building for the future: attracting and retaining great teachers in hard-to-staff schools

7/28/2019 Building for the Future: Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

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Educators 4 Excellence-Los AngelesAttracting and Retaining Teachers

Building or the Future:Attracting and Retaining Great Teachersin Hard-to-Sta Schools

Los Angeles

Teacher Policy Team on Attracting and Retaining Teachers

June 2013


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Educators 4 Excellence-Los Angeles

Attracting and Retaining Teachers

2

Americas uture depends on its teachers. I you want

to make a dierence in the lie o our nationjoin the

teaching proession. America needs you.

Bara ck Obama, P res ident o the United States 1


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ContentsPreace

A Letter rom Teachers to the Mayor o Los Angeles

Building or the Future

Attracting Great Teachers to Hard-to-Sta Schools

Tool or Success: School-based Hiring Protocol

Tool or Success: School Transormation Packages

State Policy Barrier: Mutual Consent Placement

Developing Great Teachers Within Hard-to-Sta Schools

Tool or Success: Student-driven Proessional Development

Tool or Success: Induction and Mentoring Program

State Policy Barrier: Binary Evaluations

Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Sta Schools

Tool or Success: Administrator Training in Smart Retention Strategies

Tool or Success: School-based Community Engagement Grants

Tool or Success: Ongoing Changes to Pay Structure

State Policy Barrier: Layo Policy

State Policy Barrier: Tenure Process Reorm

Conclusion

Reerences

Tools by Policy Level

Teacher Policy Team Process and Methodology

Teacher Policy Team

S E C T I O N 1

S E C T I O N 2

S E C T I O N 3

7

4

5

6

14

21

30

31

32

33

34


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4

PrefaceWeve all heard the bleak statistics that high-

light the many reasons droves o teachers

exit our most challenging schools and the

teaching proession. In Los Angeles Unied

School District (LAUSD), the median career

length at a school is less than three years.2

It is true that the complexity and challenge

o teaching in our most vulnerable schools

can be daunting. But many o us teach be-

cause onot despitethese great chal-

lenges. We choose to come to and stay in

our schools to seize the once-in-a-lietime

opportunity to change lives, one classroom

at a time.

As teachers, we have rsthand experi-

ence with the policy roadblocks that pre-

vent many o us rom staying longer in our

schools. We have all, rom time to time,

struggled with our own decisions to stay in

schools and a proession with deep faws,

but also proound promise. Many o us came

rom schools where over 70 percent o our

sta would have been laid o due to bud-

get cuts without a court order to protect our

schools. We have all weathered budget re-

ductions that leave us working to achieve

more growth with ar ewer resources and

support. Some o us came rom schools that

had gone through every reorm project our

district had ever tried. So we came to this

task knowing that the challenges against us

are great and that silver bullets are rarely

real, but xing teacher attrition is a non-ne-

gotiable priority.

As a team, we undertook a journey to ex-

plore the root causes o turnover, research

solutions being piloted in other districts

and here in Los Angeles, and create a set

o tools that could be implemented in our

schools and district. We did not set out to

create a comprehensive policy prescrip-

tion or teacher retention, because we

know our schools are diverse communities

that require diverse and customized solu-

tions. We came together to dream big and

to share some changes that would convince

all o usincluding the peers and members

we surveyedto stay and lead rom our

classrooms. We also collaborated in order

to think practically about district realities

and opportunities. The result is this toolbox

or attracting, retaining and increasing the

number o our most eective teachers. We

believe that these tools should be used in

concert with one another and as part o a

broader strategy to tap into the potential o

our students, teachers and leaders.

Our paper highlights key tools we believe

directly address the root causes or turn-

over. These research-based resources are

designed to inspire the perpetual pursuit o

excellence in teachers and the students we

proudly serve.


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6

DEVE

LO

P

RE

TAIN

ATTR

ACTSchool-basedhiring protocol

School

Transormation

Packages to attracteective leaders

New teacher

induction and

mentoring

Student-driven

proessional

developmentor teachers

Community

Engagement

Grants or schools

Administrator

training on

Smart RetentionStrategies

Achievement

Awards or high-

needs schools

Building or the Future:Attracting and Retaining Teachers in Hard-to-Sta Schools

A Toolbox of Strategies by Teachers


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The art o attracting and selecting the right people is a herculean task in any industry.This challenge is made all the more complicated in our public schools, which have

historically struggled with great student needs and high turnover among teachers. Alltoo oten the public views teaching as a noble proession when, in act, teaching is anambitious and perormance-driven mission. To accelerate change and achievement atour most struggling public schools, we must identiy and hire the right talent to teach.All o the tools in this section o our toolkit speak to this important process o gettingthe right people on the bus.

Unclear expectations or teacher perormance in high-needs schools

Lack o prestige across the teaching proession generally

Lack o clear mission and vision or the role o teachers in turningaround high-needs schools

Workplace instability, low morale and undened school culturecaused by requent teacher turnover

Diculty attracting experienced teachers to teach in hard-to-staschools

Where teachers choose to teach should be inormed by student need, mission and cul-tural alignment, opportunities or new proessional challenges and personal actors. In-

stead, it is oten a rushed process, with over 10 percent o teachers hired ater the rstday o school.3 The process is also antithetical to student need, with 16 percent oCaliornia teachers teaching outside o their area o expertise in low-income schools.4Principals have little say regarding which teachers enter their campus, and teachershave little knowledge o the campus itsel. In all o this, schools are let struggling tobuild up a strong culture and track record o perormance. This leaves students withoutthe school stability, continuity and rigor required to accelerate their achievement.

Attracting Talent

Why Schools Have

Trouble Attracting the

Right Candidates

Current Problem

Section 1Attracting Teachers to Hard-to-Staff Schools


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8

What This Tool Does

Our district should develop a Hiring Toolkit that canthen be customized at the school site. We recognizethat there are great examples o strong hiring practicesused across various schools. To save time, money and thehassle o reinventing the wheel, the district can developa Hiring Toolkit that oers templates, strategies and guid-ance that can be customized by each school. The HiringToolkit should include the ollowing: protocol or establish-ing a diverse school-specic hiring committee comprisedo many stakeholders; interview questions; guiding ques-tions or evaluating teacher demo lessons; and customiz-

able rubrics or evaluating candidates. The district toolkitcan also be shared with local universities and collegesto guide the training oered to aspiring teachers and ad-ministrators.

A hiring protocol gives applicants a chance to test theschool or a t. This is important because teachers needclarity on a schools culture, perormance goals and workexpectations. In providing clear expectations, schoolscan attract teachers who align with the schools mission.A study rom The New Teacher Project ound that strong

teachers are more likely to accept jobs with schools thathave ecient application, screening and selection pro-cesses.5 Naturally, how teachers are treated in the hiringprocess provides valuable insight into how teachers willbe treated as proessionals at the school site.

A school-specic hiring protocol provides fexibility ormaking inormed hiring decisions. A customizable toolkit

will give schools a starting place or creating or ormal-

izing a hiring process or ensuring candidate alignmentwith school mission, goals and culture. This can reduceteacher turnover in the uture.

Measuring Success

School Report Card: I the whole school is involved inthe hiring process, then the whole school should be heldaccountable or the results. School Report Cards shouldshow evidence o improved hiring processes. For in-stance, the School Report Card could show the percent-age o open positions lled beore the start o school, as

well as early retention rates.

Administrator Evaluation: While the hiring protocol is acollaborative process, administrators should be able toshow evidence that there is a school-wide hiring protocolin place. This evidence can be collected as part o amulti-measured evaluation system or principals.

Caveats and ConsiderationsRecognizing the limitations on early hiring, the district andstate will need to provide schools with timely data on stu-

dent enrollment, budget and teacher transers to acilitateappropriate hiring and decision-making. (See our Call toState Leaders on page 14.)

The accountability metrics or the school and administra-tor also need to ensure that school leaders are involvingmultiple stakeholders, including parents and community,in the hiring process.

Attracting Teachers to Hard-to-Sta SchoolsHiring Toolkit Customized by Individual Schools

When I graduated rom college, I had a sense that my

proessors were disappointed that I had not selected a

more prestigious and valuable career path. But teach-

ers shape the development o our nations next genera-

tion o leaderswhat could be more valuable?

Jo shua Th omson, high school science, Da Vi nci Science Hi gh School


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How important is the ollowing to

attracting and retaining great teachers?

School-specifc hiring protocol

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

1.63%

9.77%

24.76%

37.13%

26.71%

(310 respondents)

Educators 4 Excellence. Attracting and Retaining Teachers. Teacher Survey. May 2013.


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10

0.65%1.29%

10.0%

30.97%

57.10%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL



Placement o highly eective schoolleaders at high-turnover schools

(310 respondents)



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What This Tool Does

Our district can oer eective school administrators aSchool Transormation Package in their eorts to leadhigh-needs schools. Teaching and leading in our highest-needs schools is an honor and a privilege. Our meth-ods o recruitment and selection should refect this. ASchool Transormation Package oered to leaders shouldinclude clear district supports, autonomies and nancialincentives. Eective administrators should be identiedbased on a multi-measure evaluation system in line withthe ramework developed by LAUSD and the AssociatedAdministrators o Los Angeles (AALA). It should include

student growth and teacher development and retention,among other actors. The recruitment and selection pro-cess should include the voices o teachers, parents andthe community.

Providing school leaders with a package o supports andautonomies will encourage administrator retention. A sur-vey o administrators ound that the areas in which theyace signicant challengeteacher retention, budget,and curriculum and instructionare also the areas overwhich they eel they have little or no control.6 In order or

our principals to serve as instructional leaders, they mustbe given autonomy and responsibility to lead.

Strategically recruiting eective leaders to high-needsschools directly promotes retention o our most eectiveteachers. Our highest-perorming teachers desire to workat schools where there is a high level o administrativesupport. Eective leaders can establish a school environ-

ment that allows teachers to get assistance in areas o

need, through proessional development and collabora-tion. In a study o the District o Columbia Public Schools,one-quarter o high-perorming teachers cited a lack oadministrative support in their development as their pri-mary reason or leaving.7

Measuring Success

Administrator Evaluation: As part o each school leadersevaluation, we recommend that teacher retention be con-sidered as a necessary component in assessing leaderperormance. We should look at retention rates or all

teachers, and specically or those deemed eective.Local Superintendent Evaluation: Local superintendentsshould ultimately be held accountable or ensuring thatthe most eective school leaders are recruited to the high-est-needs schools.

Caveats and Considerations

To attract and retain our highest-perorming school lead-ers at our highest-needs schools, the district must developa multi-measure evaluation system or identiying and le-

veraging our strongest school leaders.

As the district implements policies to attract and retain thebest leaders, it must simultaneously collect data on schoolleader quality and school perormance. This data will en-able our district to make inormed decisions about schoolneeds as well as the retention, compensation and otherincentives oered to leaders.

We need to treat our school leaders like champion

coaches: give them support, demand the best and give

them the power to truly lead.

Esteva n Ley va, hi gh school humani ties, Benjamin Frankl in Hi gh School

Attracting Teachers to Hard-to-Sta SchoolsTransormation Packages or Eective Administrators


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12

Reduces attrition rates among principals and teachers, which reduces

cost o retraining.

Increases autonomy or strong leadersespecially in terms o hiring

allowing the district to expend ewer resources on oversight.

Allows the district to learn rom and expand upon best leadership

practices delivered by administrators and teacher-leaders.

Students: Giving administrators greater autonomy and fexibility allowsthem to set the culture o expectations at their school, which directly a-

ects the education experience o each individual student.8

Administrators: Greater autonomy allows administrators to make a

thoughtul decision about the school they choose to lead based on

where they can have the most impact, rather than simply where they

will ace the ewest barriers. The earlier hiring timeline creates a wider

talent pool and allows schools to nd candidates who are aligned with

the school mission and vision.

Parents and Family: Involving parents in the schools hiring process re-

arms their vital role in the school and promotes ongoing involvement.

Public: Involving the community in the hiring process or teachers and

administrators will promote the investment o community members in

the mission and perormance o the school. Additionally, bringing in a

new school leader is eective in turning around the school only i the

leader is actually ree to do something dierent. A School Transorma-tion Package gives the new school leader that reedom.

Benets or the

District

Benets or theStudents, Schoolsand Community

Attracting Teachers to Hard-to-Sta SchoolsNot Just or Teachers: Benets or Our District,

Students and Community


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Allow schools to make hiring decisions and retain talent based on the mutual t o skill andeectiveness, personality and purpose.

We recognize that there are many state policy barriers that could prevent school leaders rom

eectively turning around their campuses. Chie among these barriers is the policy o orced

placement in the Caliornia Education Code.9 The policy prevents schools rom getting the

right people on the bus.

Currently, schools are permitted to use two actors in their hiring decisions: credential and

seniority. We propose that our district and schools increase the talent pool or stang by con-

sidering a much wider range o actors, including culture and mission t, evidence o student

growth and particular areas o expertise, along with years o experience and credentials. Wecannot shackle school leaders by limiting their access to the broad array o teaching talent

that exists in our state and expect these leaders to turn around struggling schools.

We Need Our State Leaders To...


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14

Section 2Developing Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

Even with the right people on the bus, our district and schools must work to ensurethe continued development and growth o educators throughout their careers. This isparticularly true at hard-to-sta schools, where teachers ace a variety o challengesnot present at other sites. All o the tools in this section o the toolkit address the task ogrowing the teachers who have chosen to take positions in the classrooms and schoolsthat need them most.

Teacher isolation and burnout caused by lack o meaningulcollaboration and support

Undened school culture caused by workplace instability

Lack o preparation to teach the specic groups o students teachersare serving

Lack o depth in proessional development due to constant infux onovice teachers and ailure to dierentiate support

Lack o data or inormation on challenging areas or teachersand students

Far too many systems in teaching communicate that there are only two levels o e-ectiveness: satisactory and unsatisactory. This concept o career growth is binaryand ails to tap into the loty aspirations and ambitions that drive great teachers toteach. Teachers aspire to be much more than satisactory and need evaluation, tenureand proessional development processes that inspire excellence and innovation. Wetell our students they should be constantly growing and learning, and as teachers, we

should expect the same or ourselves. Teachers come into teaching with a range oexperience and skill levels. All o us can and should have the opportunity to grow.

Development

Why Hard-to-Sta

Schools Have Trouble

Developing Teacher-

Leaders

Current Problem


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There is a lot o talent in our schools. With increased

lexibility, schools could support the needs o theirparticular sta members, allowing good teachers to

become great teachers.

Riley Vaca, h igh school Engl ish, C amino Nuevo Char ter Hi gh School

What This Tool Does

Our schools should be empowered to use data to cratproessional development that speaks directly to studentand teacher needs. Our schools should be given the toolsand training to analyze the data and work as a team tocreate proessional development tailored to student andsta needs.

School-specic proessional development encourages aculture o collaboration. Once the data is dissected andexamined, the sta can come together and crat proes-sional development to address challenges and build on

strengths. This process decreases isolation and keepscommunication open between teachers.

School-specic proessional development is more e-cient. When schools have the reedom to set their ownproessional development goals and agendas basedon student and teacher need, they can directly addressholes in expertise amongst their own sta. This wouldavoid wasting time and energy on proessional devel-opment that might not be relevant. For example, whilesome schools may break down the data and see that

their English language learners are struggling with read-ing comprehension, another school may need to look at abreakdown by learner type to see that kinesthetic learnersare being underserved.10

Measuring Success

Administrator Evaluation: Administrators should be ableto show evidence o implementing proessional develop-ment that is based on data and collaboratively estab-lished by teacher-leaders and administrators. We shouldalso look or evidence o student growth in a ew keyareas selected as a goal based on student data.

Teacher Evaluation: Part o teacher evaluation should en-tail setting proessional development goals based on stu-dent data and showing evidence o meeting those goalsthroughout the year.


Data-driven proessional development is the tool, but stu-dent achievement is the ultimate goal. Thereore, schoolsshould be held responsible or the outcomes rather thanthe process. This also means that we will need to collectmore inormation rom teachers throughout the year on theeectiveness o their proessional development. To trulyprovide data-driven and customized proessional devel-opment, the district and our schools will need to beginseriously investing in technological improvements.

Developing Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsStudent-driven Proessional Development


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0%0.64%

8.36%

32.48%

58.52%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

(310 respondents)




Proessional development basedon student need and establishedcollaboratively at the school site


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Provide a strong ramework or evaluation that captures the nuances o teacher peror-mance and growth over time.

I we expect teachers and administrators to set rigorous goals or proessional develop-

ment, we must also provide metrics to capture their growth over time. Currently, our state

law has set a low bar or teacher evaluations. There is no state ramework, and the vast ma-

jority o districts have only two categories: pass or ail.

We need our state to set a minimum o our bands o eectiveness to better capture our

growth and range o development as educators. This will push local districts toward a

more nuanced and thoughtul system or evaluating teacher growth, identiying expertise

and promoting teachers as leaders.


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18

What This Tool Does

Our District can ensure that all new teachers, regardlesso school site, receive adequate support and mentorshipin the early stages o their careers. School sites shoulddevelop a school-specic induction program with a o-cus on ongoing mentoring.11 While LAUSDs EducationalService Centers12 should keep schools accountable orresults, the schools themselves should have discretion overselecting trainings, matching mentors and mentees, andidentiying hiring needs.

High-quality induction and mentoring services can retain

teachers past those rst ew dicult years. Having a stra-tegically assigned mentor can help reduce the eeling oisolation and keep the teacher engaged at the schoolsite.13 In Hillsborough County, Florida, a comprehensivementoring and induction program increased the retentionrate o rst-year teachers rom 72 percent to 95 percent.14

Providing fexibility at the school level enables schools tond the best possible t or mentors and mentees, and tocreate a relevant induction program. Administrators andteacher-leaders who have led the new teacher through

the hiring process will best know how to match this newhire with a complementary mentor. They will also be ableto crat a package o proessional development and train-ing options that are particular to the school. These mightinclude trainings on Common Core implementation, tech-nology, community outreach and curriculum alignment.

Measuring Success

Administrator Evaluation: In addition to examining overallretention rates o highly eective teachers, we should lookspecically at retention rates o teachers in their rst ew

years. We should also consider teacher eedback surveyson the quality o the induction program. These surveysshould be distributed to both the induction program par-ticipants and providers.

Mentor Evaluation: A piece o the mentors evaluationshould be based on eedback surveys rom participatingteachers and retention rates o their mentees.

Academic Perormance Index: The district as a wholeshould be held accountable or its retention rates o teach-ers identied as eective or highly eective, as well asteachers in the rst ve years, since the majority o teach-ers are leaving during this critical timerame.

Caveats and ConsiderationsMentors and all those who lead an induction programneed to be supported and evaluated in those roles. Thisis separate rom their support and evaluation as teach-

ers. Our districts talent management division will need towork collaboratively with teacher-leaders on the groundto develop a dierentiated rubric and evaluation or men-tors, mentees and other induction program participants.

Developing Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsInduction Program with an Emphasis in Ongoing Mentoring

I know its important to make a sae and welcoming

environment or my kids rom day one, and I love that

my school did that or me.

Lucie Zuniga, high school Engl ish and drama, EcoAcademy Hi gh School


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0%

2.25%

11.25%

38.91%

47.59%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

(310 respondents)




A school-specifc induction programor new teachers with an emphasis onongoing mentorship


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20

Frees up time and resources o district personnel by decentralizing and

localizing induction programs and proessional development.

Reduces time and resources spent on unnecessary or repetitive proes-

sional development.

Decreases new teacher attrition rates and related costs o replacement and

retraining.

Leverages school-level leaders to create and share best practices internally.

Students: Ensures that every student has access to a high-quality and

well-supported teacher whose proessional development is driven by the

students unique needs and academic growth goals.

Administrators: Reduces the burden o constantly creating proessional

development and supporting new teachers by leveraging the talent and

expertise o teachers.

Parents and Family: Ensures that proessional development is tailored to

the needs o the community the school is serving.

Public: Increases eciency by ensuring that dollars are spent address-

ing specic school needs. Additionally, investing public dollars in a high-

quality induction and mentoring program has long-term returns. For every

$1.00 invested, schools gain $1.50 in uture savings on reduced turnover

and retraining. 15

Benets or the

District

Benets or theStudents, Schools

and Community

Developing Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsNot Just or Teachers: Benets or Our District,



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Section 3Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

An outstanding teacher can change a childs lie. A single high-quality teacher canincrease a students lietime earnings by over $50,000.16 In addition to other actors,

a great teacher reduces the likelihood o teen pregnancy, drug use and other negativebehaviors.17 And there are a number o these incredible educators in our hard-to-staclassrooms in Los Angeles every day. It is imperative that we not only attract greatnew teachers and develop them, but that we also identiy and strategically retainthese individuals.

Lack o reward and recognition or excellence

Lack o support rom administrators

Lack o training on how to engage communities and amilies

Undened school culture caused by workplace instability

Teacher churn is not merely a problem involving teachers who no longer want toteach. More new teachers leave their posts to teach in another school or districtthan to leave the proession altogether.18 Teachers job satisaction and decisions tostay are directly tied to their working conditions and their eelings o autonomy andpurpose.19 In order to keep our great teachers in the classrooms that need them themost, we must reduce the systemic barriers that can leave teachers and school leaderseeling powerless or isolated. Then, we must create an environment that recognizesand rewards these individuals or their achievements.

Retention

Why Schools Have

Trouble Retaining

Great Teachers

Current Problem


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22

What This Tool Does

Our district should train administrators on easily imple-mentable Smart Retention Strategies. Actions as simpleas public recognition o accomplishments or even one-on-one acknowledgement o high perormance can doublethe length o time highly eective teachers choose to stayin the classroom.20 Administrators should be given train-ing around these and other research-based strategies orimproving morale, motivation and retention, and be heldaccountable or the results as part o their evaluations.

Focusing retention strategies on our strongest teachers

improves student outcomes. A high-perorming teacheron average produces ve to six more months o studentachievement per year than a low-perorming teacher.21Focusing retention strategies on those teachers contributesdirectly to increased student achievement.

Focusing retention strategies on our strongest teacherssets administrators up or a more distributive leadershipmodel. One potential strategy or retention is to oerleadership roles to highly eective teachers. I administra-tors are trained in identiying and leveraging these roles,

their workload will be lightened and they can ocus their

time on the development o their sta. This strategy will

also help build more sustainable schools by creating in-ternal pipelines or developing homegrown leaders atthe school site.

Measuring SuccessAdministrator Evaluation: Ater the district provides appro-priate training and support, administrators should showevidence in their evaluation o improvement in retentiono eective and highly eective teachers.

Administrator Surveys: In order to ensure eective train-

ing, administrators should submit surveys reporting on theuseulness o the training they receive around smart reten-tion strategies. These surveys and ratings should be incor-porated into the training providers evaluation.

Caveats and ConsiderationsRethinking the administrators roles and encouraging themto be instructional leaders will take more than proession-al development on retention strategies. While this tool isan important one, it should be implemented as part o awider strategy to support and develop our school leaders

through ongoing mentorship and coaching.

When great teachers want to stay at a school, when they

are made to eel valued and supported, they will do just

about anything or their students. Those are the people

we want and need to keep.

Lauri e Walters, kinderga rten, NOW Academy

Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsAdministrator Training on Smart Retention Strategies


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0.65%

5.52%

17.53%

40.91%

35.39%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

(310 respondents)




Administrator training inretention strategies


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24


Move to a model o perormance-based retention.

When budget cuts orce reductions in sta, school and district leaders must make dicult

layo decisions. In Caliornia, schools are not permitted to consider anything other than

seniority in all but a ew special situations. This is inormally reerred to as a policy o Last

In, First Out in the Caliornia Education Code.22

We propose that our state move to a model o perormance-based retention. While we can-

not prevent every budget shortall, we can empower our school leaders in those moments

to make decisions that put the needs o students rst. Retention decisions should be based

on a multi-measure evaluation, in addition to years o service and credentials.

Reorm the tenure process to restore the concept o tenure as a meaningul proessional

milestone.

Just as in any career, not everyone who enters teaching will or should stay in the proes-

sion or a lietime. The current Caliornia tenure law grants permanent status to any teacher

who has received satisactory ratings or two consecutive years.23 In a system that rates

over 98 percent o teachers satisactory, this in turn means over 90 percent o teachers are

reaching permanent status.24

We propose that our state redene the tenure process to be based not simply on years o

service, but on a collectively agreed-upon set o achievements. This should include multi-

measure evaluations, reviews by colleagues and evidence o ongoing proessional growth.

This process may happen at dierent points in a teachers career, but should be ar enough

out to give both school leaders and teachers a chance to show improvement, or exit the

proession graceully.


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0.97%

3.87%

17.10%

42.58%

35.48%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

(310 respondents)




Strengthening communitypartnerships with schools


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26

What This Tool Does

Our district should create a pot o grant money that incen-tivizes community partnerships that are ocused on boost-ing retention and driving student achievement. Individualschools would apply or grant money to und programsor positions based on school need. Schools would needto identiy the community partners they wish to engage,as well as the strategies, program and metrics or suc-cess, and tie these actors to teacher retention and studentachievement.

Individualized grants will enable schools to tailor a commu-

nity outreach plan that matches school need and culture.Schools will vary across Los Angeles in their approach toengaging community. For example, an elementary schoolmay nd that a Parent Academy lls a need or parentinvolvement, while a science magnet may wish to buildbetter partnerships with local technology companies tomove to a Linked Learning model. The district can use theprocess to collect and synthesize best practices to sharewith uture applicants. However, schools should maintainthe right to design a program to meet their needs.

Encouraging community involvement through CommunityEngagement Grants will likely improve working condi-tions or teachers and boost teacher retention. One othe drivers o turnover o highly eective teachers is theeeling o helplessness and isolation.25 Encouraging aninvestment in a school site by parents and community canhelp address some o the actors that teachers may eelare beyond their control or impeding their ability to makeadditional progress with their students. The partnershipswill also allow them to create relationships with experts inelds that are outside o their expertise, but vital to their

students growth. For example, there are many non-protsocused on strengthening parent engagement in schools,and there are businesses that can show students a directlink between their school and uture careers.

Community Engagement Grants can build on partnershipsalready in place and make new partnerships easier tocreate. Los Angeles has a long history o community activ-ism and involvement in our public schools. Programs likethe Youth Policy Institute, L.A.s Best, Los Angeles Educa-tion Partnership and others regularly partner with schoolsto provide additional services and supports. Both non-prot and business communities can help und grants toimplement programs in partnerships with local schools.

Measuring SuccessGathering Data: The District should measure gains in stu-dent achievement as well as teacher retention at eachschool receiving a Community Engagement Grant in or-der to gauge eectiveness and look or replicable pro-grams.

Community Grant Renewal: In applying or continuedunding, the school should report on results in terms ostudent growth and other metrics as laid out in its originalproposal.


In order to maintain the integrity o the grant undor high-needs schools, the district will need to deter-mine a threshold or schools to qualiy or and receivegrant unds. This threshold should be based on stu-dent need as well as teacher retention rates.

The district will need to establish a process or review-ing and awarding grants that is inclusive o educators

and other stakeholders.

Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsCommunity Engagement Grants or High-Needs Schools


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What This Tool Does

Rewarding the decision to teach in high-needs schoolscelebrates teachers grit and success. Teachers whochoose to work in the classrooms and positions that aremost dicult to ll and produce great results or studentsshould be compensated accordingly. An American Fed-eration o Teachers poll ound that 88 percent o teachersagreed that pay should be dierentiated or teachers whoserve in hard-to-sta schools.26

Rewarding excellence in high-needs schools directly ben-ets students. Tying additional compensation not simply

to entering a high-needs school, but to staying there andproducing results or students, places student achievementrst. Teachers in other districts have seen outsized gainsin both reading and math prociency among high-needsschools that implemented similar programs.27

Measuring Success

Teacher Evaluation: Teachers must show strong evidenceo student growth in their evaluations in order to receivethe Achievement Award.

Academic Perormance Index: As our state reconsiders

how to measure school and district perormance, it shouldinclude student growth and improvement in teacher reten-tion rates specically in high-needs schools.

Caveats and ConsiderationsAlthough this toolkit is a set o potential strategies that areby no means comprehensive, this strategy in particularcannot and should not be implemented in isolation. Re-search shows that simply handing out bonuses or enteringthe school will not attract the best possible candidates, asteachers consider a wide range o other actors beyond

pay when contemplating a new position.28

We recommend strongly that this strategy not be under-taken without also granting greater autonomy in hiringand a more robust system o evaluation and support.

Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsAchievement Awards in High-Needs Schools

Feeling like part o a team, working towards directly

addressing your students needs, and having the

autonomy to make these decisions can go a long way in

providing the incentive to stay in the proession.

Je Austin, high school government and economics, Social Justice Humanitas Academy


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28

10.65%

13.55%

24.84%

29.03%

21.94%

NOT IMPORTANT

MINIMALLY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

IMPORTANT

CRITICAL

(310 respondents)




Pay increases or those achieving strongstudent results at high-needs schools


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Expands access to high perormers who have a greater impact

on student achievement.

Reduces costly teacher turnover.

Encourages community investments at the school level by allowing schools

and community members to create community engagement projects.

Students: Student achievement improves when ewer high-perorming teach-

ers leave the classroom.29

Administrators: School leaders can receive increased training and support

around smart practices or retention.

Parents and Family: Community involvement provides more avenues or

parents to access the school and teachers, as well as community services.

Public: Opening the school to the community gives the public an opportu-

nity to strategically invest where they see need.

Benets or the

District

Benets or the

Students, Familyand Community

Retaining Great Teachers in Hard-to-Sta SchoolsNot Just or Teachers: Benets or Our District,



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30

ConclusionWe can make no wiser investment than in the teachers leading and in-

spiring our students, who will be our uture voters, citizens, caretakers

and leaders. Thereore, we are not merely asking our schools, union and

district to invest more deeply in attracting and retaining great teachers.

We are ultimately asking our entire cityincluding its current and utureleadersto invest in attracting and retaining talent in our classrooms.


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1. Statement by President Barack Obama, at the United States Hispanic Chamber o Commerce, March 10, 2009.

2. Xiaoxia A. Newton, Rosario Rivero, Bruce Fuller and Luke Dauter. Teacher stability and turnover in Los Angeles: The infuence oteacher and school characteristics, Policy Analysis or Caliornia Education, 2011.

3. Mimi Engel.Time out on timing: the relationship between the timing o teacher hires and teacher quality, Vanderbilt University,2009.

4. Caliornia Commission on Teaching Credentialing, 2007 - 2011.

5. Jessica Levin, Meredith Quinn. Missed opportunities: How we keep high-quality teachers out o urban classrooms, TNTP, 2003.

6. MetLie Survey o the American Teacher: Challenges or School Leadership, MetLie, 2012.

7. Keeping Irreplaceables in DC Public Schools, TNTP, 2012.

8. The principal perspective, Center or Public Education, 2012.

9. Caliornia State Education Code, 44955.c.

10. See E4E-LAs Career Pathways Teacher Policy Team recommendations, STEP: Supporting Teachers as Empowered Proession-als or some specic recommendations on building teacher leadership in proessional development.

11. See STEP: Supporting Teachers as Empowered Proessionals or a more comprehensive recommendation or induction andmentoring services or new teachers.

12. The regional support centers in LAUSD that divide the district into North, South, East and West.

13. The Impact o Induction and Mentoring Programs or Beginning Teachers: A Critical Review o the Research, Ingersoll, 2011.

14. With addition o mentors, district retains more teachers, Empowering Eective Educators, 2012.

15.Teacher Induction Programs: Trends and Opportunities, American Association o State Colleges and Universities, 2006.

16. Raj Chetty, John Friedman, Jonah Rocko. The long-term impact o teachers: Teacher value-added and student outcomes inadulthood, National Bureau o Economic Research, 2011.

17. Ibid.

18. Teacher Attrition and Mobility: Results rom the 2008-09 Teacher Follow-up Survey, National Center or Education Statistics,2010.

19. Building and Sustaining Talent: Creating Conditions in High-Poverty Schools that Support Eective Teaching and Learning, EdTrust, 2012.

20. The Irreplaceables, TNTP, 2012.

21. Ibid.

22. Caliornia State Education Code, 44955.b.

23. Caliornia State Education Code, 44929.21(b).

24. Hillel Aron. Tenure approval still 90+ percent, LA School Report (September 2012).

25. Building and sustaining talent, loc.cit.

26. Dierentiated Pay, American Federation o Teachers, 2008.

27. See, or example, Denver Public Schools ProComp system: http://static.dpsk12.org/gems/newprocomp/ProCompOutcome-sEvaluationApril2010nal.pd.

28. S.M. Johnson, J.H. Berg, M.L. Donaldson. Who stays in teaching and why: A review o the literature on teacher retention,Harvard University, 2005.

29. The Irreplaceables, TNTP, 2012.

Reerences


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32

School Hiring Protocol: Adapt the district-created protocol to t the school culture, mission

and vision and nd the best candidates

Student-driven Professional Development: Provide proessional development that is

based on student need and created collaboratively by administrators and teacher-leaders

Induction and Mentoring Program: Provide a strong induction program or new teach-

ers, as well as ongoing mentoring or all teachers, in hard-to-sta schools

School-based Community Engagement Grants: Apply or unds rom the District with

a specic plan or engaging the local community to benet both students and teachers

School Hiring Protocol:Create a toolkit or schools to use and adapt at the school site

School Transformation Packages: Provide highly eective principals with a package

o autonomies, district supports and nancial incentives in order to encourage and reward their

decision to lead high-needs schools

Induction and Mentoring Program: Provide training and ongoing support or mentors

Administrator Training in Smart Retention Strategies: Provide training and ongo-

ing support or administrators in evidence-based, low-cost retention strategies

School-based Community Engagement Grants: Allow schools to apply or unds

specically to engage with the local community

Ongoing Changes to Pay Structure: Provide Achievement Awards to teachers who

choose to stay in and have signicant success with students in hard-to-sta schools

School

District

State

Appendix: Tools by Policy Level

Mutual Placement: Allow administrators to consider experience, credentials and other acto

like culture t and past perormance, in making hiring decisions

Multiple Bands of Effectiveness: Provide a strong ramework or teacher evaluations that

a minimum o at least our bands o eectiveness

Layoff Policy: Move to Perormance-based Retention, allowing school districts to consider e

perience, credentials and other actors like past perormance in making worst-case, layo decisi

Tenure Process Reform: Restore tenure as a meaningul proessional milestone


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Appendix: E4E-LA Process and Methodology

Identiying Our Policy Focus

E4E-LA held more than 20 ocus groups with roughly150 teachers who teach in our district schools andpolled E4E members to identiy the most important andimpactul policy issues.

Reviewing Research

The Teacher Policy Team met or several months toreview research on dierent national attempts to addressteacher attraction and retention as well as local strate-gies being proposed or piloted by UTLA, LAUSD andlocal charter networks. Additionally, the Teacher Policy

Team held conversations with leaders rom LAUSD, TheEducation TrustWest and other national experts.

Conducting Local ResearchThe Teacher Policy Team conducted over 120 peer andadministrator interviews to gather critical stakeholdereedback. We also conducted a survey o over 300teachers and school leaders, including E4E-LA membersand non-members, to understand the most essentialstrategies or attracting and retaining great teachers inhard-to-sta schools.


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34

Je AustinHigh School Government and Economics

Social Justice Humanitas Academy

Christopher CiampaHigh School English

Cesar Chavez Continuation High School

Meaghan ClaytonEarly Childhood

Cassidy Preschool

Patty FavilaKindergarten

Hillcrest Elementary School

Jocelyn KarlanHigh School Science

Dorsey High School

Estevan Leyva

High School Humanities

Benjamin Franklin High School

Lindsey Patin

High School Special Education

Westchester Enriched Science Magnet

Laura Schaenacker

Seventh Grade ScienceJohn Muir Middle School

Joshua Thomson

High School Science

Da Vinci Science High School

Riley Vaca

High School English

Camino Nuevo High School

Laurie Walters

Kindergarten

NOW Academy

Lucie Zuniga

High School English and Drama

EcoAcademy High School

Teacher Policy Team


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For ar too long, education policy has been created withouta critical voice at the table--the voice o classroom teachers.

Educators 4 Excellence (E4E), a teacher-led organization, ischanging this dynamic by placing the voices o teachers at

the oreront o the conversations that shape our classroomsand careers.

E4E has a quickly growing national network o educatorsunited by our Declaration o Teachers Principles and Be-lies. E4E members can learn about education policy and re-search, network with like-minded peers and policymakersand take action by advocating or teacher-created policies that

lit student achievement and the teaching proession.

Learn more at Educators4Excellence.org.


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building for the future: attracting and retaining great teachers in hard-to-staff schools

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