that schools receiving Title I funds guarantee a highly qualified teacher in every classroom and defines the highly qualified teacher as one who holds a bachelor's degree, is state certified and demonstrates proficiency in his or her content area. But does this definition automatically translate into high quality teaching that impacts student learning?

In his article "Searching for Great Teachers," Patrick Bassett, President of the National Association for Independent Schools in Washington D.C. states that "great teaching has very little, if anything, to do with certification or methodology courses, but rather with knowledge in one or more content areas, passion with one’s subject and love for kids."

Bassett cites research conducted by the Washington-based Education Trust to support this theory as well as a recent report investigating the connection between teacher preparation and student achievement published by the Abell Foundation of Baltimore, Maryland in which teacher certification was described as "neither an efficient nor an effective means by which to ensure a competent teaching force." Additional analysis by the foundation also indicates that communication skills and the teacher's college selection were "key factors in teacher quality."

"Schools with high achieving students", insists Bassett, "tend to be those where the teachers have a deep knowledge base about the subjects they are teaching, where the teachers were themselves high-performing students in school and college, where the teachers are impassioned about their subjects, and where the teachers care about the kids they teach."

[Source: Searching for Great Teachers by Patrick F. Bassett, Education Week, 26 Feb 2003]

BEST PRACTICES

TEACHER QUALITY

Teacher quality is at the heart of any reform. NCLB, with its emphasis on testing and analysis of test data, provides very clear guidelines about student achievement targets but less clear guidelines about what is meant by teacher quality. Other than requiring that teachers in Title I schools be fully certified, and that at least 5% of the school's federal budget be spent on teacher professional development, there are no criteria about what constitutes teacher quality or how to achieve high quality teaching.

For schools and districts to implement this legislation fully, it would make sense to focus their efforts in three areas: 1) influencing teacher preparation, 2) providing for ongoing teacher development, and 3) creating opportunities for collegial and individual reflection. A description of each follows.

Teacher Preparation
Of course, schools and districts are not in the teacher preparation business, but they are in a position to influence local colleges and universities by deciding whether to hire their teacher candidates. Once employed and assigned to the classroom, teachers quickly recognize that their preparation was sufficient to get them started, but not comprehensive enough to adapt to new programs, structures, and a wide variety of student learning needs.

Teacher Development
Ongoing teacher development is important to ensuring that all students have a highly qualified teacher. Teacher development should include the following to meet the intent of NCLB:

• Depth of content knowledge - To be really qualified to help students master core content, teachers need to know well the structure of their discipline and how knowledge and processes build and spiral. They also need to know the reading strategies specific to their content area. In addition, reading teachers need to be able to assess strengths and weaknesses and tailor curriculum and instruction for individual student needs.
• Range of pedagogical skills - Teachers need to know the pedagogy particular to their content area. For example, to meet Kentucky's expectations for writing, teachers need to understand the various writing genres, how to teach the writing process, and how to prompt publishable writing. For their students, they need to understand what is appropriate at different developmental levels. Very young children learn differently from older students in terms of level of complexity, degree of independence and ability to self-assess.
• Assessment - In today's high-stakes environment, teachers must know a variety of tools and strategies to conduct formative assessments of their students and to adapt instruction accordingly. Teachers should be prepared to observe students at work, conduct ongoing, informal assessments of their learning, and analyze student work to determine their students' needs.

Opportunity to learn for teachers can also include on-site study groups, informal professional development by grade group team or content area, action research, analysis of student work and more formal training and coaching. Schools have both KERA PD and Title I and II funds to pay for costs associated with ongoing teacher professional learning.

CTL addresses all of these areas through comprehensive training and coaching. See "How We Can Help" in this newsletter.

Reflection
It is through reflection that teachers are able to make changes in their practice. Reflection upon the effectiveness of their instruction, on the kinds of interactions they have with their students, and on the learning their students demonstrate is what spurs their growth as professionals. Without reflection, it is too easy to keep doing the same thing or not to question a lack of student results. Reflection helps teachers get better at their craft. Time for both individual and collegial reflection can help teachers become more effective and the school to meet its learning goals. This time can be created during the school day, for teachers to meet and reflect together, or when school is not in session. Again, state PD and Title I and II funds can support reflection time for teachers.

Some years ago, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future published a report entitled "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future" (1996), saying that the only true and effective educational reform was to ensure a competent, caring, qualified teacher for every classroom. It focused its recommendations on teacher preparation and ongoing professional development, including recognition of excellent teaching through avenues such as National Board Certification. Its findings parallel the provisions of No Child Left Behind and provide a good resource for schools, districts and states looking to implement the law in a thoughtful and significant way.

WE CAN HELP

The Collaborative is currently developing professional development tools to help educators meet ESEA/NCLB requirements. All courses of study, available summer 2003, can be further customized based on individual school or district need. For additional information, please contact Dr. Deborah Walker.

New Products
Transforming Practice: The Middle Grades	Available NOW! Multimedia CD-ROM demonstrating new teaching strategies and instructional approaches.
Developing a Balanced Literacy Approach in the Elementary Classroom	Engaging in comprehensive student-centered literacy: 1 year school-level course of study, including formal training, on-site coaching, and classroom modeling
Leading in a Standards-Based Environment	Developing skills and strategies for instructional leaders: 1 year district-level course of study, including formal training, coaching, and school visits
Reading and Writing to Learn in the Middle School	Developing a comprehensive cross-disciplinary literacy program: 2 year school- or district-level course of study, including formal training and coaching
Gathering Evidence of Student Learning	Assessing student performance to assure student progress
Closing the Achievement Gap	Strategies for closing the achievement gap, collecting and analyzing data, and expanding instructional practices

The following products and services are currently being offered by the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning to build on whole school quality and performance:

Existing Products
Different Ways of Knowing	Arts-infused practices to insure success for all learners
Learning Xpress™	Software and training to design lessons/units
Standards Based Teaching & Learning	Solid framework for continuous improvement
Accelerated Schools Project	Whole faculty involvement to insure powerful learning

For additional information on the Collaborative's programs, please visit our website or contact Christie Maloney

RECOMMENDED READING

Using Well Qualified Teachers Well
The Right Teachers in the Right Places with the Right Support, Julia E. Koppich, American Educator, Winter 2002

NCLB RESOURCES

Improving Teacher Quality
Approximately 87 Programs within the US Department of Education Support TeacherTraining

GreatSites!

From time to time, we come across dynamite web sites that we think might be of interest to our subscribers. We'll try to list two or three GreatSites! in each issue of the NCLBrief. We hope you like them!

Kentucky Garden Flowers
Spring planting season’s here! This site provides a wealth of information about appropriate topiary for the Kentucky garden, including plants that are best for shade gardens, sun gardens, water gardens, etc.

Powers of 10
This fascinating site zooms in from 10 million light years away from earth to the molecules on a single leaf. A must see!

This Day in History
Choose any date on this site and find out what historical events occurred on that day. It allows you to specify events by topics such as automotive and Wall Street.

FEEDBACK

Your comments and suggestions are important to us.  If there are specific topics you'd like to see addressed in this newsletter, email Mary Cinnamon.

The Collaborative for Teaching and Learning is a non-profit, tax exempt corporation founded in 1994 to assist schools in the implementation of comprehensive school reform. Please feel free to contact any of the Collaborative's officers for additional information on the organization and its work.

Dr. Linda F. Hargan/President and CEO

Dr. Deborah Walker/Senior Vice President

Mr. Dennis Horn/Vice President, Resource Development and Communications

Ms. Christie Maloney/Vice President, Programs

Collaborative for Teaching and Learning
Spring River Business Park 2303 River Road Suite 100 Louisville KY 40206 1010
Phone 502 895 9500 Toll Free 800 995 3965 Fax 502 895 9521 Email info@ctlonline.org
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