Define "highly qualified"

Maybe I need to read this article again. Maybe the author is in fact an educator. Maybe even a “highly qualified” educator. Maybe I need to pay closer attention to NCLB details instead of thinking of it as “No Child Left Untested” as we used to call it in my Pepperdine Master’s cohort.

But, then again, maybe not. My opinion is that yes, quality teacher preparation programs are important, BUT quality school leadership, quality ongoing professional development programs for teachers and quality measurement of life-long learning, is more important than a single quantitative measure such as NCLB. These take time and resources in a profession, and I use that word strongly, that has felt the effects of the economy bomb.

As I begin reading this article my reaction is negative that test scores and NCLB drive it. Driven by lawmakers looking for isolated, quantitative evidence that can earn votes (money) for them.

“Senators have included in key legislation language that would allow teachers still in training to be considered “highly qualified” so they can meet a standard set in the federal No Child Left Behind law.”

I wonder how they are defining “highly qualified”. What this seems to be is lawmakers trying to get around the law that THEY passed and now are looking for a loophole so that TFA teachers can teach in schools. The lawmakers who passed this law possibly in haste given they are “highly qualified” themselves in education to make such judgments. Insert eye-roll here. There is, without a doubt, a real need for teachers, highly qualified teachers, in low-income schools. However, highly qualified teachers can be relative to the teachers that are currently in those schools.
I don’t know enough about TFA’s preparation program to have an educated opinion. I have known teachers who have been through the program and would say they are decent teachers and were definitely good in the classroom with students. However, highly-qualified would not describe them in my opinion. While my AUM teacher preparation was very good, it did not prepare me in the same way that my ongoing professional development over the years has. I would consider most of my AUM professors as “highly qualified” however it was the leadership and mentoring in the schools where I worked that really made me better.

The article talks about how children in low-income situations are the” very children who need the very best in the teaching profession.” Don’t ALL children deserve the best? My experience with children in high-income situations tells me that while they often have a level of support that low income does not, it is not always the case. I have worked with children from affluent families where parents were absent due to other choices and responsibilities. I would argue that they too deserve high quality students. I would argue, again, that all students deserve high quality teachers. I would argue that all teachers deserve “high quality” school leaders, mentors and ongoing professional development opportunities.

“Under No Child Left Behind, all students are supposed to have a highly qualified teacher. School districts are supposed to let parents know which teachers are not highly qualified, and they are supposed to be equitably distributed in schools.”

Seriously? Isn’t this setting up teachers, students and parents for failure? Where is “high quality” leadership and its importance in this equation? Where is mentoring and ongoing professional development requirements for teachers? We want students to be life-long learners, and we would not ‘label’ them in school in ways that would limit their potential or lower expectations for them… why would we do that to teachers? Isn’t labeling a teacher as “not highly qualified” setting the expectations low? How will they escape that label?

“So language to make the regulation law was inserted into one bill, an omnibus Senate bill that was pulled by Sen. Harry Reid. But it's back, this time in a continuing resolution unveiled today, and hammered out behind closed doors by legislators who ignored pleas from student advocacy groups to drop the measure. That’s some way to make education policy that will affect the country’s most needy students.“

Maybe I don’t have all of the facts here. How non-educators can be so arrogant to think they can go behind closed doors and establish a law about education. I do believe that those in government positions now such as Linda Darling Hammond are a positive influence, but how much pull does she have? Do those making the law listen to educators elected to make good decisions? Is Linda behind closed doors also?

What are we doing to legislate for “highly qualified” teacher preparation programs? What are we doing to legislate for “highly qualified” expectations and training for school leaders and “highly qualified” ongoing professional development programs? What are we doing to legislate for various means of measurement beyond one quantitative test such as NCLB?

System. A “highly qualified” system… not a test.

A ‘highly qualified’ gift from Congress to Teach for America -- UPDATED
The Washington Post
Posted at 12:29 PM ET, 12/20/2010
By Valerie Strauss
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/congress/a-highly-qualified-gift-from-c.html

Professional Development Planning

Below is an article I wrote in 2005 for the California Association of Independent Schools Faculty Newsletter while at Chadwick School as Director of Educational Technology. While the outcomes were technology related, it was focused on an ongoing model of professional development to reach our goal of supporting teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. We were working to move away from the Computer Lab model to a more authentic approach.

A new look at tech integration
The Academy Model: Linking Initiatives through Professional Development

So many initiatives, so little time. Finding time to invest in school improvement initiatives can be a challenge. The Academy model is one way to link initiatives such as technology integration and curriculum design. The Academy model provides opportunities for teachers to initiate professional growth with the intent of being used in the classroom. This model also fosters collegiality, cross-divisional collaboration and leadership within the faculty.

Research suggests that technology can enhance student learning and related skills are necessary to function in today’s world. Teachers should be empowered to make decisions to use technology in ways that make curricula and student learning seamless. While some schools may measure their success by the number of technology related projects their students complete, effective use of technology is about curriculum, content, instructional strategies and student learning.

This usually requires a shift in teaching style. read more...

How do you know if you are using technology effectively?

Ask yourself...

• How does the use of technology enhance the learning goal?
  
• Is the technology providing students with more immediate access to information in a way that allows more time to be spent on deepening the learning?
• Is the technology providing an engaging component to an other- wise dry topic that will motivate students to dive into the content you want them to learn?
• Does the technology allow students to create a product that is of professional quality, there- fore creating a sense of pride in presenting it to their classmates?
• Is the option of using technology a choice for students who may thrive in that environment and help build self-esteem?
• Does the use of the technology provide a time saving element for students to spend less time editing, rethinking or reconceptualizing?
• Does the technology allow students to sort data faster and more efficiently, thus using the results and creating more time for higher level analysis?
• Does the technology allow students the access to more rapidly communicate with experts and people all over the world to gather information?
• Does the technology allow you to organize the data for your students more efficiently to focus their energy on the content?
• Does teaching the content with technology require more class time than traditional instruction and if so, is the content a significant part of your curriculum and worthwhile of the time?

How Authentic is Your Mapping Process?

Engaging and Authentic: What's good for the teacher is good for the Administrator
It is not uncommon to hear educators and administrators reference how learning is more engaging when teachers present students with authentic opportunities. Even as adults, job embedded professional development is more engaging. For me, this was a gift in my Masters Degree program at Pepperdine University. As Director of Educational Technology in a private school, this was a gift. These authentic opportunities gave our cohort meaningful ways to show our understanding of the concept by taking what we learned back to our schools, try it, and then reflect, and share. Doesn't it make sense that we would lead a curriculum mapping initiative the same way?

Task or Authentic Process?
I have had countless conversations recently with school leadership teams about how their teachers understand the big picture about mapping and believe it to be a positive idea, however, they cite lack of time as an obstacle. My response to them is that just as successful schools don't lead themselves, neither does curriculum review. These processes require thoughtful planning, a collaborative spirit and put student learning as a first priority. If teachers are resistant, it is often because they see the process as one more thing on their plate. This is often an indication that the goals are not clear or not directly tied to student learning. I came to this conclusion at the end of my tenure of my last school where I was Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

The Data Entry Trap
Since working with schools around the world on their mapping process, I see the "data entry trap" even more. Schools that are focused on entering data, but not using the data to make decisions are often stuck in this trap. Here is the real obstacle: teacher's don't have time to enter data without knowing its purpose, without connecting it to their classroom, or without knowing when the maps will be used and by whom. Having a plan in place (and executed) is crucial to success. What they do have time for, and frequently crave, are opportunities to talk about teaching and learning. They are engaged when these conversations are directly related to what they are doing in their classrooms.

Make a Meaningless Task Meaningful and Authentic
The solution to a meaningless task is simple...make it meaningful. If we don't define the teaching and learning goals for mapping with measurable and calendared outcomes, it is just busy work. We would not assign a homework assignment to students and not give them any guidelines, due dates, expectations, or make connections to the classroom and then surprise them with a due date. When they do put the work in and turn in the assignment to the teacher, it would be horrible if the teacher did not even look at the work. This is not a practice that honors student work. This is often the scenario for mapping in schools. When planning these conversations, it is important to keep in mind that teachers do not crave extra meetings. Especially when the meetings are simply for data entry.

What to do

1. Define the purpose of why you are mapping.
2. Set authentic teaching and learning goals that are directly related to what teachers do in the classroom. When they leave a review conversation, there was something in that conversation for them that will take with them to the classroom.
3. Calendar the plan for utilizing the maps just like a professional development time line. Who, when, where, and outcomes.
4. Celebrate and communicate the outcomes.