mcs tei gates fdn proposal_final

Submitted by Memphis City Schools

July 31, 2009

Memphis City Schools Proposal | Submitted July 31, 2009 Page 1

TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS INITIATIVE

Executive Summary 1

Vision of Success 6

District Baseline 9

Gap Identification 15

Strategic Initiatives 16

Internal Risks and Challenges 26

Organizational Capacity and Partnerships 27

Implementation and Results 31

Capturing Lessons Learned and Evaluation 51

Project Budget 53

Sustainability 58

Conclusion 59


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

VISION OF SUCCESS

The Memphis City Schools Teacher Effectiveness Initiative (TEI) will deepen and accelerate our

existing aggressive reform agenda. It will provide the additional fuel necessary to drive

dramatically improved student achievement. While many poor and minority youth achieve at the

very highest academic levels, the achievement gap—and its impact—is real. This gap (currently

narrowing much too slowly) must be closed. Of course, this achievement gap is a matter of

access and experience—not ability. We envision every child being taught by an effective teacher

every day, every year. With such access to high quality learning experiences, our students’ lives

will be changed, and our city will be transformed.

DISTRICT BASELINE

The conditions at present in Memphis City Schools (MCS) offer a unique combination of need,

opportunity, and momentum. Our students (of whom 92% are minority and 83% are eligible for

free and reduced-priced meals) require a quantum leap in academic achievement: only 6% of

MCS students who elect to take the ACT (which corresponds to 3-4% of total students) are

deemed ―college-ready‖ in all four subject areas. There is new, determined energy to change

this, and there is clearly momentum. After one year of new district leadership, accelerated

reforms have laid the groundwork for a laser-like focus on teacher effectiveness. Additionally,

MCS is well-positioned to tackle this difficult work due to a productive and collaborative

relationship with the Memphis Education Association and a Board of Commissioners that is

deeply engaged in the policy work needed to sustain education reform. Finally, MCS is in a

position of strength due to experience with value-added measures (i.e. TVAAS; Mathematica)

and successful implementation of an incentive pay plan.

While MCS has seen some tremendous successes over the past year, there is clearly much work to

be done—especially in regards to how we think about our teachers. As The New Teacher

Project’s recent report suggests, we (like many districts) largely treat our teachers as ―widgets.‖

We operate as if one teacher is as good for students as another. This is evidenced in and driven

by our lack of a common definition of ―effective teaching.‖ Therefore, we lack an informative

teacher evaluation process, and we pass by many potentially crucial human capital decisions. We

fail to recognize and reward excellence, and we do not address mediocrity (or worse). From our

worst teachers to our very best—all are provided the same professional development

opportunities, and all are compensated on the same longevity and degree-based scale.

This will change. The district is positioned to implement this Teacher Effectiveness Initiative

with fidelity. The current momentum in the district demonstrates our capacity to conceive and

implement a reform agenda at scale. Memphis City Schools is uniquely poised to set new

patterns of achievement for an urban district in the Mid-South.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Against this backdrop, our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative consists of the following powerful

efforts:


We will use a common, agreed-upon process to define and measure what we deem to be

effective teaching.

Our entire strategy rests upon being able to speak in an intelligent and common language about

teacher effectiveness. Thus, we will create a Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM) that consists

of the following measures:

Growth in student learning

Observation of teachers’ practice

Stakeholder perceptions

Teacher knowledge

We will make smarter decisions about who teaches our students.

We know that all teachers are not created equal. The ―who‖ is important. To ensure that all of

our students have the most knowledgeable, talented, and dedicated teachers possible, we will do

the following:

Improve the recruitment and hiring of ―high potential‖ teachers

Raise the bar and improve the process for granting tenure

Increase the retention of effective teachers, particularly early in their careers

Increase the turnover of our most ineffective teachers

We will better support, utilize, and compensate our teachers.

We must improve the experiences of our teachers after they are hired. To this end, we will:

Improve the teacher evaluation process

Connect professional support opportunities to individual need

Create new and differentiated career paths that promote teachers to increasing levels of

influence based on their effectiveness and accomplishment

Compensate teachers based on differentiated roles and performance

Strategically place our best teachers where they are most needed

We will improve the surrounding contexts for teachers and students to foster effective

teaching.

We will intentionally craft the kinds of environments that help facilitate improved teaching and

learning. We will:

Improve principal leadership capacity

Improve school culture to create conditions that foster effective teaching/learning

Develop a new technology platform that will support the data-driven decision-making that is

crucial to the success of the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative


INTERNAL RISKS AND RELATED ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ENHANCEMENTS

To ensure success, we will proactively address expected challenges on multiple levels, including

the targeted bolstering of internal capacity. Some areas of concern are:

Human Resources Capacity: A newly established Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness

will manage our external partners and will bring the strategic functions of Human Resources for

teachers under the direction of our Deputy Superintendent for Academic Operations.

Teacher Acceptance and Buy-In: We expect a vocal minority to resist such dramatic changes.

Therefore, we will seek external communications expertise to assist in developing and executing

a comprehensive TEI communications plan. Additionally, we will continue our strong

engagement of the Memphis Education Association’s leadership, and we will create a

collaborative MEA-MCS Teacher Center partnership. To ensure the TEM’s credibility among

teachers, will invest in a new Office of Teacher Effectiveness Measure, within the well-

established department of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment, that will be staffed with 5-7

new analysts and research assistants.

Fidelity of Implementation: To prevent a ―reform du jour‖ mentality from prevailing, we will

charge our Strategic Planning and Accountability group with managing TEI implementation and

on-going strategic planning for the project (including guiding mid-course adjustments). We will

add two or three staff members, as well as supportive technical assistance, to bolster the capacity

of our Strategic Planning and Accountability team.

Sustainability: We have been aggressive in driving support and expectation in the community by

establishing a very strong Teacher Effectiveness Initiative Advisory Board. Additionally, the

MCS Board of Commissioners—buoyed by their long-term ―Reform Governance in Action‖

training—is strongly committed to this difficult school reform effort. Finally, continued

financial sustainability of the work is paramount. As described in the budget section of this

proposal, MCS has developed a detailed financial plan to leverage district resources and local

philanthropic funds in addition to the TEI grant to implement the bold plan outlined in this

document. In addition, the district has identified and committed savings that will ensure the on-

going sustainability of the work.

EXECUTION MILESTONES, PLAN OUTCOMES, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RESULTS

We strive for the following academic achievement outcomes for MCS students by the end of the

2013-2014 school year:

Average ACT score increases from 17.5 (with 68% student participation rate) to 19.0 (with

100% student participation rate)

Average TCAP score increases from the 30th percentile to the 63rd percentile

Graduation rate increases from 66.9% to 75%

The following high-level implementation plan shows how we will achieve these results:


1

Confidential

Not for distribution

Create Common, Agreed-Upon Definition of Effective Teaching

Smarter Decisions About Who Teaches MCS Students• Recruit & Hire

• Raise Bar for Tenure• Retention• Exiting

Improved Support for and Utilization of Teachers

• Improved evaluationsand prof. development

• Differentiated career roles

• New base compensation schedule

• Performance bonuses for

group goals

Improve the Surrounding Context

• School culture

• Improve principal leadership capacity

• New technology platform

Pilot (3,500 teachers)

Pilot (50 “lead teachers”)


Planning Roll-out implementation in expanded pilotsSchool culture pilots

Summary Implementation PlanPlanning period

Preliminary implementation

Full scale implementation

Key milestones

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Planning Pilot District-wide implementations

Every teacher has a complete TEM

Replace transitional mentors / co-teachers with master teachers

Planning

• TNTP partnership established• Tenure Board created• Retention bonus launched• Career management process launched

Every teacher reviewed by Tenure Review Board

Larger-scale pilot

Complete TEM used to inform decisions

Planning Pilot (750 teachers)

District-wide implementation

District-wide implementation of new evaluation

Planning District-wide implementation(500 Master Teachers) (600 Master Teachers)

Prepare for conversion Launch of new salary schedule

Plan/Pilot(Continue EPIC Program)

Formal launch of differentiated roles

Conversion to new salary schedule

Launch new group goals bonus

Planning Bolster Principal leadership capacity

Launch the Oracle ERP Continue implementation

Pilot (50 “lead” teachers)

Pilot (300 “lead” teachers)

Summary Implementation Plan

Create Common, Agreed-Upon Definition of Effective

Teaching

Smarter Decisions About Who Teaches MCS Students

•Recruit & Hire•Raise Bar for Tenure

•Retention•Exiting

Improved Support for and Utilization of Teachers

•Improved evaluationsand prof. development

•Differentiated career roles

•New base compensation schedule

•Performance bonuses for group goals

Improve the Surrounding Context

•School culture

•Improve principal leadership capacity

•New technology platform

Pilot (3,500 teachers)



Initial Training Roll-out implementation

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Planning Pilot District-wide implementation

Every teacher has a complete TEM

Replace transitional mentors / co-teachers with master teachers

Planning

• TNTP partnership established• Tenure Board created• Retention bonus launched• Career management process launched

Every teacher reviewed by Tenure Review Board

Larger-scale

pilot

Complete TEM used to inform decisions

Planning Pilot (750 teachers) District-wide implementation

District-wide implementation of new evaluation

Planning District-wide implementation

Prepare for conversion Launch of new salary schedule

Plan/Pilot

(Continue EPIC Program)

Formal launch of differentiated roles

Conversion to new salary schedule

Launch new group goals bonus

Training and support to bolster Principal capacity

Launch ERP Continue implementation

Pilot (50 teachers)

Pilot(300 teachers)

BUDGET

The total cost for the TEI plan detailed in this proposal is $155.9MM. The detail on sources of

funding between MCS, local philanthropic support, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

is shown in the table below and explained in the project budget section of this proposal.


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

While we already have many far-reaching questions, we will surely arrive at challenging new

questions and exciting new answers as we proceed. As we learn, our Strategic Planning and

Accountability group will guide the necessary mid-course adjustments, supported by the ability

of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment to provide high quality data and drive the district’s

research agenda.

VISION OF SUCCESS

Our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative will produce dramatically improved student achievement,

leading to expanded life opportunities for MCS students and an improved city of Memphis. The

underlying premise is straightforward: of all school-level factors, it is the effectiveness of a

child’s teacher(s) that most greatly impacts how much he/she learns. Simply, students learn

more when they are better taught. We will make the dramatic changes necessary to provide all

students with the learning opportunities currently available only to students of our best teachers.

ENVISIONED STUDENT OUTCOMES

We expect our students to succeed against the more stringent standards and requirements of the

Tennessee Diploma Project. We welcome the challenges posed by these elevated standards and

more stringent graduation requirements. It is a call to action, and Memphis City Schools intends

to answer it.

We strive for the following academic achievement outcomes for MCS students by the end of the

2013-2014 school year:

Average ACT score increases from 17.5 (with 68% student participation rate) to 19.0 (with

100% student participation rate)

Average TCAP score increases from the 30th percentile to the 63rd percentile

Graduation rate increases from 66.9% to 75%

To realize this vision, our overall strategy must be implemented as seamlessly as the following

causal model implies:


MCS TEI Vision and Theory of Change

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Dramatically Improved Student

Achievement

Improved Life Opportunities and Improved Community

for the City of Memphis

In

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Improved Context for Teaching –

Create EnablingConditions to Foster Better

Teaching

Improved Support for and Utilization

of Teachers

Smarter Decisions About Who

Teaches MCS Students

To be successful, we must execute each aspect of our strategy with intentionality and fidelity:


effective teaching.

All aspects of this Teacher Effectiveness Initiative depend on a new ―Teacher Effectiveness

Measure‖ which will be based on the following components:

Growth in student learning: We will leverage two existing sources of value-added data (i.e.

TVAAS and Mathematica) for many core subject areas. We will create assessments as needed in

order to obtain value-added data for additional high impact subjects.

Observation of teachers’ practice: We will pilot multiple methods for conducting classroom

observations, including video reviews and classroom visits by professional, trained evaluative

observers (including principals and peers).

Stakeholder perceptions: We will survey students, parents, and colleagues in order to learn

important insights about critical teacher characteristics, such as effort, professionalism,

citizenship, teamwork, and academic and non-academic care for students.

Teacher knowledge: We will ascertain how well our teachers understand their subject area

content and pedagogy.



Because all teachers are not the same, we will fundamentally improve our decision-making with

regard to who is provided the privilege of teaching our students:

Improve recruitment and hiring of “high potential” teachers

We will bolster our teacher pipeline by better leveraging existing partnerships that specialize in

recruiting and staffing teachers for urban school systems.


Working within our current policy and legal frameworks, we will develop a robust tenure

process that is based on our new Teacher Effectiveness Measure.


We will bolster efforts to retain our best teachers through the early years of their teaching careers

(when they are mostly likely to leave). A performance-based retention bonus, vesting over three

years, will be provided to our most effective first and second-year teachers to signal the district’s

commitment to and need for these teachers.

Increase the turnover of the most ineffective teachers

We will implement a new career management process which brings attention to

underperformance, supporting teachers where appropriate and dismissing when necessary.


We will improve the experiences of our teachers in terms of the support they are provided and

the opportunities they are given:


We will develop a trusted teacher evaluation process, based on the new Teacher Effectiveness

Measure, which is objective, meaningful, and useful.


We will focus professional support efforts on frequent, individualized formative observations

conducted by peers. Additionally, teachers will be provided individualized support via targeted

on-line professional learning opportunities.



Based on the TEM, high performing teachers will be eligible for promotions along a new career

path comprised of the following teacher roles:

Beginning Teacher: For their first three years of teaching, non-tenured teachers will receive

significant formal mentorship and teaching support from Master teachers.

Professional Teacher: A Professional Teacher will be similar to the standard role of an MCS

classroom teacher today.

Master Teacher: Our very best teachers will be charged with expanding their influence to

larger numbers of students (and teachers).



We will implement a new base compensation structure that is determined by teacher

role/performance rather than service time and degree attainment. Additionally, all teachers will

be provided performance-based group bonus opportunities for group attainment of student

learning growth goals.


To ensure that our highest-need students are taught by the most effective teachers, we will: 1)

place Master teachers in the schools where they are most needed, 2) assign Master teachers to the

highest-need students in their existing schools, and 3) cluster ―high potential‖ teacher recruits in

high-need schools.


teaching.

We commit to a district-wide focus on improving the surrounding context for teaching:


We will improve our principals’ capacity through multiple avenues, including targeted

recruitment, rigorous performance management, strategic placement, and intensive training and

development.

Improve school culture to create conditions that foster effective teaching and learning

In order to establish school climates that support effective teaching, we will strive to raise the

expectations of teachers and administrators regarding 1) the capabilities of children and 2) the

personal responsibility of teachers and administrators for student achievement.


crucial for the success of the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative

New technology systems will enable real-time queries of human capital data linked to student

achievement and budget information.

DISTRICT BASELINE

DISTRICT LEADERSHIP

In June 2008, the MCS Board of Commissioners hired as superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash, who

has proven to be a much-needed catalyst for change within Memphis City Schools and the City

of Memphis. He almost immediately brought a palpable change of attitude to Memphis City

Schools. With the perspective of a former Chief of Accountability and System-Wide

Performance, he appropriately and consistently has communicated an expectation for results. As

Dr. Cash says, it is productivity that matters—not mere activity.

Indeed, the 2008-09 school year was a productive one for Memphis City Schools. Under the

leadership of the Board of Commissioners, Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash and Deputy

Superintendent Dr. Irving Hamer, the district embarked on an aggressive and bold reform agenda

that supports the district’s strategic goals in the areas of student achievement, accountability,

parent and community engagement, healthy youth development, safety, and diversity. Selected


results include: student achievement gains in elementary, middle, and high school mathematics

as well as 10th grade English and 11th grade writing assessments, a significant (49%) increase in

dual enrollment, a strengthened district accountability system, enhanced family and community

partnerships, four new regional school health clinics, and significant reductions in the number of

serious safety incidents.

Memphis City Schools is primed for the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative. The initiative will be a

major undertaking, but it will not be the beginning of change. Reform is already underway—in

both attitude and action. These reforms have prepared the district for this transformative Teacher

Effectiveness Initiative, which will accelerate and deepen the existing MCS reform agenda while

benefiting from its momentum.

MEMPHIS CITY SCHOOLS CONTEXT

With 195 schools, Memphis City Schools serves 108,915 students, of whom the vast majority are

low-income and minority: 92% of students are minority (86% African American; 6% Hispanic;

7% White; 1% Other), 83% of students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and 83% of

schools are school-wide Title 1 schools.

When Superintendent Cash arrived in Memphis, his team collected as much data as possible and

found six serious factors or ―fault lines‖ in the district: 1) a majority of students were coming to

kindergarten without pre-K literacy skills; 2) a myriad of health issues were preventing tens of

thousands of students from their best work; 3) more than 30,000 students were overage for grade;

4) safety and discipline issues needed immediate attention to address a rising tide of violence; 5)

one in three students changed schools at least once during the year; and 6) the district was losing

on average 3,000 students each year to other districts, private schools, and home schooling.

These ―fault lines‖ provide context for understanding the challenges that MCS teachers face and

highlight the potentially far-reaching impact of effective teachers. To different degrees, they

also highlight the ways in which our city’s challenges impact MCS students. Memphis is among

the most troubled cities in the country—as evidenced by many indicators that are consistently

among the nation’s very worst, such as the infant death rate (1st in U.S.; 1995-1998), children

living in poverty (3rd in U.S.; 2007), and violent crime (2nd in U.S. large metropolitan areas;

2007). The percentage of college graduates in Memphis is below 24%, a figure in the lowest

quartile. These dreary statistics highlight the opportunity for transformative impact. As a newly

productive Memphis City Schools achieves the goals of our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative, the

entire City of Memphis will begin to change. This will be a story worth telling and repeating

across the nation.

DISTRICT-WIDE STUDENT PERFORMANCE

MCS is currently in ―Target‖ status according to Tennessee’s NCLB/AYP designation and has

been in ―Good Standing‖ two of the past three years. However, a relatively low state-level AYP

bar masks disturbingly low levels of achievement across all grades. Tennessee is the 9th lowest

scoring state on NAEP, is among the lowest in state proficiency standards, and only 6% of MCS

students who elect to take the ACT are deemed ―college-ready‖ in all four subject areas. On the

TCAP, MCS performance has consistently lagged behind other large Tennessee districts and the

state average. Overall, MCS is approximately 8-12% behind the state average for grades 3-8


TCAP performance across all four tested subjects (Math, Reading/Language Arts, Social Studies,

and Science). Despite some recent progress, there remains a significant achievement gap

between major demographic groups within MCS.

Of the 189 MCS schools with AYP determinations, only 54% achieved the required progress in

2008-09. There is a particular need to increase school performance at the high school level.

Thirteen of the district’s 32 ―high priority‖ schools are high schools. The district has seen some

progress with 12 of the 30 schools coming off the list this past year. Especially encouraging, 7

of 16 schools at the most challenging levels of High Priority (i.e., Corrective Action and beyond)

were lifted off that list for 2009-10. While the news is encouraging, there are opportunities for

great improvement.

Making and maintaining AYP will become increasingly challenging over the next few years as

state standards increase with the Tennessee Diploma Project. Beginning in the 2009-10 school

year, the rigor of state assessments will increase significantly. Additionally, students will have to

earn 22 credits (instead of 20 credits currently), complete four years of Math (instead of three

currently) and complete either a Chemistry or Physics (in addition to Biology) class and a third

lab science. These new requirements will effectively place all students on what was previously

termed the ―University Path.‖ The prior option or a ―Technical Path‖ diploma will be

discontinued. The dramatically increased rigor of these new state standards will further highlight

the urgent need to radically improve student achievement.

In the following section, we highlight the specific data that underlie each of our four main

strategies for improving teacher effectiveness within MCS

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR TEI INITIATIVES

Evidence Supporting the Need for a Common, Agreed-Upon Definition of Effective Teaching

At this time, two primary methods exist within MCS for evaluating teacher effectiveness: 1)

value-added metrics and 2) observation-based teacher evaluations.

Value-Added Data

MCS is very fortunate to have multiple sources of value-added data. These value-added models

capture students’ test scores on standardized assessments from multiple years in order to measure

how much students have learned over time. These models attribute gains in student achievement

to a specific school or individual teacher.

TVAAS: The Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), the innovative

Tennessee value-added model that links students’ state assessment scores to individual

teachers, offers tremendous under-tapped potential. TVAAS is recognized as a leading

value-added model and offers an exciting opportunity to measure teacher effectiveness in

MCS alongside an established state-wide comparison group.

Mathematica: The Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) data, created by

Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), is a second source of value-added data. This

Mathematica model provides one-year value-added measurements and was created to drive

the district’s Teacher Incentive Fund grant, which rewards teachers and administrators based


on student achievement gains. Currently, these data are used to rank schools based on their

value-added to student achievement.

Classroom Observation and Evaluation

Currently, teachers receive performance evaluations from their principals based largely on

classroom observations. The tools and processes that support these observations are limited, and

our evaluation process is compliance-driven at best and punitive at worst.

Formal evaluations are conducted by school principals using the state-provided Tennessee

Comprehensive Assessment form, which includes the following indicators: 1) class planning, 2)

teaching strategies, 3) assessment and evaluation, 4) learning environment, 5) professional

growth, and 6) communication. In focus groups, teachers and principals believe that the

evaluation tool is largely ineffective and that many principals lack the capacity to utilize it fairly

and consistently. Teachers expressed frustration that evaluations are typically based on a limited

sample of brief classroom observations and that they are rarely followed with timely and useful

feedback. Teachers also expressed frustration at the lack of ―incentives‖ or ―rewards‖ to

acknowledge individual excellence, as well as the lack of supports for struggling teachers.

Evidence Supporting the Need to Make Smarter Decisions About Who Teaches MCS Students

While there are many effective MCS teachers, various human resources challenges contribute to

a teaching force that is less than optimally effective.

Snapshot of Current MCS Teaching Force

MCS employed approximately 6,800 classroom teachers during the 2008-09 school year. The

teaching force has the following profile:

Gender

Race

Degree Type

License

Experience

79% Female

21% Male

63% Black

36% White

1% Other

45% Bachelors

32% Masters

18% Masters +

4% EDS

1% PHD

74% Professional

9% Apprentice

17% Alternative

Certification

33% 0-5 years

23% 6-10 years

22% 11-20 years

23% 21+ years

Due to declining student enrollment, the total number of MCS teachers has fallen by a rate of

approximately 1% per year since the 2004-05 school year. Over the same time period, tenured

teachers have consistently accounted for approximately 73% of the teaching force.

Recruiting & Hiring

Historically, MCS has typically hired approximately 700 new teachers per year (8-12% of the

total teaching force). The University of Memphis (20%), Christian Brothers University (7%), and

LeMoyne-Owen College (5%) account for nearly a third of total teachers hired each year. MCS

partners with multiple organizations that recruit and place teacher candidates including The New

Teacher Project, which sponsors the Memphis Teaching Fellows program, and Teach for

America, which places about 50 corps members in MCS schools each year. MCS averages


between a 4:1 and 5:1 ratio of eligible candidates per new hire, which is significantly lower than

the 10:1 benchmark recommended by the New Teacher Project.

Human Resources processes are not optimally efficient or effective; thus, we are unable to hire

many top teaching candidates. MCS teacher applicants are in the lowest quartiles of Praxis

scores, and 50% of new hires have a college GPA of less than 3.0. Inaccurate enrollment

forecasts, the timing of vacancies, and the teacher surplusing process all delay the offering of

teaching jobs. On average, approximately 110 days, or nearly four months, elapse between the

point of application submission and the date of hire. MCS typically does not provide formal job

offers for the majority of candidates until the last week of July, only weeks before the start of

school. This is a primary cause of our inability to hire selectively and has resulted in the need to

hire between 10-15% of total hires each year on ―interim‖ status, meaning they were hired to

teach after September 15th

of that current school year.

MCS is fortunate to have existing partnerships with multiple external teacher recruitment

organizations:

The New Teacher Project (Memphis Teaching Fellows): MCS first partnered with TNTP

in 2003-04 with the urban Teacher Hiring Initiative. In 2006, this partnership was narrowed

to the Memphis Teaching Fellows, which recruits teacher candidates for harder-to-staff

subject areas (yielding ~40 new teachers from ~800 applicants in each of the past two years.)

In 2007, TNTP launched the Model Staffing Initiative (MSI) to provide staffing support to

the 20 lowest-performing schools.

Teach for America (TFA): In its first three years in MCS, TFA has averaged 50 teacher

placements annually. MCS and TFA are exploring extending the commitment of TFA corps

members from two to three years and plan to increase placements to 75 teachers per year.

Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR): Launching this year, the Memphis Teacher

Residency program is based on national teacher residency models. The MTR will eventually

yield ~40-50 new teachers per year from between 800 and 1,000 applicants per year.

Over the past several years, there has been little district-level coordination of these existing

partnerships and likely untapped potential for strengthening the district’s teacher pipeline.

Teacher Retention

Twenty percent of new teachers leave MCS after their first year, and more than 40% leave within

three years. This three-year teacher attrition rate is particularly high for middle and high schools

(42% and 52% respectively).

Tenure Granting Process

The current tenure process is based almost entirely on the state teacher evaluation form, which is

based on a limited number of principal classroom observations. The tenure process is currently a

pass-through for those teachers that remain after their first three years. Typically, 93% of

eligible MCS teachers have been granted tenure.

Staffing and Placement

Currently, staffing and placement of new teachers is a collaborative process between the school

staffing office within Human Resources and school leaders. The timing of official job offers and

placements is driven in large part by the teacher transfer and ―surplusing‖ processes, which are

not finalized until the end of May. Therefore, only ―high need‖ candidates can be extended


formal job offers prior to June. However, in the ―Striving Schools,‖ where The New Teacher

Project supports early hiring and placement with its Model Staffing Initiative, principals are

given the autonomy to interview and hire teachers earlier in the process (regardless of seniority).

MCS is currently working to correct the surplusing and transfer process to ensure it can extend

earlier job offers and earlier placement opportunities.

Removal of Ineffective Teachers

Currently, very few ineffective teachers are removed from their positions. Over the past four

school years, an average of 50 teachers have been dismissed for performance-related reasons and

23 were formally non re-elected each year, representing less than 1% of total teachers. Partly,

this is due to the lack of useful measures for teacher effectiveness. Additionally, many principals

avoid the extremely cumbersome process of removing tenured teachers. In lieu of dismissal,

ineffective teachers are often shuffled between schools during the surplus process. A total of 101

teachers were surplused in 2007-08, and 332 teachers were surplused in 2008-09.

Evidence Supporting the Need for Improved Support, Utilization, and Compensation of MCS

Teachers

Professional Support

Currently, professional development employs a self-select, ―sit and get‖ model. Course offerings

tend to be tailored for teachers with little experience and are often too generic to be useful for

more experienced teachers. Based the views of teachers and administrators, there is significant

opportunity to more closely tie professional support to individually identified teacher needs.

Teacher Career Paths

Currently, there are no differentiated career opportunities within the classroom. In focus groups,

many teachers (and even some teachers-turned-administrators), expressed significant interest in

differentiated teacher responsibilities with corresponding increases in compensation.

Compensation

At present, the MCS salary schedule only rewards experience ($77MM, 20% of total

compensation) and degrees earned ($18MM, 5% of total compensation). Salary growth is

consistent, with gradual increases over time.

Some teachers earn additional performance-based compensation through the EPIC program,

which rewards principals and teachers in high-performing schools as measured by value-added

data. In 2008-09, EPIC provided $1.2MM in bonuses to about 540 educators. This program has

been well received by teachers and administrators and provides a platform upon which to expand

performance-based bonus opportunities to the most effective groups of teachers.


Evidence Supporting the Need for Improved Surrounding Context for Teachers and Students

School Culture

While we have recently made positive strides in terms of school safety, the prevalent school

culture often still inhibits effective teaching. Discipline and school environment shortcomings

continue to create challenging environments for students and teachers. The results from school

climate surveys (conducted annually of students, parents, and teachers) illustrate a range of

negative environmental factors that correlate with student performance: schools ranked in the

bottom third of school culture scores (as measured by student perception) have significantly

lower student achievement levels than do other schools.

Principal Leadership Capacity

While principals are crucial for establishing productive school culture, it is evident that many

teachers view principals as obstacles to effective teaching. Over the last two years, the teacher

attrition rate was nearly twice as high (approximately 23%) in schools that were in the bottom

quintile of teachers’ principal satisfaction compared to top quintile schools.

Data Systems

Although MCS collects valuable data about students and teachers, access is limited because data

is stored across a number of independent databases. These independent databases do not share a

common language or an ability to combine data from various systems. Many administrators and

teachers are not able to access the data for themselves and must burden a central IT group with

data requests. Thus, data based decision-making is hampered by a difficult and time-consuming

data collection process.

GAP IDENTIFICATION

MCS has an ambitious five-year vision for driving significant improvements in teacher

effectiveness and corresponding student achievement. As the previous Baseline section

highlights, the district has made important recent strides, but there is still much to do. The major

gaps we need to address are:

ESTABLISHING A CLEAR DEFINITION OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Achieving our vision requires a clear definition of an ―effective teacher.‖ This definition will: a)

be clearly understood throughout MCS, b) utilize multiple measures, and c) be supported by

tools and processes that identify effective teachers.

Our current definition of effective teaching is incomplete, and the district lacks alignment on a

common definition of effective teaching. Similarly, we do not have the tools or processes in

place to help identify effective teachers.

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS WITHIN THE DISTRICT

The second element of our vision is to increase the number of effective teachers. We will

improve the recruitment and hiring of high potential teachers, provide support and recognition to

retain our most effective teachers, raise the bar for tenure, and annually counsel out the most

ineffective teachers.


Currently, we do not recruit, retain, and promote the most effective teachers. Our annual pool of

new teacher candidates is small, and we lose approximately 40% of teachers after their first three

years. We then grant tenure to ineffective teachers and fail to exit the most ineffective teachers.

BROADENING THE REACH OF OUR EFFECTIVE TEACHERS

The third element of our vision is to ensure that our most effective teachers impact the greatest

number of our students possible by taking on new roles and responsibilities within differentiated

career and compensation plans. To support teacher improvement, every teacher in the district

will receive a professional development plan aligned with an annual evaluation. These

evaluations will be based on a multi-dimensional Teacher Effectiveness Measure and will be

supplemented with constructive and timely feedback identifying development opportunities.

Our current evaluation process neither differentiates among teachers nor provides actionable

feedback to link professional development and individual needs. We also fail to reward our most

effective teachers with meaningful career paths or compensation.

FOSTERING A CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS EFFECTIVE TEACHING

The fourth element of our vision is to create a school culture that supports effective teaching.

Principals will have the leadership capacity to create learning environments that facilitate

effective teaching.

The prevalent school culture within the district inhibits effective teaching: student discipline and

school environment shortcomings make it more difficult than necessary to teach effectively.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

As described above, we have a bold vision with ambitious student achievement targets. This

inspiring vision can be realized only with an equally bold and smart strategy that is executed

with high fidelity. Our strategy consists of the following high-level efforts:

Defining and measuring what we deem to be effective teaching

Making smarter decisions about who teaches our students

Better supporting, utilizing, and compensating our teachers

Improving the surrounding contexts for teachers and students to foster effective teaching


effective teaching.

To improve teacher effectiveness, we must first agree upon a common definition for effective

teaching. We must ensure that our various stakeholders read from the same songbook, in a

sense, in order to work collaboratively towards improving teacher effectiveness. As we proceed

and learn, we expect that our Teacher Effectiveness Measure will continually improve. For

instance, the weights assigned to each TEM component (and perhaps even the components

themselves) may be adjusted in order to more accurately measure teacher effectiveness. Our

Teacher Effectiveness Measure will be comprised of the following broad components:


Overview of Proposed MCS Vision of Effective Teaching

Growth in student learning (weighted 35%)

While value-added data are imperfect measures of achievement gains, they offer a valuable

approximation of student learning.

MCS begins from a position of tremendous strength with respect to value-added data. We will

leverage two existing sources of value-added data for core subject areas—TVAAS and

Mathematica. We anticipate utilizing TVAAS as the main value-added measurement for the

district, and we will use Mathematica as needed due to current restrictions on TVAAS (e.g. TN

state law requiring three years of TVAAS data before use in teacher evaluation).

We will develop additional assessments as needed to obtain value-added evidence for the

majority of teachers in core academic subjects. For teachers who continue to lack value-added

scores, we will increase the weights of the other three TEM components proportionally.

Observation of teachers’ practice (weighted 35%)

While growth in student learning is the ultimate desired outcome, our Teacher Effectiveness

Measure will also consider the most significant school-level input: the quality of daily classroom

instruction.

Professional, trained observers will utilize existing intuitive observation rubrics from the field

that our teachers recognize as exemplary. We will employ rubrics that emphasize student

engagement and effort rather than simply a ―checklist‖ of preferred teacher behaviors.

We anticipate piloting multiple methods to conduct these classroom observations, including:

Video reviews—potentially leveraging Teachscape and evidence collected for the Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation research project


Enhanced use of a standardized rubric by the school principal

Wide-scale deployment of evaluative observers, including peers and colleagues

As we learn over time, we will focus on the approaches that prove to be most effective and cost-

efficient.

Stakeholder perceptions (weighted 15%)

The unique perspectives of students, parents, and colleagues will provide insights about various

aspects of a teacher’s performance—both inside and outside of the classroom. While the data

collection process will be discussed collaboratively with teachers, we are initially most interested

in perceptions about teachers’ effort, professionalism, and academic and non-academic care for

students.

Measurement of stakeholder perception will be survey-driven and standardized across

stakeholder groups. Refining the district’s existing student, parent, and teacher climate surveys

to focus on teacher-specific behaviors and practices is a logical next step in the development of

our mature measurement system. Such refinement will likely require both internal and external

resources. For example, we plan to leverage the promising TRIPOD project student survey,

which is a part of the Gates research project.

Teacher content knowledge (weighted 15%)

A teacher’s subject area mastery is a critical foundation for effective teaching. Thus, we need to

know how deeply our teachers understand the content that they teach to their students. Existing

and newly developed instruments will be used for teachers in all subjects areas. Assessments

such as the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) test, developed at the University of

Michigan, provide a great start on tools for assessing teacher knowledge. We anticipate that

scores from prior Praxis exams and other standardized tests (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE) will provide

extant evidence for teachers with not more than three years of experience.

Periodic assessments of teacher knowledge will help to determine whether a teacher’s mastery of

his/her content area improves, remains steady, or worsens throughout the teaching career.

Through our participation in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation research project and through

our own experience in the early years of this grant, we will learn how tests of content knowledge

should be best incorporated into the Teacher Effectiveness Measure, particularly with respect to

its effect on the overall effectiveness score (i.e. whether it is a threshold or drives magnitude) and

the necessary frequency of assessment throughout a teacher’s career.


We recognize that all teachers are not the same. Simply, the ―who‖ matters. To be a highly

effective teacher, one must be multi-talented—in terms of content knowledge, pedagogical skill,

the ability to engage youth, and an unyielding drive to improve student achievement. We will do

everything possible to ensure that such multi-talented individuals—as evidenced by their

measured level of effectiveness—teach our students. To do so will require bold action that

significantly transforms Memphis City Schools.

Improve recruitment and hiring of “high potential” teachers

A first step in improving teacher effectiveness is to create the opportunity for a more selective

teacher hiring process. We will need to expand our applicant pool to include significantly higher


numbers of high potential teachers. Going forward, MCS will strategically leverage valuable

external partners in order to bolster the teacher pipeline through targeted recruitment strategies:

Build our strategic Human Resources capacity by outsourcing all teacher recruiting and

staffing functions to The New Teacher Project

We will strategically expand our partnership with TNTP by outsourcing all teacher recruiting

and staffing services. Additionally, we will ask TNTP to provide guidance regarding internal

policy and practice changes that are foundational to improved teacher recruitment and hiring.

Ultimately, responsibilities of TNTP will include the following:

Conducting all teacher recruitment efforts

Continuing the Memphis Teaching Fellows program specifically aimed at filling hard-to-staff

subject areas

Providing technical assistance to principals to improve their teacher interviewing and hiring

processes

Operating a district-wide certification program to provide more formalized support for

alternatively licensed teachers

Implementing a teacher conversion program to move high-potential teachers to harder-to-

staff subject areas (e.g. from Elementary to Math certification)

Better coordinate and leverage outside partnerships that recruit and place high potential

teachers in MCS

In addition to working with local colleges and universities (e.g., University of Memphis, Rhodes

College, Christian Brothers University, LeMoyne-Owen College) to ensure that they prepare

high potential teachers for MCS, we will strategically manage the relationships of the existing

partners in order to maximize their potential impacts—ultimately providing 25-30% of all new

hires. (Note: Teach for America, Memphis Teacher Residency, and Memphis Teaching Fellows

are described in the Baseline section.)


We will develop a robust tenure process that is based on the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure.

Raising the tenure bar does not require any formal policy or legal changes. Rather, it is a matter

of changing practice. We will create tenure review boards (similar to the Toledo model) that will

be responsible for recommending teachers for tenure to the Superintendent. We envision

regional tenure review boards, each consisting of three teachers (appointed by MEA), a principal,

and the Regional Superintendent.

Based on ―effectiveness bands‖ for the Teacher Effectiveness Measure, there will likely be three

categories of teachers: 1) teachers who will definitely be awarded tenure, 2) teachers who will

definitely not be awarded teacher, and 3) teachers who should be carefully considered for tenure.

The tenure review boards will carefully consider those teachers whose awarding of tenure is

uncertain. As our Teacher Effectiveness Measure improves, we expect that there will be

decreasing numbers of teachers for whom the tenure decision is uncertain.

The tenure decision will be directly linked to a meaningful increase in compensation and career

status (described below). Additionally, we plan to provide symbolic recognition of this important

occasion with a formal ―ceremony‖ honoring the accomplishments of newly tenured teachers.



Unfortunately, too many of our effective teachers leave the classroom after only a few years. A

major part of the solution for increasing the number of effective teachers in MCS is to retain our

effective teachers for longer periods of time. Thus, we will:

Provide financial and non-financial recognition to our most effective teachers early in their

careers

Too many of our best teachers do not hear simple affirmation for a ―job well done‖ early enough

or often enough. We will change this, in part, by instituting a performance-based retention

incentive program. This retention bonus, with vesting over three years, will address the very

high turnover of our beginning teachers—where we lose 40% of teachers after three years. This

retention incentive program will encourage best beginning teachers to remain in MCS

classrooms through their third, fourth, and fifth years, at which point they will then enjoy the

additional performance-based compensation opportunities that accompany tenure (i.e. higher

salary, Master Teacher role, continued group goals bonus opportunities).

In their first and second year, teachers who score above a threshold on the TEM and are in the

top quartile of effectiveness within their ―cohort‖ will be provided a $6,000 vested retention

bonus. (Note: An individual teacher is only eligible for the retention bonus once.) This retention

bonus will be paid over time, pending continued employment as a teacher with Memphis City

Schools. For example, a teacher who performs in the top quartile of effectiveness in ―Year 1‖

will receive the earned retention bonus as shown below:

$1,000 provided when teacher returns for ―Year 2‖



Much effort will also be placed on non-financial aspects of this recognition. For example, there

will be strong messaging about the prestige and significance of the award for new teachers—

including, perhaps, a ceremony honoring recipients and a senior-level district phone call to

inform teachers of the honor. Finally, MCS will seek local philanthropic sponsorship to

personalize and elevate the status of the recognition and will convene periodic gatherings of the

award recipients.

Additionally, it should be noted that many initiatives throughout this proposal will help us to

retain our best teachers.

Increase the turnover of the most ineffective teachers

While we strive to lengthen the MCS teaching careers of our effective teachers, we must shorten

those of our most ineffective teachers in order to create opportunities for more effective teachers

to teach children. In order to support both teachers and students, we will:

Implement a more effective career management process that supports underperforming

teachers whose continued employment is in question.

A formal Review Board (likely consisting of the same members as the Tenure Review Board

described above) will be authorized to ―flag‖ severely underperforming teachers based on the

new Teacher Effectiveness Measure. We expect this new process will increase the number of

teachers whose underperformance is highlighted and addressed with additional support where

appropriate.


We anticipate a one to three-year timeframe for counseling out underperforming teachers—

depending on the degree and duration of a teacher’s underperformance. The possibility for

exiting tenured and untenured teachers will begin when the Review Board ―flags‖ an

underperforming teacher. In most cases, teachers will be flagged after two years of performance

below a TEM threshold level. (However, the Review Board will be able to flag a teacher with a

single year’s TEM score that is alarmingly low.)

Once flagged, tenured teachers will meet with the Review Board to discuss their performance.

Based on the performance evaluation and the personal interview, the Review Board will then

decide between two options: 1) Recommend targeted professional development to facilitate

improved performance (with review of the case again after one year), or 2) Recommend

dismissal to the Superintendent. Beginning Teachers (i.e. untenured teachers) will not interview

with the Review Board. Instead, the principal’s decision to non-reelect a Beginning Teacher will

be reviewed by the Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness.


While the ―who‖ is important (as described above), it is insufficient. We must improve the

experiences we provide to our teachers after they are hired in terms of the support they are

provided as well as the opportunities they are given.


An improved teacher evaluation process is a prerequisite for the vast majority of strategies that

comprise our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative. We will work alongside the Memphis Education

Association to develop a trusted, objective, and meaningful teacher evaluation process that is

based on the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure.

The principal will retain formal responsibility for finalizing a teacher’s evaluation. However, the

principal will be required to base his/her assessment on the Teacher Effectiveness Measure.

This new teacher evaluation tool will communicate a teacher’s Teacher Effectiveness Measure in

absolute and relative terms and support principals in drafting commentary to explain where the

teacher stands relative to MCS expectations and promotion thresholds. Additionally, the

evaluation tool will identify areas for professional growth and direct the teacher to corresponding

individualized professional development opportunities.


The most immediate result of an improved teacher evaluation process will be the opportunity to

tailor individualized professional development/support plans to individual teacher needs.

All Master teachers (and select Professional teachers) will provide significant support to their

teaching peers through frequent formative classroom observations based on the same rubric used

in evaluative observations. Frequent observations will allow for timely, in-depth, and nuanced

feedback to teachers regarding what is happening in the classroom, and why. Special attention

will be paid to areas of need as demonstrated through the improved teacher evaluation.

Frequency of observation and feedback will be crucially important, and all teachers will be

observed more frequently than is currently the case. Frequency of observation will depend on a

teacher’s career status, as follows:

1st year Beginning Teacher: 2 observations per month


2-3rd year Beginning Teachers: 1 observation per month

Professional Teachers: 1 observation every two months

Master teachers: 1 observation every three months

Additionally, MCS will provide teachers expanded and individualized professional development

opportunities through Teachscape. Teachers will participate in on-line, job-embedded

differentiated professional development to deepen their content knowledge and expand their

repertoire of instructional strategies. This will allow teachers to receive much needed research-

based professional development without having to leave their daily teaching responsibilities.



Based on the TEM, high performing teachers will be eligible for promotions along a new career

path comprised of the following teacher roles (compensation plan is detailed in a following

section):

Beginning Teacher

Teachers will be ―Beginning Teachers‖ for their first three years of teaching experience, before

earning tenure. Beginning Teachers will receive significant support through very frequent

formative observations and formal mentorship from Master Teachers (and select Professional

Teachers).

Professional Teacher

Upon being awarded tenure, teachers will be promoted to the role of Professional Teacher. This

is much like the standard role of an MCS classroom teacher today. However, this new role of

Professional Teacher will be a unique, defined one that is only attained after an earned

promotion. Additionally, the various changes that accompany this entire Teacher Effectiveness

Initiative will cause this role to be more substantial than has previously been the case. For

example, Professional Teachers will have the opportunity for advancement to the Master Teacher

role, and select Professional Teachers will conduct formative teacher observations as preparation

for this advancement.

Master Teacher

The very best teachers in Memphis City Schools will be eligible for promotion to this prestigious

position and will assume the greatest responsibility for teaching as many students as possible,

including those students who are the farthest behind.

We know what is needed: our best teachers teaching more students, including those who need

them the most. We know it can be done: it is done successfully in some schools. However, we

are unsure how this can best be accomplished at such a large scale. Therefore, we will pilot

multiple different methods in order to determine the best way to expand the impact of our Master

Teachers, including the following:

Teaching larger regular class sizes

Teaching expanded ―lectures‖ to multiple classes of Beginning Teachers

Team teaching with Beginning Teachers to have impact on larger number of students


Providing significant levels of formalized planning and support for beginning teachers (e.g.

―super-mentors‖)

Creating/teaching online classes for broader distribution to large numbers of students

throughout the district

Teaching students of the greatest need

Additionally, Master teachers will provide significant support to their teaching peers (especially

Beginning teachers) by conducting frequent formative classroom observations based on the same

rubric used in evaluative observations. To protect the instructional time, these periodic

classroom observations will occur during the Master Teachers’ planning time.

While we expect that the Master Teacher role will lengthen the teaching careers of our very best

teachers, it will not be a lifetime appointment. It will be possible to return to the Professional

Teacher role in the event of diminished effectiveness.


The compensation plan described below will help to change the culture in Memphis City Schools

surrounding what is valued, recognized, and rewarded.

Implement a new base compensation structure based on teacher role/performance rather than

service time and degree attainment

Base teaching salaries will no longer be tied to experience and advanced degrees, which are not

strongly linked to improved student achievement. We intend for the differentiated roles to have

the following compensation structure:

Beginning Teachers: Base salary will start at approximately $43,000. Because of our belief

in not structuring compensation around degrees, MCS will pay the same beginning teacher

salary regardless of degree level. This will therefore result in premium compensation offered

to Beginning Teachers with a Bachelor’s degree (i.e. 8% higher than the current plan).

Professional Teachers: Base salary will start at approximately $50,000. This represents a

17% salary increase for newly tenured teachers compared to the current salary schedule.

Master Teachers: Base salary will start at approximately $75,000. This represents a 24%

higher salary compared to Step 18 on the current salary schedule. With incremental steps

and increased responsibilities, we intend for Master Teachers to be able to grow their

compensation to levels approaching $90,000 to $100,000.

Within these teacher roles, incremental compensation will be determined by levels of teacher

effectiveness. Teachers who are deemed ―effective‖ each year will move to the next ―step‖ and

therefore earn a performance-based increase in base compensation. Teachers who are not

deemed ―effective‖ each year (as measured by the Teacher Effectiveness Measure) will remain at

their current ―step‖ on the salary schedule.

Provide performance-based bonus opportunities to groups of teachers based on group

attainment of student achievement goals

Teachers will also have the opportunity to earn a performance-based group bonus for achieving

student growth goals. In addition to expanding the school-based incentive program (i.e. the

EPIC model), we will also pilot group bonus opportunities for various types of ―teams‖ (e.g. the

K-3 continuum, upper elementary grade levels, secondary level content areas). We expect that


these group bonus opportunities (i.e. $2,500 per teacher) will increase collaboration among

teachers who may have previously worked in relative isolation.


We will make concerted efforts to ensure that our highest need students benefit from increased

exposure to the most effective teachers. Because the majority of MCS schools are high need

schools, we have strategically decided not to attempt a mass redistribution of effective teachers

across schools. Instead, efforts will focus on ―redistributing‖ Master teachers within schools,

targeted placement of Master teachers in high need schools, and thoughtful placement of newly

recruited high potential teachers.

Place Master Teachers with the highest-need students in their schools

We will require the district’s most effective teachers to teach the highest-need students as a pre-

requisite for attaining and maintaining the distinction of Master Teacher. The premium

compensation associated with the Master Teacher role will provide strong incentive for our best

teachers to teach our most struggling students.

Place Master Teachers in schools where they are most needed

As required, we will ask Master Teachers to teach in schools where their talents are most needed.

Thus, district leadership will be able to place Master Teachers in specific high-need schools that

lack Master Teachers in a particular grade or subject area.

Cluster “high potential” teacher recruits in schools that have high concentrations of high-

need students

Going forward, we will strive to increasingly ―cluster‖ highest-potential recruits in specific high-

need schools and feeder patterns. By concentrating these high potential teachers in this way, we

hope to create powerful synergies that will result in dramatic academic achievement gains for the

students who are farthest behind.


teaching.

While a select few highly talented teachers will thrive in almost any setting, most teachers

benefit from a supportive context that literally makes it easier for them to teach effectively.

Therefore, we commit to a district-wide focus on improving the surrounding context for teachers

and students in order to facilitate effective teaching.


The success of our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative will be impacted by the ability of our

principals to provide quality school leadership. Clearly, principals have tremendous

opportunities to influence the surrounding context in which the teaching/learning process occurs.

The following areas of focus will help to raise the level of MCS principal capacity:

Recruitment and development

As with teachers, it is crucially important to expand the principal pipeline so that we are able to

hire increasing numbers of high-potential principals. To do this, we will leverage internal and

external areas of expertise regarding principal development. First, our new Urban Education


Center will provide high quality training to aspiring principals and assistant principals.

Additionally, we will continue to partner with New Leaders for New Schools.

Rigorous performance management for principals

We will continue rigorous performance reviews to hold principals accountable for their schools’

performance. MCS does not back away from making difficult decisions regarding principal

leadership. For example, more than 30 low-performing principals were removed from their

positions following the 2008-09 school year. Going forward, the principal evaluation process

will place strong emphasis on school-level retention rates of effective teachers. Holding

principals accountable for the retention rates of effective teachers will motivate principals to

address issues which are of greatest importance to their effective teachers. Often, this will mean

addressing various school-level issues that aggregate into significant impact on a school’s overall

culture.

Strategic placement of high performing principals

We recognize that excellent principals can bring transformative change to underperforming

schools. Thus, when necessary, our best principals will continue to be moved to schools where

their talents and dedication are most needed.

Intensive training and development for all principals

Leveraging the Urban Education Center, we will provide principals the training needed to

support their overall school leadership skills. Particular attention will be paid to conducting high

quality teacher evaluations. Principals will have to conduct these teacher evaluations with

expertise in order for our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative to function properly. This will require

significant principal training and development efforts. Additionally, all MCS principals will be

provided support for improving the culture of their schools. All schools will be charged with

ensuring that their school environments are conducive to teaching and learning.


In many of our schools, the prevalent school culture is a barrier to effective teaching and must be

acknowledged and attended to with intentionality. While we have made strides in improving

school safety, there is much work to accomplish regarding overall school environments. To

tackle this challenge, we will inculcate the habits of mind that will result in a culture of

achievement characterized by high expectations, decorum, respect, teamwork, citizenship, and

ambition. To accomplish this, we will engage an external partner to assist us with training

teachers and administrators on developing and maintaining a school climate that supports

effective teaching. Such training will strive to raise the expectations of teachers and

administrators regarding 1) the capabilities of children and 2) the personal responsibility of

teachers and administrators for student achievement.



Implementation of this Teacher Effective Initiative will depend on the procurement of seamless

technology systems that enable real-time queries of human capital data linked to student

achievement and budget information.

This new technology platform will aggregate all of the district’s independent databases into a

common platform that will facilitate the dissemination of data across the district. A common


platform will support greater data integrity by introducing a common language and data entry

process that is supplemented with multiple checks to ensure validity.

First, new systems will be developed to collect and integrate data inputs that are required to

support the new teacher effectiveness measure. Student assessment and classroom observation

data will be linked to individual teachers. New functions will develop, disseminate, and analyze

survey data from stakeholders (e.g. parents, students, peers). Finally, professional development

course completion and content evaluation results will be linked to individual teachers.

Also, greater accessibility to data related to teacher effectiveness will facilitate the improved

evaluation process. Data will be displayed in formats that can be easily used by stakeholders

across the district as needed. In all, there will be improved transparency regarding the teacher

evaluation process.

Finally, this project will streamline transactional human resources processes to enable more time

to be focused on strategic initiatives. Recruitment process will be supported by a full-service

fulfillment tool. Self-service tools will empower teachers and administrators with greater

responsibility over personal records (e.g. benefits, timecards and payroll information), thus

reducing the time spent at the central office updating personal files. Position management tools

will enable administrators to independently manage their schools’ human resource needs.

INTERNAL RISKS AND CHALLENGES

In taking on the bold agenda of the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative, MCS will naturally face

many risks and challenges in order to achieve our vision. We recognize this and are actively

working to address and mitigate these issues, as described below as well as in the

implementation section of this proposal.

HUMAN RESOURCES CAPACITY

Today, our Human Resources division remains primarily focused on transactional and

compliance processes and will need significant capacity building to execute on a more strategic

and aggressive approach to recruitment and staffing that is required by our plan.

To address this challenge, MCS will engage The New Teacher Project (TNTP) to implement a

start-to-finish recruitment and staffing solution. TeacherNex will collaborate with Memphis City

Schools to provide support across all points of the recruitment and placement process. TNTP has

developed a comprehensive proposal for MCS, and we are currently in negotiations to finalize

the agreement. The costs for this partnership are included in our request for funding. In

addition, we will expand our ongoing relationships with Teach for America and the Memphis

Teacher Residency. A newly established Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness will

strategically manage all of these external partners and will bring the strategic functions of

Human Resources for teachers under the direction of our Deputy Superintendent for Academic

Operations.

TEACHER ACCEPTANCE AND BUY-IN

The changes we are proposing are radical and far-reaching. While initial focus groups conducted

with a broad range of MCS teachers and principals reveal an encouragingly high level of support


for the direction of the initiative, we recognize that such significant changes will encounter

resistance. Therefore, we will seek external communications expertise to assist in developing

and executing on a comprehensive TEI communications plan. Additionally, we will continue

our strong engagement of the Memphis Education Association’s leadership, and we will create a

collaborative MEA-MCS Teacher Center partnership. Most likely, many teachers will be

anxious about the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure. We absolutely must create a TEM that is

of high quality and trustworthy. Therefore, we will create a new Office of Teacher Effectiveness

Measure within the well-established department of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment. This

new office will be staffed with 5-7 new analysts and research assistants.

FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION AND CONSISTENT FOLLOW-THROUGH

In a dynamic organization such as MCS, too often a ―reform du jour‖ mentality can prevail, thus

preventing faithful implementation of initiatives. We will charge our Strategic Planning and

Accountability group with managing TEI implementation and on-going strategic planning for the

project (including guiding mid-course adjustments). We will add two or three staff members, as

well as supportive technical assistance, to bolster the capacity of our Strategic Planning and

Accountability team.

POTENTIAL CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATION

We also recognize that there is the ever-present risk of a change in leadership teams in large

urban school districts. To sustain commitment to the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative through

potential leadership changes, we have been aggressive in driving strong support and expectations

in the community. In addition to the support from the MEA and the Board of Commissioners,

we have convened and are engaging a broad set of local business and philanthropic leaders in

this work through the Teacher Effectiveness Advisory Board. Their commitment to helping

sustain this initiative is reflected in the enclosed letters of support.

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND PARTNERSHIPS

The leadership team of Memphis City Schools recognizes that many of the best-planned school

reforms fail not due to the design of the concept but because of lack of attention to capacity

needed for high quality implementation. We are therefore taking strong steps to ensure that we

will be positioned to faithfully execute this plan. Successfully executing our Teacher

Effectiveness Initiative will require capabilities and talent across multiple areas and functions,

described below. MCS is fortunate to have developed significant talent in many key areas and

will augment our capacity as needed with outside partners.

OFFICE OF TEACHER TALENT AND EFFECTIVENESS

To ensure high level organizational focus on the teacher recruiting and staffing function, we are

creating the Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness, which will be responsible for managing

TNTP and other external recruiting partners such as TFA and MTR. Additionally, this office

will be responsible for many of the aspects of the TEI project, including those focused on

recruiting, staffing, evaluations, and career management. This will bring the strategic functions

of HR for teachers under our Deputy Superintendent for Academic Operations, appropriately


reflecting its importance to the ―core business‖ of MCS. We will seek to hire a high level

manager with classroom experience to run this group and report to Deputy Superintendent

Hamer. Additionally, this office will be staffed with one senior level Director and 18 additional

FTEs focused on managing outside partners for recruiting and career management for all

teachers. In addition to the strategic benefit of placing teacher recruitment and staffing on the

―Academic‖ side of the organization instead of the ―Business‖ side, the creation of this office

(and the MEA-MCS Teacher Center described below) communicates an important message

about the value placed on teachers: for the first time, ―teachers‖ will be represented on the

district’s organizational chart.

Movement of Strategic HR Functions to Academic Operations

NEW APPROACH TO TEACHER RECRUITING, HIRING, AND STAFFING

In order to strategically address our significant human resources needs, we will dramatically

expand our partnership with The New Teacher Project. TNTP will collaborate with Memphis

City Schools to implement a start-to-finish recruitment and staffing solution. TNTP has

developed a comprehensive proposal for MCS, and we are currently in discussions to finalize the

agreement. Over the course of this project, TNTP will assist MCS in rebuilding the internal

human resources capacity needed for this important work so that MCS could operate without

external support if necessary. The effect will be to bring a laser focus and best in class expertise

to the issue of increasing the quantity and quality of our incoming teachers.


MEA-MCS TEACHER CENTER

Our Teacher Effectiveness Initiative will be supported by the joint collaboration between MCS

and the MEA. The MEA-MCS Teacher Center is conceived as a radical reform of the

traditionally confrontational labor-management relationship in education. The district envisions

it playing a significant role in assisting, advising, and supporting the implementation of TEI

reforms as well as the work of the entire district.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC PLANNING

The work of improving teacher effectiveness will be a core responsibility for most of our district

and school-level leadership. That said, we are cognizant of the danger of allowing these

initiatives to get ―lost‖ amidst the urgent business of the day. For that reason, we are developing

a performance management approach to ―keep our feet to the fire.‖

Dr. David Hill, Coordinator of Strategic Planning and Accountability, will focus on the

management of TEI implementation. To support him, we will hire two dedicated analysts who

are completely dedicated to the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative. This office will monitor

progress against the plan and will also guide the future planning necessary for mid-course

adjustments. On a monthly basis, Dr. Hill and his team will present to the TEI Executive

Committee a Teacher Effectiveness Initiative progress report focused around a scorecard that

tracks Implementation Milestones identified in this plan.

In addition, to ensure we do not lose momentum in this process, we plan to engage an outside

management consulting firm to assist in developing a Performance Management process and set

of management dashboards which Dr. Hill will use to guide the implementation of TEI.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND GOVERNANCE APPROACH

To ensure that the various stakeholders and divisions of MCS working on our Teacher

Effectiveness Initiatives are coordinated, we have developed a preliminary structure to manage

the process. The below graphic outlines the various groups that will be convened on a regular

basis over the life of the grant and the individual roles and responsibilities.


MCS Teacher Effectiveness Initiative Governance Structure

RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS

The Research and Data Analysis function will be critical to the development and roll-out of our

Teacher Effectiveness Measure. We currently have a well-established and strong Research,

Evaluation and Assessment (REA) group, led by Dr. John Barker (department head) and Tequilla

Banks. REA has been managing outside analysts for some time to develop value-added measures,

and has internally managed the administration of surveys that will form the basis of the Stakeholder

Feedback component of the TEM and the evaluation of most existing projects in the district. Over

the course of the project, we will build the internal capacity to create additional value-added metrics

and calculate a TEM for every teacher. To do so, a new group in REA will focus on the

development and management of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM). Over the course of the

first year of the project, we will hire 5-7 new analysts and research assistants to build out the capacity

of this group. In addition, the group will continue to evaluate the implementation of the major

initiatives represented in this proposal.

COMMUNICATIONS

We have built broad support by engaging many stakeholders in the development of this plan, and

ongoing proactive communication will be critical to further this momentum. While we have

significant internal communications talent, we plan to seek external expertise to support our

internal resources in developing and executing on a comprehensive internal and external


communications plan for TEI. We believe that we can benefit tremendously from firms that

have engaged in comprehensive district-wide reform efforts previously.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

As detailed in the ―Sustainability‖ section, we have identified possible funding reallocations that will

enable us to sustain the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative. This exercise and this leadership team’s

experience in its first year have highlighted the need for more streamlined financial tracking and

management. To do so, we intend to bring in management consulting or other external technical

assistance to review and revise our budgeting and financial management approach. We will seek out

and review potential partner qualifications during the first year of the proposal time period.

POLICY

Although much of this Teacher Effectiveness work requires no change in legislation or policy, our

innovative approaches will sometimes conflict with existing policy and legislation (e.g. new salary

schedule, new tenure process, etc.). Therefore, our department of Policy, Legislation, and Constituent

Services will be a critical part of our efforts. Alicia Green has been integral to the development of our

TEI plan and will lead the policy efforts around TEI going forward.

ADVISORY BOARD

We have convened a Teacher Effectiveness Initiative Advisory Board consisting of philanthropic and

business leaders from the Memphis community. This group will meet quarterly to ensure continued

community and local philanthropic support continues. In addition, we believe that the discipline of

reporting to the Advisory Board will also ensure that focus remains on implementing the ambitious

plans contained in this proposal.

IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS

The situation in MCS is urgent and we cannot wait to radically improve our teacher corps. The

truth is that we are anxious to make these much needed changes. However, we are

simultaneously committed to smart sequencing of our Teacher Effectiveness work in order to

ensure success going forward. As our below implementation plan will indicate, our guiding

principle will be to move as quickly as possible, tempered by the need to roll-out at scale only

when we are confidently positioned for success.

OUTCOME #1: MCS WILL CREATE A COMMON, AGREED-UPON DEFINITION OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Strategies Expected Results Key Metrics

MCS will create a

common, agreed-

upon definition of

effective teaching

Foundation established for all

components of Teacher

Effectiveness Initiative

Percentage of teachers for which MCS

captures data on each component of

effective teaching

Level of agreement among teachers and

administrators regarding what it means to

be an ―effective teacher‖


Create a Common, Agreed-Upon Definition of Effective Teaching

As detailed in the Strategic Initiatives section, MCS will operate parallel processes during the

first two years of the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative. As one of the research sites participating

in The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Research plan, the district will be responsible for

implementing and following the protocols established for the research project. In addition, as an

intensive partnership site, the district will develop and implement a comprehensive model for

improving teacher effectiveness across Memphis City Schools. We anticipate that there will be

major synergies from working on both of these initiatives. Specifically, MCS anticipates that the

major findings from the Gates Research Project will help inform the ultimate goal of developing

a computer-based, multiple-measure system to measure effective teaching and for use in major

human capital/talent management decisions. The following table provides a high-level overview

of the implementation plan for each of the components of our Teacher Effectiveness Measure

over the course of the next five years. The next section provides additional detail for yearly

Implementation Milestones for each component of the metric.

Implementation Plan: Create Common, Agreed-Upon Definition

The detail below provides an implementation plan for both the Gates Research Project as well as

MCS’ development of its Teacher Effectiveness Measure.


YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Execute on the objectives of the Gates Research Plan

Capture value-added data for teachers in tested subjects to measure growth in student

learning

Work with Teachscape to conduct evaluative observations of 500-1000 teachers

Test participants in Gates Research Project (RP) content/subject area knowledge

Administer TRIPOD survey for the classes of Gates Research Project Participants (RP)

Milestone 2: Establish the Office of Teacher Effectiveness Measurement within the Department

of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REA), which will manage the development and

implementation of new MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Recruit and hire a coordinator for the Office of Teacher Effectiveness Measurement

Recruit and hire additional staff (in conjunction with the Gates Research Project)

Formalize roles and responsibilities, particularly with respect to implementation of the TEM

Milestone 3: Conduct intensive training of MCS teachers and principals to improve awareness

and understanding of value-added metrics throughout the district

REA and Office of Teacher Effectiveness Measurement create training materials

Host value-added training sessions (at Teaching and Learning Academy and individual

schools)

Milestone 4: Begin development of specific tools and implementation strategies for each of the

major components of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure throughout the district

Growth:

- Continue to collect/analyze value-added data in core tested subjects

- Convene task force to develop agreed-upon approach to capture value-added data for as

many specialist teachers as possible (e.g., SPED, ESL, Reading specialists)

Practice/Observation:

- Convene task force to develop/select rubric for evaluative observations

- Pilot sample professional evaluative observations of ~200 teachers (across subject areas)

Knowledge:

- Convene task force to review tests and determine best methodology to test teacher content

knowledge across all subject areas

- Determine how to include measurement of teacher knowledge as major component of the

Teacher Effectiveness Measure

- Office of Teacher Effectiveness will coordinate with Human Resources to populate a data

file with Praxis, MAT, SAT, ACT, and GRE scores

Stakeholder Perceptions:

- Convene task force to develop survey instruments for stakeholder perceptions

- Administer a non-binding pilot of stakeholder perceptions of teachers who opt-in

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Execute on the objectives of the Gates Research Plan

Capture value-added data for teachers in tested subjects to measure growth in student

learning


Work with Teachscape to conduct evaluative observations of 500-1,000 teachers

Test participants in Gates Research Project (RP) content/subject area knowledge

Administer TRIPOD survey for the classes of Gates Research Project Participants (RP)

Milestone 2: Implement specific components developed in year 1 and continue development of

additional components of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Growth:


- Implement methodology to capture value-added for specialists (e.g., SPED, ESL, Reading

Specialists) based on existing assessment data for students with whom they work most

- Plan for implementation of additional value-added data from new End of Course exams


- Conduct larger scale pilot of professional evaluative observations (~1,500 teachers)

- Conduct an extensive review of the video system used by the Gates Research Project to

identify potential efficiencies of video observations

Knowledge:

- Pilot implementation of content knowledge tests developed/selected in year 1


- Administer pilot study of all survey instruments designed in year 1 to measure

stakeholders’ perceptions

YEAR 3 (2011-12)

Milestone 1: Task force to evaluate key findings from first two years of the Gates Research

Project as well as MCS experience developing Teacher Effectiveness Measure; Determine

whether to proceed with video analysis or trained observers for Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Ensure that key learning from Gates Research Project informs the implementation of the

MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure (e.g., decision on video-based observation)

Analyze evidence from the research project to determine whether video observations

(conducted by Teachscape as part of Gates Research Project) offers a practical alternative to

classroom observations by trained observers

Milestone 2: Continue implementation of MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Growth:


- Capture value-added data for all teachers in subjects with new End of Course exams

implemented as part of the TN Diploma project

- Plan implementation of additional assessments to expand value-added to additional grade

levels and subject areas (as needed)


- Determine final ratings instrument and method for conducting observations (e.g.,

Principals, PD coaches, video evaluators)

- Finalize approach for full-scale implementation of conducting evaluative observations for

all teachers across the district multiple times per year

- Conduct initial large-scale implementation of evaluative observations (~5,000 teachers)

Knowledge:


- Continued administration of content knowledge tests previously developed/selected

- Develop tests for any additional subject areas (e.g., Career and Technical)

- Finalize methodology for including measure of content knowledge in TEM for all teachers


- Implement surveys to measure stakeholder perception in all schools across the district

YEAR 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: Complete implementation of MCS Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Growth:

- Continue to collect/analyze value-added data in core tested subjects and in subjects for

which new assessments were previously implemented

- Tests in place to capture value-added data for all major academic subjects (~65% of

teachers)

- Implement additional assessments across grade levels and subject areas to expand the

percent of teachers with value-added data (as needed)


- Complete district-wide implementation of evaluative observations (all teachers)

Knowledge:

- Tests of teacher knowledge identified and administered for all teachers


- Implement surveys to measure stakeholder perception in all schools across the district

OUTCOME #2: WE WILL MAKE SMARTER DECISIONS ABOUT WHO TEACHES OUR STUDENTS


Improve the recruitment and

hiring of high potential

teachers.

Build our strategic Human

Resources capacity by

outsourcing all teacher

recruiting and staffing

functions to The New Teacher

Project.

Better coordinate and leverage

outside partnerships that

recruit and place high

potential teachers in MCS

(e.g. Teach for America,

Memphis Teacher Residency,

Memphis Teaching Fellows).

Increased selectivity of

teacher hiring process Ratio of applications received per

hire (overall)

Ratio of applications received per

hire (for high-need subjects)

Applicant quality (e.g. GPA,

Praxis score, percentage from Tier

1 colleges/universities)

Improved efficiency and

effectiveness of

hiring/staffing process

Percent job offers extended by

end of March, April, and May

―Yield‖ of offers made

Percentage of school placements

of new hires made by end of May,

June, and July

Percentage ―mutual consent‖

placements

Vacancies on first day of school


Raise the bar and improve the

process for granting tenure.

Improved effectiveness of

tenured teachers Teacher Effectiveness Measure

for tenured teachers over time

Percent of eligible teachers

awarded tenure

Increase the retention of

effective teachers.

Provide financial and non-

financial recognition to our

most effective teachers (based

on the new, multidimensional

measure of effectiveness)

early in their careers.

Improved retention of

effective beginning teachers Retention rates of teachers in top

quartile of effectiveness

Correlation between initial and

long-term teacher effectiveness

Increase the turnover of the

most ineffective teachers.

Implement a more effective

career management process

that supports underperforming

teachers who are ―at risk‖ of

being exited.

Reduced number of students

with ineffective teachers

• Number of teachers ―exited‖ for

performance

• Percentage of teachers below

current value-added threshold for

bottom 40%

Improved effectiveness of

under-performing teachers

• Percentage of teachers ―flagged‖

for performance review who are/are

not dismissed

Improve the recruitment and hiring of high potential teachers

Build our strategic Human Resources capacity by outsourcing all teacher recruiting and

staffing functions to The New Teacher Project.

YEAR 1 (2009-2010)

Milestone 1: Strategic partnership with TNTP finalized and initiated (Fall 2009)

Begin recruiting/placing candidates for 2010-11 school year

Secure ―bridge funding‖ from local community partners to fund TNTP before receipt of

funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Milestone 2: MCS management of the TNTP partnership is formalized

Formalize the organizational structure and provide resources to staff the Office of Teacher

Talent and Effectiveness

Establish milestones and performance metrics to manage and evaluate the TNTP partnership

Identify the reasons that the TNTP partnership with MCS (beginning in 2003-04) did not

materialize/expand as originally planned—and apply lessons learned

YEARS 2-5 (2010-14)

Milestone 1: All major components of the TNTP partnership are implemented

Continue managing and evaluating the TNTP partnership

Create formal processes to ensure the TNTP partnership stays strong and effective


Better coordinate and leverage outside partnerships that recruit and place high potential

teachers in MCS (e.g. Teach for America, Memphis Teacher Residency, Memphis Teaching

Fellows).

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Roles and responsibilities clarified for each external partner

Formalize the organizational structure and provide resources to staff the Office of Teacher

Talent and Effectiveness

Conduct formal negotiations with each partner to clarify and expand their role in the district

Create comprehensive recruitment strategy for MCS, including projected role for each

partner

Milestone 2: Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness established and equipped in order to

support and manage the expanded external partnerships

Focus Areas:

Establish milestones and performance metrics for use in managing and evaluating the

expanded external partnerships

YEARS 2-5 (2010-14)

Milestone 1: Impact of each external partner is continually expanded

Ultimately, we expect our major external partners to account for approximately 250 new teacher

hires per year, or roughly ~30-35% of total hires. A summary of the expected new teacher hires

for each partnership is below:

Teach for America Memphis Teaching Fellows

Memphis Teacher

Residency

Year 2 ~75 ~50 ~20

Year 3 ~75-100 ~50-60 ~30

Year 4 ~100-125 ~60-70 ~40

Year 5 ~125-150 ~75 ~50

Actively and formally manage relationships to ensure strong and productive partnerships

Adjust partnerships over time (as needed based on data) to leverage areas of special strength


YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Detailed plan developed for implementing Tenure Review Boards (Fall 2009)

Meaningfully engage a broad set of teachers in the planning process

Communicate the new tenure process throughout the district

Select and train teachers to serve as Tenure Review Board members

Milestone 2: Tenure hearings conducted using new tenure review boards—with existing teacher

evaluation process (Spring 2010)

Formally launch Tenure Review Boards (March 2010)

Make tenure decisions in more rigorous manner, using existing teacher evaluation process


Note: We are raising the bar for tenure early because we believe that this effort is too important

to delay. By necessity, we will utilize the existing teacher evaluation process in making tenure

decisions. Although it is flawed, the existing teacher evaluation system provides more insight

into teacher performance than is currently considered for the tenure decisions. For example, a

review of 2007-08 teacher evaluations shows that between 10-15% of teachers were

recommended and received tenure despite receiving formal evaluations that by policy should

have disqualified them. Thus, we will immediately begin making better decisions about who

receives tenure. We believe that the uneasiness surrounding the new Tenure Review Board will

be better received alongside a known evaluation process than would be the case under a new

teacher evaluation system that will certainly carry its own unease.

YEAR 2-3 (2010-12)

Milestone 1: Improved teacher evaluations (i.e. based on the developing Teacher Effectiveness

Measure) used in tenure decisions

Include (1) value-added data for teachers in tested subjects, (2) observations of practice (3)

assessments of content knowledge and (4) stakeholder perceptions (as each is piloted)

Continue to better utilize old/existing teacher evaluation process as needed

YEARS 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: New teacher evaluation measure is fully implemented in all tenure decisions

Include (1) value-added data, (2) evaluative observations, (3) assessments of content

knowledge, and (4) stakeholder perceptions in tenure decisions

Determine appropriate performance threshold on TEM to inform tenure decisions

Increase the retention of effective teachers.

Provide financial and non-financial recognition to our most effective teachers (based on the

new Teacher Effectiveness Measure) early in their careers.

YEAR 1 (2009-2010)

Milestone 1: Performance-based retention bonus program designed and communicated to all

teachers

Collaborate with MEA to structure the guidelines, policies, and communication plan

Use existing data sources (e.g. EPIC value-added, principal evaluations, student climate

survey, etc.) and application process to identify top quartile teachers to receive bonuses in

Fall 2010

YEARS 2-3 (2010-2012)

Milestone 1: Performance-based retention bonus program implemented (i.e. based on the

developing Teacher Effectiveness Measure)

Award first retention bonus to top quartile of teachers that started in Year 1

In discussions with MEA, MCS will determine how to utilize components of the in-

development Teacher Effectiveness Measure for awarding performance-based retention


bonuses (e.g. value-added data, evaluative observations, assessments of content knowledge,

stakeholder perceptions) as they are piloted/implemented across MCS

Implement formal mechanism for evaluating 1) the impact of retention bonuses and 2)

success at predicting long-term teacher effectiveness after first and second years of teaching

YEARS 4-5 (2012-2014)

Milestone 1: Performance-based retention bonus program implemented based on TEM for all

Beginning Teachers

Award retention bonus to top quartile of new teachers each year based on their TEM

Continue formal mechanism for evaluating 1) the impact of retention bonuses and 2) success

at predicting long-term teacher effectiveness after first and second years of teaching

Increase the turnover of our most ineffective teachers.

Implement a more effective career management process that supports underperforming

teachers who are “at risk” of being exited.

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: New career management process for underperforming teachers is commonly

understood across MCS

Select and train teachers to serve as Tenure Review Board members

Work with MEA to finalize the processes for ―flagging,‖ supporting, and exiting (when

necessary) both tenured and un-tenured teachers

Communicate the new career management process throughout the district, messaging that the

necessary exiting of some teachers is ―pro-student‖—not ―anti-teacher‖

Milestone 2: New career management process is implemented—with existing teacher evaluation

process

Formally launch Tenure Review Boards (March 2010)

Begin making career management decisions using existing teacher evaluation process

Note: We are beginning this career management process early because we believe that this effort

is too important to wait. By necessity, we will utilize the existing, flawed teacher evaluation

process. Although it is flawed, the existing teacher evaluation system provides more insight into

teacher performance than is currently considered and acted upon in MCS. By initiating this

effort in Year 1, we will very quickly begin offering increased support teachers who need it—as

well as exiting those teachers who are unwilling or unable to improve. In doing so, it will begin

to shift the mindset in MCS to the new reality that poor teacher performance will no longer be

ignored.

YEAR 2-3(2010-12)

Milestone 1: Improved teacher evaluations (i.e. based on the developing teacher effectiveness

measure) used in career management process


Include (1) value-added data for teachers in tested subjects, (2) observations of practice (3)

assessments of teacher knowledge and (4) stakeholder perceptions (as each is piloted)

Continue to better utilize old/existing teacher evaluation process as needed

YEAR 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: New teacher evaluation is fully implemented in all career management decisions

Include (1) value-added data, (2) evaluative observations, (3) assessments of teacher

knowledge, and (4) stakeholder perceptions in tenure decisions

OUTCOME #3: WE WILL BETTER SUPPORT, UTILIZE, AND COMPENSATE OUR TEACHERS


Improve the Teacher

Evaluation Process

Improved awareness and

communication of teacher

performance

Percentage of teachers receiving

evaluations through improved process

Percentage of teachers/principals who

report that evaluation process is valuable

Connect professional

development to individual

need

Focus professional support

efforts on frequent,

individualized formative

observations.

Improved teaching practice Percentage of teachers who receive correct

number of formative observations (i.e. by

Beginning, Professional, and Master

Teacher status)

Percentage of teachers who indicate that

professional support is valuable

Correlation between teachers’ observation

scores and value-added scores

Create new and

differentiated career paths

that promote teachers to

increasing levels of impact

and influence based on their

effectiveness and

accomplishment

Expanded student access to

the very best teachers Percentage of students being taught by

teachers in the top quartile of effectiveness

Percentage of low performing students (e.g.

below proficiency) being taught by

teachers in top quartile of effectiveness

Lengthened teaching

careers for our best teachers Annual retention rates of most effective

teachers

Improved support to

beginning teachers, thus

improving their

effectiveness and retention

Percentage of Beginning Teachers who

report that their teaching craft has

improved due to support/ guidance from a

Master Teacher

Compensate teachers based on

differentiated roles and

performance

Implement a new base

compensation structure

based on teacher

role/performance rather than

service time and degree

attainment

Increased incentive

for/recognition of effective

teaching

Average Teacher Effectiveness Measure

across district

Retention rates / average time of service for

effective teachers


Provide performance-based

bonus opportunities to

groups of teachers based on

group attainment of student

achievement goals

Increased incentive for/

collaboration around

effective teaching

Percentage of teachers earning group

bonus

Strategically place our best

teachers where they are most

needed

Place Master Teachers in

schools where they are most

needed

Place the most effective (i.e.

Master) teachers with the

highest-need students in

their schools

Cluster ―high potential‖

teacher recruits in schools

that have high

concentrations of high-need

students

Improved learning

opportunities for highest-

need students

Percentage of Master Teachers’ students

with previous year achievement below

MCS average

Academic achievement gains among

highest-need students

Improvement (e.g., proficiency, new

teacher retention) among schools

participating in clustering of ―high

potential‖ teacher recruits

Percent of schools with 2+ Master

Teachers (e.g., distribution of most

effective teachers throughout MCS)

Improve the Teacher Evaluation Process

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Understand teachers’ and principals’ views of the current evaluation system and

desires for new system (based on previously established high level principles).

Develop and execute on communication plan regarding high-level vision for new evaluations

Convene focus groups and surveys of teachers and principals

Report back to teachers and principals on findings from focus groups and surveys

Milestone 2: Create detailed plan for Year 2 pilots of new evaluations.

Convene task force to develop pilot plan. Membership will likely include MEA leadership,

School Operations Leadership, PD / Teacher Center Leadership, Principal and Teacher

representatives. Planning will include:

- Design of process to be tested, with particular focus on which elements of in-process

Teacher Effectiveness Measure to include and what information / commentary must be

added to make evaluation process effective

- Selection/development of rubrics to be used in teacher observations

- Development of principal and teacher training to be used

- Selection and hiring of ~5 observers to conduct the pilot observations

Solicitation of school site participants in pilot and selection of 15-25 pilot sites (~750

teachers). These will overlap with the sites for improved observation pilots

Select 15-25 schools (~750 teachers) that choose to opt-in for teacher evaluation pilots

(overlaps with pilots of classroom observation for Teacher Effectiveness Measure)

Engage selected sites in finalizing plans for pilot


YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Pilot program of new evaluation tool and process is conducted in 15-25 schools,

with ~750 teachers

Provide evaluations to participants in pilot evaluation program. As described in pilot

planning process from Year 1, evaluations will be based on the elements of the Teacher

Effectiveness Measure available at this time (Value-added data in the tested subjects, pilot

evaluative observations, student, principal, and parent survey data, and tests of knowledge

where available)

Work with teachers involved in pilot program to gather feedback and make improvements

where applicable

Conduct frequent monitoring of success of pilots, including surveys of teachers and outside

observations of progress

Frequently monitor the success of pilots via teacher surveys and ongoing monitoring by

Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness staff and Project Management Staff

Incorporate lessons learned to design year 3 pilot program

Recruit and select participant sites for year 3 pilot program

YEAR 3 (2011-12)

Milestone 1: Expand pilot program of evaluations to 100 schools or ~3,500 teachers (in parallel

with the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure and professional support pilots)

Provide evaluations to participants in pilot evaluation program over the course of the year.

As described in pilot planning process from Year 1, evaluations will be based on the

elements of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure available at this time (Value-added data in

the tested subjects, pilot evaluative observations, student, principal, and parent survey data,

and tests of knowledge where available)

Work with teachers involved in pilot program to gather feedback and make improvements

where applicable

Frequently monitor the success of pilots via teacher surveys and ongoing monitoring by

Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness staff and Project Management Staff

Determine the process for broader implementation in 2012-13

Make joint decision with MEA regarding whether the new evaluation is ready for expanded

roll-out in Year 4

Provide significant training and communication to rollout evaluation process to schools

YEAR 4 (2012-13)

Milestone 1: Initial district-wide implementation of new evaluation process (note: pending joint

decision with MEA)

Monitor implementation closely to identify areas of poor implementation

Provide feedback/guidance to schools struggling with new system

Apply lessons learned to make changes as needed in Year 5


YEAR 5 (2013-14)

Milestone 1: Complete district-wide implementation of new evaluation process



Connect professional support to individual need.

Focus professional support efforts on frequent, individualized formative observations

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Develop and prepare to execute on plan to pilot formative observation process

Engage teachers and principals in defining the process and rubric for new observations

Engage teachers in process to modify existing exemplary rubric for use in Year 2 pilots

Recruit and select schools for pilot (in concert with pilot of evaluation process)

Select ―pilot observers‖ within pilot schools (e.g., likely a combination of teachers and

professional development coaches) to conduct formative observations for other teachers

Milestone 2: Pilot the new formative observation process with ~100 teachers

Pilot observers conduct initial formative observations

Create formal processes to evaluate and learn from this pilot roll-out

Milestone 3: Plan to expand the new formative observation process in Year 2

Select additional pilot observers to serve as formative observers for expanded Year 3 pilot

Plan for Year 3 pilot based on the learnings from Year 2 Pilot

Make any required adjustments to observation rubric

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Pilot the new formative observation process for ~1,500 teachers

Leverage and coordinate formative observations with the simultaneous pilot program for the

new teacher evaluation process

Create formal processes to evaluate and learn from this pilot roll-out of the formative

observers

Plan for Year 3 pilot based on the learnings from Year 2 Pilot

Select additional pilot observers to serve as formative observers for expanded Year 3 pilot

YEAR 3 (2011-12)

Milestone 1: Initial large-scale implementation of formative observation for ~5,000 teachers

Leverage and coordinate formative observations with the simultaneously growing pilot

program for the new teacher evaluation process

Incorporate key findings from Year 2 pilot program to improve the observation process

Select additional pilot observers to serve as formative observers for district-wide expansion


YEAR 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: Complete district-wide implementation of the new formative observation process

Incorporate key findings from previous pilot programs



Shift from ―pilot observers‖ conducting the formative observations to Master Teachers and

aspiring Master Teachers performing formative observations during their planning periods


impact and influence based on their effectiveness and accomplishment

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Introduce the concept of differentiated teacher roles (and differentiated

compensation) throughout the district

Solicit feedback from teachers to formalize the vision, description, and communication of

differentiated teacher roles within MCS

Develop plan to communicate the concept of differentiated roles

Create more detailed plan for how differentiated roles will be implemented (i.e. logistics,

scheduling, etc.)

Milestone 2: Develop pilot programs that will test different methods of utilizing Master Teachers

(for launch in Year 2)

Convene small task force of teachers and administrators to plan for multiple pilot programs

for utilizing Master Teachers (e.g. larger regular class sizes, ―lectures‖ to multiple classes of

Beginning teachers, team teaching with Beginning Teachers, creating and offering online

courses, etc.)

Select schools to run pilot program for differentiated roles (Note: Pilots will need to take

place at the school level due significant school-wide impact on scheduling, rosters, and

staffing)

Work closely with these pilot schools to select their preferred pilot programs

Seek outside technical assistance to help schools plan for impact on scheduling, class size,

etc.

Select and train ―lead teachers‖ for pilot programs (Note: In pilot phase, we do not intend to

select ―Master Teachers‖ due the temporary nature of pilot roles and the absence of a fully

developed Teacher Effectiveness Measure)

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Launch the initial pilot programs of differentiated roles with ~50 “lead teachers”

across approximately 15 schools

Implement multiple types of pilot programs

Work closely with Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness and MEA-MCS Teacher

Center to identify and overcome any key challenges that arise during the school year

Gather feedback/data in order to begin evaluating the different types of pilot programs


Select additional schools and ―lead teachers‖ to participate in a larger pilot program in Year 3

YEAR 3 (2011-12)

Milestone 1: Expand pilot programs of differentiated roles across a broader sample of MCS

schools (approximately ~300 “lead teacher” across 50-75 schools)

Incorporate key findings from initial pilot program

Work closely with Teacher Center to identify and overcome any key challenges

Milestone 2: Make decisions regarding the relative effectiveness of different ways of utilizing

Master (i.e. “lead”) Teachers

Evaluate the different models tested in the pilot programs

Make decisions regarding the success of various models for utilizing Master Teachers

Plan for broader roll-out of differentiated roles across the district

YEAR 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: Expand roll-out of differentiated teacher roles/compensation across the district,

with approximately 500 Master Teachers in year 4 and 600 in year 5. (Note: Master Teachers

identified based on the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure)

Implement differentiated roles throughout the district based on findings from previous pilots

Begin to identify teachers’ career status (~500 Master Teachers in Year 4 and ~600 Master

Teachers in year 5) based on the implementation of the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Continue gathering feedback/data to evaluate the impact of differential roles across the

district

Compensate teachers based on differentiated roles and performance.

Implement a new base compensation structure based on teacher role/performance rather than

service time and degree attainment

Implementation of the new compensation structure will correspond directly with the

implementation of the new differentiated teacher roles. The roll-out plan for differentiated roles

(and differentiated compensation) involves extensive planning in year 1, pilot programs of ~50

―lead teachers‖ in year 2 and ~300 ―lead teachers‖ in year 3, followed by implementation in

years 4 and 5. A summary of the implications for teacher compensation is below:

Year 1: All teachers on current compensation schedule

Year 2: All teachers on current compensation schedule; stipends for ~50 ―lead teachers‖

- New teachers begin on the new salary schedule. However, these teachers continue to

receive the current base salary but with expectation of shifting to the new salary schedule

after earning tenure at the end of Year 4

Year 3: All teachers on current compensation schedule; stipends for ~300 ―lead teachers‖

- New teachers begin on the new salary schedule. However, these teachers continue to

receive the current base salary but with expectations of shifting to the new salary schedule

after earning tenure at the end of Year 5

Year 4: District-wide implementation of new compensation schedule on ―opt-in‖ basis:


- All new teachers begin their careers on the new compensation schedule

- Existing teachers have the opportunity to ―opt-in‖ to the new salary schedule. Teachers

that opt-in will be placed at a career status based on their level of effectiveness as

measured by the TEM. Teachers that are eligible for higher compensation will be switched

to the new schedule; however, no teacher will have their salary reduced based on their new

career status. The teachers who do not opt-in will remain on the existing salary schedule

- Approximately 500 Master teachers will be identified for enhanced responsibilities and

additional compensation. (Note: Maintaining ―Master status‖ will be contingent on

successful future performance on the TEM)

Year 5: District-wide implementation of new compensation schedule on ―opt-in‖ basis:

- All new teachers begin their careers on the new compensation schedule.

- Existing teachers have the opportunity to ―opt-in‖ to the new salary schedule. Teachers

that opt-in will be placed at a career status based on their level of effectiveness as

measured by the TEM. Teachers that are eligible for higher compensation will be switched

to the new schedule; however, no teacher will have their salary reduced based on their new

career status. The teachers that do not opt-in will remain on the existing salary schedule

- Status for teachers that opted-in to the new schedule is confirmed based on TEM

performance (Note: Some teachers might be moved from the Master Teacher role to the

Professional Teacher role and therefore have compensation reduced)

- Approximately 600 Master Teachers are identified for enhanced responsibilities and

additional compensation (Note: Maintaining ―Master status‖ is contingent on maintaining

successful performance on the TEM)

In addition to determining a teacher’s career status, the TEM will be used to determine annual

increases in compensation. MCS anticipates that all annual increases in salary would be

contingent on meeting/maintaining certain thresholds of performance.

Provide performance-based bonus opportunities to groups of teachers based on group

attainment of student achievement goals

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Design pilot of new group performance-based bonus opportunity to launch in 5-10

schools in year 2

Solicit input from teachers regarding the design of the group bonus program (leveraging the

district’s experience with the EPIC grant as a foundation)

Select group of schools for participation in pilot program

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Conduct group bonus incentive pilot program in 5-10 schools

Conduct intensive teacher training at pilot schools

Launch pilot program

Milestone 2: Transition management of EPIC grant program from Mathematica to REA

Gain access to all Mathematica data needed to conduct the program internally (e.g.

Mathematica’s value-added algorithm)

Build internal capability to design and administer group bonus incentive program internally


YEAR 3-5 (2011-14)

Milestone 1: Roll-out group bonus incentive program district-wide

Intensive training and communication to educate teachers throughout the district

Create formal processes necessary to ensure effectiveness of group bonus incentive program

Based on data-driven approach, adjust the group bonus incentive program as needed to

ensure maximum effectiveness

(Note: MCS might continue EPIC grant with NLNS (re-worked to be aligned to new MCS

Teacher Effectiveness Measure) rather than implement a new group bonus incentive program)


Place the most effective (i.e. Master) teachers with the highest-need students in their schools

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Formalize requirements/role of Master Teachers (part of Differentiated Roles

initiative)

Familiarize teachers with the urgency of placing the most effective teachers with the highest-

need students within schools

Develop process to identify the highest-need students within schools

YEARS 2-3 (2010-12)

Milestone 1: Pilot Master Teacher (i.e. “lead” teacher) role, while continuing development of

Teacher Effectiveness Measure. (Note: Details are described in the Implementation descriptions

of the Teacher Effectiveness Measure (pg.32) and differentiated teacher roles (pg.43)

Work with schools that will have Master Teachers in year 4 to work out how to assign

teachers to classes

YEARS 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: Master Teachers teach classes with the highest-need students

Ensure that secondary level Master Teachers teach classes with high need students (e.g. non-

AP classes, ninth grade ―introductory‖ courses, etc.) for at least half of their teaching load

Milestone 2: Distribute Master Teacher to schools with greatest need

Identify schools with need for greater presence of Master Teachers and make transfers (as per

expectations associated with the Master Teacher role)

Cluster “high potential” teacher recruits in schools that have high concentrations of high-

need students

Implementation of this strategy is inherently linked to multiple TEI initiatives focused on

improving the recruitment and hiring of ―high potential‖ teachers. The process of strategically

clustering new teacher hires will therefore proceed in tandem with the roll-out plan for

recruitment and hiring, which involves greatly expanding the district’s partnership with TNTP

and better coordinating and leveraging external partners (e.g. Teach for America, Memphis

Teacher Residency, Memphis Teaching Fellows). As these relationships will evolve overtime,


we similarly expect the strategy of clustering ―high potential‖ teachers to be continually refined.

For detail on key milestones and related focus areas, please refer to section detailing the

implementation of these teacher recruitment efforts (p. 35)

YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Identify set of high-needs schools that would benefit the most from receiving a

group of high potential recruits from MCS’ strongest external recruiting partners

Coordinate with TNTP to determine most appropriate participants in clustering strategy

Formalize recruiting strategy to most effectively leverage external partners for these schools

YEARS 2-5 (2010-14)

Milestone 1: Groups of high-potential teachers from external partners are placed in selected

schools

Continued partnership between TNTP (recruiting and staffing) and the regional

superintendents and school principals

Analyze results across different schools and from different sources of high-potential

candidates and adjust placement accordingly

OUTCOME #4: WE WILL IMPROVE THE SURROUNDING CONTEXTS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

TO FOSTER EFFECTIVE TEACHING


Improved principal leadership

capacity

Improve principal

support for productive

learning environments

Average teachers’ principal

satisfaction scores

Individual Principals’ retention of

top quartile teachers

Percentage of schools with

Principal satisfaction scores above

threshold of top 25% and below

threshold of bottom 10% based

climate survey

Improve school culture to create

conditions that foster effective

teaching/learning

Increased accessibility to

the core

teaching/learning

process (i.e. improved

student behavior)

Percentage of class time spent in

active teaching/ learning process

Number of fights / violent

incidents

Percentage of teachers who report

that discipline problems

significantly impede the

teaching/learning process

Higher levels of teacher

and student satisfaction Student and teacher satisfaction

results from School Climate Survey

Student mobility rate

Improved teacher

retention Retention rates of effective

teachers


Develop a new technology platform

that will support the data-driven

decision-making that is crucial for

the success of the Teacher

Effectiveness Initiative

Increased accessibility

and usability of data

related to teacher

effectiveness

Percentage of relevant staff

trained on ERP system

Usage rates for ERP system


YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Formalize the expanded role of the MCS Urban Education Center for providing

principal training

Coordinate the UEC as the vehicle for principal training throughout the district

Include newly created content in 2009 UEC Executive Leadership Program

Milestone 2: Formalize strategy to bolster effectiveness of existing Principals by providing

additional support

Design process for leveraging newly bolstered principal support team (e.g., 10 principals per

additional support resource)

Recruit and hire for these new intensive support positions

Milestone 3: Leverage major sources (UEC Executive Leadership program, New Leaders for

New Schools) to develop strong new principals and strategically place them in schools

Determine schools in need of leadership change based on principal performance management

Identify promising principal and assistant principal candidates through UEC and NLNS

Move high-performing principals and place new principals where they are needed most

YEARS 2-5 (2010-14)

Milestone 1: Build principal capacity necessary to support the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative

Establish detailed calendar of professional development for existing school principals

conducted through the UEC platform

Continue to provide significant on-going professional development content focused on

principal need

Milestone 2: Implement new principal support system

New hires collaborate with Regional Superintendents to provide more intensive support (e.g.,

10 principals per support resource) to select group of principals

Continue monitoring existing principals to determine relative strength and weaknesses

Expand the principal support system to additional principals as needed

Milestone 3: Continue to leverage major sources (New Leaders for New Schools, UEC Executive

Leadership program) to develop strong new Principals and strategically place them in schools

Determine schools in need of leadership change based on principal performance management

Identify promising principal and assistant principal candidates through UEC and NLNS

Move high-performing Principals and place new Principals where they are needed most



YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Establish norms for a “culture of achievement” within the district

Incorporate guidance and training from The Efficacy Institute regarding communicating high

expectations approaches to schools throughout the district

Conduct district leadership training and support to align the leadership team with the beliefs

and actions needed to support this approach

Milestone 2: Provide culture building leadership training to enable principals to foster high

expectations, decorum, teamwork, and respect in their schools

Conduct ―needs assessment‖ in collaboration with the Efficacy Institute to identify needs and

challenges of specific schools and feeder patterns

Provide group sessions for school leadership teams as well as individualized coaching for

principals

Provide direct training to teachers as well as parents/families in ~30 schools in the district

Use a ―train the trainer‖ approach to build capacity within the district

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Certify MCS personnel as Efficacy Trainers

Efficacy Trainers will conduct a series of training seminars for certifying new MCS Trainers

to carry out future training sessions for school leaders, teachers, and parents/families

Milestone 2: Continuation of school culture building leadership training

Conduct additional district leadership training

Conduct ―needs assessment‖ in collaboration with the Efficacy Institute to identify needs and

the challenges in place within specific schools and feeder patterns

Provide group sessions for school leadership teams as well as individualized coaching for

specific principals

YEAR 3-5 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Continue building capacity by certifying MCS personnel as Efficacy Trainers

Focus on trainer support and new trainer certification

In year 3, all school training conducted by certified MCS trainers

In year 4-5, focus on recertification for Trainers

Milestone 2: Continue school culture building leadership training throughout the district (e.g.,

senior leadership, Regional Superintendents, Principals)

Continue leadership training for district leadership team as well as in-depth execution support

to regional teams

Continue training for school leadership teams and in-depth coaching for selected Principals




YEAR 1 (2009-10)

Milestone 1: Launch the ERP Enterprise Resource Planning tool

Implement core Human Resources applications (e.g. Human resources and position

management tools, Payroll, iRecruitment, Time & Labor, Advanced Benefits, Self HR,

Learning Management, Performance Management)

YEAR 2 (2010-11)

Milestone 1: Launch iRecruitment, Learning Management and Performance Management tools

Provide complete training on Human Resources systems

Use recruitment tools to support district recruitment process

Track course offerings and attendance via the learning management tool

YEAR 3 (2011-12)

Milestone 1: Launch the performance evaluation tool

Link to value-added, observation, stakeholder perception and teacher knowledge evaluation

data

Link professional development course completion and content evaluation to track Teacher

Effectiveness Measure

YEAR 4-5 (2012-14)

Milestone 1: Continue to expand ERP system offerings to support teacher effectiveness

initiatives within the district

Identify additional tools required to support teacher effectiveness initiatives

Continue to refine evaluation, recruiting and professional development tools to support the

needs of the district

CAPTURING LESSONS LEARNED AND EVALUATION

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION GOALS

How much and what kind of impact does the effectiveness of a child’s teacher(s) have on the

quality and quantity of student learning? Simply stated, this Teacher Effectiveness Initiative will

help build context surrounding this idea by addressing such issues as how, why, and in what

circumstances teachers impact student learning.

PROPOSED LEARNING AGENDA AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Our learning goals will increasingly come into focus as we proceed with this effort. We already

have many far-reaching questions, and we will surely arrive at challenging new questions and

exciting new answers as we proceed and learn. To begin with, however, we offer the following

formative and summative research questions:


SUMMATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What is the relationship of the three TEM ―inputs‖ (e.g. observation of practice, teacher

knowledge, and stakeholder feedback) to the ―outcome‖ of achieving growth in student

achievement scores?

How many exposures to effective teachers is sufficient to ensure student academic success?

How direct is the impact of an effective teacher on a student’s life outcomes (e.g., high

school graduation rate, post-secondary enrollment and graduation rates, job-readiness)?

What are the relative impacts of our various chosen strategies for improving teacher

effectiveness? For example, which is more powerful: recruiting high potential teachers or

better supporting existing teachers? (i.e. Are effective teachers ―born‖ or ―made?‖)

FORMATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What personal/professional characteristics are most associated with a teacher’s effectiveness?

If we know more about what teacher effectiveness looks like, how can we best select for it in

our recruits, and can we most effectively train veteran teachers to be more effective?

Is it possible to expand the impact of our best teachers (i.e., effectively teach greater numbers

of students)? If so, how does that work and what does the new structure of school look like?

In what ways do financial incentives impact teacher performance?

What does it mean to have positive school culture and how/why does this matter?

Does effective teaching take the same shape for all student populations across the district?

PLAN AND PROCESS FOR ANSWERING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

As a research partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and as a participant in an

intensive partnership grant, Memphis City Schools will establish and support an Evidence-Based

Review Team (EBRT) that will collect, analyze, and report to the larger community results from

both the research study (e.g., how the implementation of video orbs as the data collection

mechanism for observing teachers in their classrooms is proceeding) and the intensive

partnership (e.g., what tests of teacher knowledge are most highly correlated with evidence of

student growth). This team will consist of 12 members: five from MCS, five from Memphis

higher education and corporate partners, and two external reviewers (one specialist in

methodology and one content expert in K-12 education). This steering group will provide

biannual reports to be used by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, MCS district leaders, the

MCS Board of Commissioners, the MCS Teacher Effectiveness Advisory Board, and the

Memphis community for the effective use of evidence from the project and continued guidance

from outside the daily workings of the grant.

Using interim findings to “course correct” during implementation

Our Strategic Planning and Accountability staff will focus on the overall management of TEI

implementation, including planning mid-course adjustments. This on-going planning will be

supported by the ability of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment to provide high quality data

and drive the research agenda described above.


Sharing interim and final findings with the foundation, key stakeholders, and the field

With our high levels of capacity in REA, Memphis City Schools will be able to report findings

according to the schedule that is desired by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Within

REA, the program evaluation staff regularly meets deadlines for the Annual (and Interim)

Performance Reports (APRs) required by the federal and state grants our district holds. MCS is

well positioned to communicate findings to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our

stakeholders, and the larger field. Initial plans for sharing findings include the following:

Regular meetings of the MCS Teacher Effectiveness Initiative executive committee to

discuss lessons learned

A weekly From 30K (REA’s internal data-based memo) that shares Teacher Effectiveness

Initiative data with key district staff and the MCS Teacher Effectiveness Advisory Board

Quarterly, data-driven meetings of the MCS Teacher Effectiveness Advisory Board

- At least four peer-reviewed publications each year on teacher effectiveness (working with

our research partners)

- Annual reports produced and shared with all stakeholders

Working with third party evaluators and researchers

Memphis City Schools has a long history of successful collaborations with external research

partners. Currently, we are working with several partners including Mathematica Policy

Research, Jobs for the Future, RAND, and The Center for Research on Education Policy (CREP)

at the University of Memphis.

In addition to being bold and innovative as an Intensive Partnership site, Memphis City Schools

is committed to being a strong collaborative partner for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

research project. We feel this two-year study will be a seminal effort to evaluate the role of

value-added data in K-12 and look forward to participating. We are excited about this future

learning process and are committed to taking full advantage of this tremendous opportunity to

learn more about the inputs to and results of effective teaching.

PROJECT BUDGET

OVERVIEW AND TOTAL REQUEST

The total five-year cost for the TEI plan is $155.95MM. Of this total, MCS is requesting a total

$99.6MM from the Bill and Melinda Gants Foundation. The district plans to contribute

$36.1MM over the five years to directly fund TEI costs. In addition, MCS will contribute

$32.8MM over the five years to establish a reserve fund that is incremental to the $155.9MM.

This will fund any unanticipated costs as well as bridge the run-rate cost of funding a new

compensation plan. Finally, MCS anticipates local philanthropic support contributing $20.2MM

over the grant period, which is reflected as ―private and other revenue‖ in the budget template.

The district has worked hard to establish an Advisory Board with representation from major local

foundations and has aligned their anticipated contributions to support particular components that

align with their vision and funding history.


Additional detail for the costs is included in the attached budget template and is described below.

COMMON, AGREED-UPON DEFINITION OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

A major focus of funding, particularly early in the grant period, will be to support the creation of

the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure (TEM). The primary purposes for the funds will be to

create the Office of TEM and to develop each component of the new measure.

To support the TEM office, the district will need 7 additional FTEs at a total annual cost of

$670K. In addition, to support the development of each component of the new TEM, $750K will

be required annually to purchase additional assessments for grades K-2; $1.3MM is required to

develop the new rubric and the technology to support classroom observation, and $600K

annually to purchase the TRIPOD survey and other tools to capture stakeholder perceptions.

These estimates are based on district benchmarks and market prices. The FTE costs are based on

the current salary schedule; the cost of assessments and TRIPOD surveys are based on market

prices and the observation-related costs are based on previous district experience. Overall, we

are confident that this budget accurately reflects the cost of establishing this initiative.

SMARTER DECISIONS ABOUT WHO TEACHES OUR STUDENTS

To support the district in human capital management, there are five major cost components: 1)

$1.4MM in additional FTEs to create the Office of Teacher Talent and Effectiveness, 2) $2.8MM

in annual costs to support the partnership with TNTP, 3) $200K in annual stipends to operate the

Tenure Review Boards, 4) $1.5MM to provide targeted retention bonuses and 5) $500K in

annual costs for increased legal and labor arbitrations fees due to more aggressive career

management expectations.

Many of these costs have been estimated based on district experience. The cost to support TNTP

has been provided to the district as part of the new proposal to extend their existing partnership.

BETTER SUPPORT, UTILIZE, AND COMPENSATE OUR TEACHERS

Supporting and recognizing the district’s most effective teachers is a core element of the

proposal. To support the development of a new evaluation process, the district will invest

$1.5MM in stipends to involve teachers in the development and piloting of the new process. To

connect PD to the individual needs of teacher, an additional $1.9MM will be spent annually on

25 high quality classroom observers and $350K for additional digital PD content. To recognize

and reward effective teachers, $2MM will be used for technical assistance and stipends to help

schools plan for differentiated roles and for ―lead teachers‖ to pilot the Master teacher role in


years 2 and 3. Starting in years 4 and 5, the new compensation schedule will be launched which

will require an additional $28MM to support the new schedule (i.e., $3MM in higher salaries for

Beginning Teachers, $14MM for Professional Teachers and $1lMM for Master Teachers).

Finally, $4.8MM of group goals will be used to increase the current group goal incentive

program from 5% to approximately 20% of teachers.

The costs to support, utilize and compensate our teachers are based on district experience. The

cost for new FTEs is based on the district’s salary schedule. The costs of new professional

development content and performance-based bonus programs are based on existing contracts

(e.g., current Teachscape contract has been used to estimate new digital content cost and existing

EPIC grant has been used to estimate cost of incentive program). To determine the incremental

costs of the new salary schedule, a model was created to project the shift in compensation based

on the expected placement of all teachers onto the new schedule.

While we are confident in our projections, potential risks exist that we feel can be mitigated.

These include: 1) for example, if video-based observations prove unfeasible, more specialized

evaluators may be required to provide professional classroom observations. This could be

mitigated by either increasing the number of observers (additional $1.1MM) or leveraging the

existing district coaches (PDSCCs); 2) Also, further planning that will occur to fully develop the

new salary schedule, estimates of incremental compensation costs may change. We have worked

through the MEA to confirm our assumptions and believe, if need be, compensation targets could

be adjusted slightly while still providing premium compensation to the most effective teachers.

IMPROVE THE SURROUNDING CONTEXTS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO FOSTER EFFECTIVE

TEACHING

To support improved school culture, $4.5MM will be used cumulatively to foster a culture and

behavior of ―high expectations‖ within the district by funding Efficacy Institute training

throughout the district and additional technical assistance. To build principal capacity, $6.1MM

will be used to fund New Leaders for New Schools, additional support programs from the Urban

Education Center and five additional FTEs working with the Regional Superintendants to help

support principals. The budget also includes $13MM between Year 1 and Year 2 to fund the

implementation of the human resource components of the ERP system. (Note: The cost of ERP

system is included in the Implementation and Infrastructure section of the budget template)

The costs associated with improving the context for effective teaching are all based on actual

proposals and estimated FTE costs from the district’s salary schedule. As with any contract, the

potential risks for this budget come from higher costs and longer implementation time than

expected. To mitigate this risk, the district will develop comprehensive implementation

schedules with multiple milestones and check-ins to ensure implementation stays on-track or

course corrected if need be.

OVERALL IMPLEMENTATION/ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

To support the overall execution of TEI the district will partner with a number of firms with the

expertise to support implementation. These partnerships include: 1) $3MM in technical

assistance, 2) $630K in communication support, 3) $500K in finance support to improve the

budgeting process, and 4) $800K for training and development for Board and MEA leadership.


An additional $250K per year will be used to support the district’s fiscal agent and the required

additional resources within the MCS finance department to support fiscal management.

These cost estimates have been based on benchmarks from leading professional service firms,

previous grants to support district leadership training (e.g., RGA training for Governance reform

with the Board of Directors) and from similar foundation operating costs.

While benchmarks have been used to support the development of this budget, there is a risk that

the costs from partners is higher than expected or that the fiscal agent requires additional support.

To mitigate this risk, the district could re-allocate funds spent with other contract providers on

additional technical assistant needs. To support the fiscal agent, existing FTEs could be

leveraged within the district (e.g., the additional FTE added to the MCS finance department, the

additional FTE added to Performance Management group).

PLAN FOR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

To support the TEI efforts after the grant period ends, the district will be required to support a

run-rate cost of approximately $46MM in perpetuity ($3MM of which will come from

community partners).

Of this total $46MM in run-rate costs, $35MM is attributed to additional compensation paid to

teachers in the form of the new salary schedule as well as group and retention bonuses. The rest

of these costs are related to additional personnel and infrastructure required to sustain this work.

A strategic financial plan has been created to re-allocate $68.7MM to TEI during the first five

years and fund the ongoing run-rate cost by identifying opportunities to re–focus existing

initiatives and achieve cost savings within the district. The core components of this plan include:

1. Re-focusing existing Professional Development spending within the General Fund:

~$10MM over the next five years; ~$6MM per year after year five

Within the General Fund, $16MM is spent on Professional Development for teachers. The

majority of this expenditure is teacher in-service days and other PD projects deemed critical to

support teacher development. $3MM will be re-allocated for TEI by reducing substitute teacher

expenses related to off-site training courses and eliminating existing ineffective contracts with

third-party professional development providers. An addition $3MM of existing PD funding will

be re-focused to support TEI.

2. Eliminating special projects within the General Fund: $8MM over the next five years;

~$10MM per year after year five

The district currently invests in a number of projects that provide instructional coaching and

other classroom support to teachers (e.g., Math Improvement). As initiatives are implemented to

provide more effective evaluation, more frequent observation, and expanded roles for master

teachers, the need for these support functions will diminish. $8MM will be re-allocated to

support programs within the TEI proposal. Additionally, $8MM is spent annually on in-

classroom instructional aides. Some of these aides will no longer be required as teachers are able

to manage their classrooms without this additional support; $2MM can be re-allocated to TEI.


3. Re-deployment of Federal Funds: ~$15MM over the next five years; ~$10MM per year

after year five

MCS receives approximately $126MM in federal funding each year. Although these funds have

restrictions on their usage, most of our TEI initiatives are focused on predominantly low-income

schools, Title I Part A, Title II Part B and Title I School Improvement can, generally, be used to

support teacher effectiveness. $10MM will be re-allocated to support TEI by eliminating existing

ineffective professional development training services and other special projects.

4. Re-structuring opportunities: ~$37MM over the next five years; ~$18MM per year after

year five

MCS has identified a number of restructuring opportunities within the district that will be

phased-in over the next five years to support TEI. These include: 1) $8MM re-allocated by

adjusting school staffing. A number of classes within the district have a lower teacher to student

ratio than what is required by Tennessee state standards. As teachers become more effective,

they will be able to handle slightly larger class sizes. Over the next five years, the number of

students per class can gradually increase by two students while remaining within state

requirements. 2) $8MM of business efficiencies (e.g., re-negotiating large district contracts)

3) $2MM will be re-allocated to TEI by rationalizing HR through outsourcing.

TEI Reserve Fund

MCS recognizes that with a bold long-term plan such as this one, there is much we cannot know

in advance. Therefore, we will allocate some of the savings each year to a reserve fund

($32.6MM of the $68.7MM total MCS savings will be allocated to the reserve fund over the next

five years). This fund will provide for additional costs that were not anticipated in this plan. In

addition, a key component of this proposal is the new compensation schedule. To fund this new

schedule the district will run parallel systems over a period after the end of the grant. To provide

adequate time for the district to introduce these changes, the TEI reserve fund will be used to

bridge the run-rate cost of the compensation plan in years 6 through 9. Over the next five years,

the district will contribute $32.6MM in additional savings to the reserve fund.

FISCAL AGENT

The Memphis City Schools Foundation will be the fiscal agent for the grant. The Foundation’s

Board of Directors has been very aggressive in its commitment to ensure this completely

separate/independent entity is operating on a solid basis that will give benefactors a high level of

comfort knowing resources will be managed appropriately with an oversight team that has the

credibility and integrity to ensure transparency. The Board of Directors represents a cross section

of the Memphis community, including individuals from business, philanthropic, social and

education sectors.

The Memphis City Schools Foundation has been approved to operate as a charitable organization

by both the Tennessee State Division of Business Services and Division of Charitable

Solicitations and Gaming under Tennessee Charitable Solicitations Act, T.C.A. 48-101-501, et

seq. The foundation also received formal status as a 401c3 organization according to the IRS.

The foundation will utilize third party accounting and auditing firms to enhance the internal

controls, fiscal integrity and accountability as outlined in its final draft of its policies and

procedures manual. The foundation’s Executive Committee recently recommended Vince


McCaskill to serve as its Interim Executive Director to oversee successful implementation of all

policies and procedures outlined in the final draft of the foundation’s operations and procedures

manual. Mr. McCaskill has led the effort to establish the foundation. The foundation’s

chairperson, Ms. Kim Wirth, is also the Executive Director of the International Paper Foundation

for Global Giving in her day job responsibilities. The foundation’s secretary, Ms. Diane Terrell,

is the Vice President of Corporate Communications for FedEx and an officer on its Corporate

Board. The foundation’s treasurer, Mr. William Mitchell, is a broker for the Mid-South’s largest

real estate company (Crye-Leike Realtors). Mr. Mitchell has an extensive background in

financial management. The above referenced individuals comprise the foundation’s Executive

Committee.

While the foundation is new, the people who are associated with it are experienced, respected

and have exhibited their ability to be independent and strategic. The framework is in place to

give us that solid foundation to build upon.

SUSTAINABILITY

Through the planning process, the TEI Executive Committee has focused on the critical need to

ensure that the bold plan we enact over the next five years is sustainable after the grant period

ends. Our sustainability plan focuses on two main elements: organizational sustainability and

financial sustainability.

ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY

As noted in the Organizational Capacity and Partnerships section of the proposal, MCS has put

in place multiple elements to ensure that the important work of TEI is sustained over time. We

recognize that leadership changes and other environmental factors can often change priorities in

any district, so we have put in place organizations and processes to ensure that MCS does not

waver in its commitment to following through on this agenda.

Establishment of the TEI Executive Steering Committee and TEI Implementation Team

will provide senior-level organizational focus on sustained follow-through and fidelity to

implementation.

Creation of external advisory boards will maintain constructive pressure on the district to

successfully implement the TEI plan. The TEI Advisory Board is comprised of the

leading local philanthropic and business leaders and has been supporting the development

of this plan. In addition, in collaboration with colleagues at MEA, we plan to create the

MCS-MEA Teacher Center, which will be a joint body of MCS and MEA leadership that

will continue to provide ongoing input to the implementation of the TEI plan.

Capacity-building training for our leadership team, MEA colleagues, and Board of

Commissioners will ensure that we are able to continue to build on the productive and

collaborative relationships that have been developed over the past year. This ongoing

maintenance of these relationships will be critical to strengthening the leadership group’s

ability to navigate the expected challenging times during the implementation period.


FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

As noted in the Budget section, MCS has taken concrete steps to ensure that we can continue to

implement the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative after the grant period ends and beyond. We have

taken two main actions to do so:

First, the district undertook a strategic analysis of its cost structure to identify $44MM in

run-rate savings that can be realized on an ongoing basis after the five-year grant period

to support our initiatives. While no savings opportunities are easy to realize, we are

confident that the opportunities identified in the budget section are achievable.

Second, cognizant of the fact unknown costs are sure to arise in such a bold plan, we will

allocate some of the realized cost savings to a TEI reserve fund. This fund will total

$32.7MM in year five. To the extent that the reserve fund is not needed during the life of

the grant, it will support our efforts to transition teachers from the old compensation plan

to the new plan in years six through nine as further cost savings are realized.

CONCLUSION

Memphis City Schools is pleased to submit this Teacher Effectiveness Initiative to the Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation for funding consideration. Our students’ (and city’s) need for the

transformative work described here is great. With an appropriate sense of urgency, we are

anxious to begin work on the bold plan we have developed.

We recognize that this will be hard work, but we are confident that we can successfully

implement this thoughtful plan. Our confidence is bolstered by the fact that Memphis City

Schools approaches this work with substantial momentum: a new, results-focused leadership

team is gaining traction; district leadership and the Memphis Education Association enjoy a

collaborative relationship; the Board of Commissioners has developed strong capacity to support

a bold reform agenda; and local community support is energized and enthusiastic.

We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this process, and we look forward to

engaging with the Foundation at our final convening in Seattle.


APPENDIX: TABLE OF CONTENTS

Student Impact, Outcomes and Execution Milestones Template 61

Selected Baseline Data 67

Comparison of Current and Proposed Compensation Plans 71

Overview of MCS TEI Advisory Board 72


STUDENT IMPACT, OUTCOMES, AND EXECUTION MILESTONES

Current

Status

Anticipated

Progress Year

1

Anticipated

Progress Year

2

Anticipated

Progress Year

3

Anticipated

Progress Year

4

Anticipated

Progress Year

5

Stu

den

t Im

pa

ct TCAP Percentile: 30% 30% 36% 44% 50% 64%

District Average Predicted ACT Score:

17.1 (NOTE: Reflects likely

drop in score in 2009-2010

given requirement for all

students to take ACT)

17.1 17.4 17.7 18.2 19.0

Current High School Graduation Rate:

67% 67% 68% 70% 72% 75%

We will use a common, agreed-upon process to define and measure what we deem to be effective teaching

Str

ate

gic

Ou

tco

me:

C

om

mo

n M

easu

re

% of Teachers with Complete TEM

None 3% 20% 70% 100% 100%

% Teachers with Value-Added Growth Measures

30% 55% 65% 65% 65% 65%

% Teachers with Professional Observations

None 3% 20% 70% 100% 100%

%Teachers with Assessment of Content Knowledge

None Plan Pilot 100% 100% 100%

Stakeholder Perceptions

Climate surveys

Plan Pilot 100% 100% 100%

We will make smarter decisions about who teaches our students

Str

ate

gic

Ou

tco

me:

S

ma

rter

Dec

isio

ns

% of MCS Teachers with Value-Add Score Above Current Threshold for Top 20%

20% 20% 23% 25% 28% 30%

Increased 1 Year Retention of Top Quartile of All New Teachers (e.g., Retention Bonus recipients)

80% retention

80% retention 83% retention 85% retention 88% retention 90% retention

Increased 3 Year Retention of Top Quartile of All New Teachers (e.g., Retention Bonus recipients)

60% retention

Same Same Same 70% retention 80% retention

% of Teachers below current threshold for bottom two

40% 40% 38% 34% 29% 23%


effectiveness quintiles

Current

Status

Anticipated

Progress Year

1

Anticipated

Progress Year

2

Anticipated

Progress Year

3

Anticipated

Progress Year

4

Anticipated

Progress Year

5

We will better support, utilize, and compensate our teachers

Su

pp

ort

, U

tili

ze

& C

om

pen

sate

% of Teachers Receiving New Evaluation

0% Plan 11% 70% 100% 100%

Number of Master Teachers

0% Plan Pilot (50)

Pilot (300)

500 Master Teachers

600 Master Teachers

% of Schools With 2+ Master Teachers

0% NA NA NA 33% of schools 75% of schools

We will improve the surrounding contexts for teachers and students to foster effective teaching

Str

ate

gic

Ou

tco

me:

Im

pro

vin

g S

urr

ou

nd

ing

Co

nte

xt

% Schools with School Climate Score Above Current Threshold for Top 25% of Schools

25% 25% 30% 35% 40% 50%

% of Schools with School Climate Score Below Current Threshold for Bottom 10%

10% 10% 8% 5% 3% 0%

% of Schools with Principal Satisfaction Score on Climate Survey Above Current Threshold for Top 25% of Schools

25% 25% 30% 35% 40% 50%

% of Schools with Principal Satisfaction Score on Climate Survey Below Current Threshold for Bottom 10%

25% 25% 30% 35% 40% 50%


Current Status

Anticipated

Progress Year 1

Anticipated

Progress

Year 2

Anticipated

Progress

Year 3

Anticipated

Progress Year

4

Anticipated

Progress Year

5

We will make smarter decisions about who teaches our students

Execution Milestones

Exec

uti

on

Mil

esto

nes

: “S

mart

er D

ecis

ion

s”

Improve recruitment and hiring of ―high potential‖ teachers through partnership with TNTP

MCS handles teacher recruiting/ staffing internally

TNTP partnership finalized and initiated

All major components of the TNTP partnership are implemented

Better coordinate and leverage outside partnerships that recruit and place high potential teachers in MCS

Limited coordination of outside partnerships

Teacher Talent Office established and coordinates outside partners

Current volume: TFA = ~50

MTF = ~45

MTR = 0

# of teachers: TFA = ~75

MTF = ~50

MTR = ~20

# of teachers: TFA = ~75

MTF = ~50

MTR = ~20

# of teachers: TFA = ~75-100

MTF = ~50-60

MTR = ~30


MTF = ~60-70

MTR = ~40


MTF = ~75

MTR = ~50


No targeted retention program in place

Performance-based retention bonus program designed and communicated

Performance-based retention bonus program implemented: awards given to top 25% of new teachers


Tenure decision process dependent primarily on individual principal recommendation

Detailed plan developed for implementing Tenure Review Boards (Fall 2009)

Tenure hearings conducted for all teachers using existing evaluations

Tenure hearings conducted for all teachers using existing evaluations, stakeholder perception data

Tenure hearings conducted for all teachers using existing evaluations, stakeholder perception data

Tenure hearings conducted for all teachers using full Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Tenure hearings conducted for all teachers using full Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Increase the turnover of our most ineffective teachers

Dismissal of existing teachers done on ad hoc basis

Full pool of Tenure Review Board Members selected and trained; processes developed with MEA and communicated

Initial group of low performing teachers ―flagged‖ for review

Tenure review boards formally launched (3/10) and make recommendations on first cohort based on available data

Low performing teachers flagged for review

Tenure review boards make recommend-ations based on available data

Tenure review boards make recommend-ations based on available data

Tenure review boards make recommend-ations on full Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Tenure review boards make recommend-ations on full Teacher Effectiveness Measure


Current

Status

Anticipated

Progress Year

1

Anticipated

Progress Year

2

Anticipated

Progress Year

3

Anticipated

Progress Year

4

Anticipated

Progress Year

5

We will better support, utilize, and compensate our teachers


Exec

uti

on

Mil

esto

nes

: “S

up

port

, U

tili

ze a

nd

Com

pen

sate

”


Teacher evaluations based mostly on principal’s classroom observation

Detailed plan for Year 2 pilots completed

Pilot program of new evaluation tool launched in 15-25 schools with ~750 teachers

Expanded pilot program of evaluations launched in 100 schools with ~3,500 teachers

New evaluation process using TEM Measure launched for all schools, all teachers


Professional development is focused primarily through ―sit and get‖ sessions

New formative observation process piloted with ~100 teachers

New formative observation process piloted with ~1,500 teachers

New formative observation process implemented with ~5,000 teachers

New formative observation process implemented district-wide

Creates new and differentiated career paths that promote teachers to increasing levels of impact and influence based on their effectiveness and accomplishment

All teachers have same level of responsibility (regardless of effectiveness)

Concept of differentiated teacher roles and differentiated compensation introduced

Pilot programs developed

Pilot programs of differentiated roles conducted with ~50 ―lead teachers‖ across approximately 15 schools

Pilot programs of differentiated roles conducted (approximately ~300 ―lead teachers‖ across 50-75 schools)

Decisions made regarding the ROI of different ways of utilizing Master (i.e. ―lead‖) teachers

~500 Master teachers named based on the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure

~600 Master teachers in year 5 (incremental naming of ~100 based on the new Teacher Effectiveness Measure)

MCS implements a new base compensation structure based on teacher role/performance rather than service time and degree attainment

Existing salary schedule rewards service time and additional degrees rather than effectiveness

All teachers on current compensation schedule

Existing teachers remain on current compensation schedule;

New teachers given expectation that salary schedule post-tenure will be based on performance & accomplishment

Existing teachers remain on current compensation schedule;

New teachers given expectation that salary schedule post-tenure will be based on performance & accomplishment

New compensation schedule introduced:

New teachers begin on new schedule

Existing teachers opt-in to new plan and are converted to preliminary ―Professional‖ or ―Master‖ status based on their performance on the Teacher Effectiveness Measure

Teachers that opt-out continue on current salary schedule

New compensation system run in parallel with old system for those that opted out:

New teachers begin on new schedule


Current Status

Anticipated

Progress Year 1

Anticipated

Progress Year 2

Anticipated

Progress Year 3

Anticipated

Progress Year 4

Anticipated

Progress Year 5

Exec

uti

on

Mil

esto

nes

: “S

up

po

rt,

Uti

lize

a

nd

Com

pen

sate

”

MCS provides performance-based bonus opportunities to groups of teachers based on group attainment of student achievement goals

EPIC Grant provides ~$1.2MM in annual performance bonuses based on school level value-added scores

Plan for pilot of new group performance-based bonus opportunity developed

Pilot of group bonus incentive program conducted in 5-10 schools

Group bonus incentive program rolled-out district-wide

MCS places the most effective (i.e. Master) teachers with the highest-need students in their schools

There are no requirements for the most effective teachers to teach specific high-needs students

Requirements/ Role of Master teachers developed

Pilots of Master Teacher (i.e. ―lead‖ teacher) role conducted

Pilots of Master Teacher (i.e. ―lead‖ teacher) role conducted

Master Teachers teach classes with the highest-need students

Master Teachers moved to schools with too few Master teachers as needed

Master Teachers teach classes with the highest-need students

Master Teachers moved to schools with too few Master teachers as needed

Cluster ―high potential‖ teacher recruits in schools that have high concentrations of high-need students

No concerted system-wide placement effort

High-needs schools within feeder patterns identified

Groups of high-potential teachers placed in selected schools, support provided and results closely monitored


Current

Status

Anticipated

Progress Year

1

Anticipated

Progress Year

2

Anticipated

Progress Year

3

Anticipated

Progress Year

4

Anticipated

Progress Year

5

Strategic Outcome: We will improve the surrounding contexts for teachers and students to foster effective teaching


Exec

uti

on

Mil

esto

nes

: “

Imp

rove

Su

rrou

nd

ing C

on

tex

t”


Climate surveys illustrate school culture challenges and discipline issues at many MCS schools

Norms regarding ―high expectations‖ school decorum established with help of outside technical support

District leadership training conducted

Leadership training conducted for all school leaders

MCS-based trainers trained

Ongoing School-based training conducted by MCS-based trainers


Climate surveys illustrate a wide range in teachers’ perception of principal’s effectiveness

Planning completed to deliver training on school culture through Urban Education Center

Hiring completed for 5 Principal coaches; coaches begin work with targeted principals

High performing principals moved to highest need schools; low performing principals removed

Principal training delivered through UEC

Develop a new technology platform that will support the data-driven decision-making that is crucial to the success of the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative

MCS operates as a network of independent databases that do not share a common language or an ability to combine data from various systems

Contract finalized with Enterprise Resource Planning vendor

ERP tool launched

Recruitment, Learning Management and Performance Management tools launched

Performance evaluation tool launched (link to all components of Teacher Effectiveness Measure)


APPENDIX: SELECTED BASELINE DATA

Evaluations: Teacher Evaluations Have Been Based Solely on Principals’

Observations

Retention: ~20% of New Teachers Leave MCS After Their First Year and More

Than 40% Leave the District After Three Years


Tenure: Only 40% of Teachers Remained at MCS and Were Eligible for Tenure,

Of Those 93% Were Re-elected and Awarded Tenure

Measure of Effectiveness: There is a Wide Range of Value -Add Performance of

Teachers Within and Between Schools

-1.00

-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00

Valu

e-A

dd

Score

0.49

0.34 0.320.28

0.250.22

0.10

0.02 0.01

-0.15

-0.33

-0.46

42 2,008 2,261 2,31893 117 149 187 226 434 608 630

Teacher

1

Teacher

2

Teacher

3

Teacher

4

Teacher

5

Teacher

6

Teacher

7

Teacher

8

Teacher

9

Teacher

10

Teacher

11

Teacher

12

District

Rank

-1.00

-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00 0.94

-0.12-0.16

-0.22 -0.23

-0.30-0.34

-0.43

-0.57 -0.58 -0.58

Value-AddScore

Teacher1

Teacher2

Teacher3

Teacher4

Teacher5

Teacher6

Teacher7

Teacher8

Teacher9

Teacher10

Teacher11

6 2,343 2,346877 2,039 2,137 2,149 2,229 2,262 2,307 2,341DistrictRank

Elementary School (Rank #1) Elementary School (Rank #82)

Source: Mathematica/EPIC Value-Add Data

The dispersion of effective teachers creates a “lottery ticket” effect for students even in the district’s high-performing schools; MCS must extend the impact of

its most effective teachers


Compensate: MCS Salary Schedule Rewards Experience and Degrees; ~25% of

Teacher Compensation is Based on These Criteria

Context: There is Wide Discrepancy in School Culture and Principal Leadership

Capacity Among MCS Schools

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

School1

99%

School2

98%

School3

98%

School4

97%

School5

96%

School6

33%

School7

32%

School8

22%

School9

22%

School10

21%

PrincipalSatistfactionScore

Average PrinicpalSatisfaction (71%)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

School1

99%

School2

99%

School3

98%

School4

98%

School5

98%

School6

39%

School7

37%

School8

35%

School9

31%

School10

29%

SchoolClimateScore

Average Climate Score=78%

Teacher Perception of School Climate (Elementary)

Top 5 Schools Bottom 5 Schools

Source: MCS Climate Survey

Teacher Perception of Principal Leadership (Elementary)

Top 5 Schools Bottom 5 Schools

In many schools, improving school culture and principal leadership is necessary to create conditions that support all other TEI reforms


Retention: Teacher Retention Is Related to Teachers’ Level of Satisfaction With Their

Principal


APPENDIX: COMPARISON OF CURRENT AND PROPOSED COMPENSATION PLANS

Overview of Current vs. Proposed Compensation Schedule: Illustrative Current and

Proposed Salary Curves for MCS Teachers

Overview of Current vs. Proposed Compensation Schedule


APPENDIX: MCS TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS INITIATIVE ADVISORY BOARD

To ensure broad community support, Memphis City Schools has convened a TEI Advisory

Board, consisting of top leaders from the local philanthropic, business and political communities.

The group has been integrally involved in developing the TEI proposal, meeting twice over the

past two months and providing valuable feedback on the draft proposal. Letters of support from

many of the members are included in a separate enclosure. Members of the board are below:

RONALD BELZ

President and Chief Operating Officer

Belz Enterprises

TERESA SLOYAN

Executive Director

Hyde Family Foundations

COMMISSIONER HENRI E. BROOKS

District 2 Commissioner

Shelby County Schools

BRAD SMITH

Executive Director

Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming

Education (SCORE),

STEPHANIE BUTLER

Manager of Corporate Contributions

FedEx Corporation

BLAIR TAYLOR

President

Memphis Tomorrow

E'THELE S. HILLIARD

President

Partners in Public Education

GREG THOMPSON

Education Program Director

Hyde Family Foundations

ROBERTA MACK

President

Memphis City Schools Parent Assembly Committee

TALANA L. VOGEL, ED.D.

Dean of the College of Education

University of Memphis

TOM MARINO

Executive Director

The Poplar Foundation

KIM WIRTH

Executive Director

International Paper’s Foundation and Employee

Relief Fund

SCOTT MCCORMICK

Executive Director

Plough Foundation

BERT WOLF

Partner

Husch, Blackwell Sanders LLP

GEORGE SLADE JR.

Senior Vice President

First Tennessee Bank


APPENDIX: LETTERS OF SUPPORT MCS has been working closely with many partners in Memphis and across Tennessee to develop the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative plan. Many of those key stakeholders have expressed their support in the form of the enclosed letters of support. The letters in this section are as follows:

• Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners – Tomeka Hart, Commissioner

• Memphis Education Association – Stephanie Fitzgerald, MEA President; Ken Foster, MEA Executive Director

• Office of the Governor, State of Tennessee – Governor Phil Bredesen

• Tennessee State Board of Education – Gary Nixon, Executive Director

• Shelby County Government – A.C. Wharton, Shelby County Mayor

• Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) – Senator Bill Frist, Steering Committee Chairman

• Memphis Tomorrow – Blair Thomas, President

• J.R. Hyde III Family Foundations – Barbara Hyde, President

• The Poplar Foundation – Tom Marino, Executive Director

• Memphis Philanthropic Partners

o Community Foundation of Greater Memphis – Bob Fockler, President

o Partners in Public Education – Ethele Hilliard, President

o Poplar Foundation – Tom Marino, Executive Director

o Plough Foundation – Scott McCormick, Executive Director

o Hyde Family Foundations – Teresa Sloyan, Executive Director

o Assisi Foundation – Jan Young, Executive Director

o Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation – Lauren Young, Executive Director

• New Leaders for New Schools

o Jon Schnur, CEO

o Janice Crawford, Executive Director – Memphis New Leaders for New Schools

• Teach For America Tennessee – Bradley Leon, Executive Director

________________________________________________________________________________ 2597 Avery Avenue • Memphis, TN 38112 • (901) 416-5447 / (901) 416-5591 Fax • www.mcsk12.net

July 29, 2009

Dr. Vicki L. Phillips

Director, Education

United States Program

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

P.O. Box 23350

Seattle, WA 98102

Re: Teacher Effectiveness Initiative Grant

Dear Dr. Phillips:

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners of the Memphis City Schools, I am writing to express the

Board’s full support and commitment to the plan outlined in our proposal for the Teacher Effectiveness

Initiative grant. As a Board we have set ambitious goals to raise the level of achievement and college

readiness in Memphis and we believe that raising the level of effectiveness of our teaching corps is

fundamental to achieving that vision.

We are committed to providing the MCS management team with the governance support to execute on

the bold and necessary plan presented in our proposal. It is important to note that we are able to provide

that support in large part due to our ongoing work with the Reform Governance in Action program.

Through this work, our board and leadership team have developed an extremely productive working

relationship that will facilitate our collective ability to execute on the proposed plan of action to raise the

level of Teacher Effectiveness in Memphis City Schools. In addition, we are currently putting into place

a policy framework that will further support the management team’s ability to take the steps outlined in

the proposal.

I look forward to the opportunity to speak directly with you and your team at the convening in Seattle

this coming week to further discuss our team’s plan. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tomeka R. Hart,

MCS Commissioner

District 7

COMMISSIONERS:

Martavius Jones, President

Stephanie Gatewood, Vice President

Betty Mallott

Patrice J. Robinson

Dr. Jeff Warren

Dr. Sharon A. Webb

Tomeka R. Hart

Dr. Freda Williams

Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum, Jr.

126 Flicker Street Memphis, Tennessee 38104 901/454-0966 Fax 901/454-9979 www.gomea.com

July 29, 2009 Dr. Vicki L. Phillips Director, Education United States Program Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation P.O. Box 23350 Seattle, WA 98102 Re: Teacher Effectiveness Initiative Grant Dear Dr. Phillips: On behalf of the Memphis Education Association, we are writing to express our commitment to helping develop the Memphis City Schools’ plan to improve teacher effectiveness throughout our district. Over the past three months we have collaborated with our colleagues at MCS and the Board of Commissioners to create our proposal for the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative grant. We understand that this is a bold plan that will require a culture shift from the Board of Education, the administration, and the members of Memphis Education Association. Based on our collaborative working relationship with the MCS leadership team, we believe that we are collectively prepared to take on that challenge. We look forward to continuing this relationship as we work through all the areas of the grant. As part of our commitment to addressing that challenge, MEA leadership pledges to work as hard as possible to communicate to our members the concept of this plan and to gain their support for the new ideas we are proposing. We are confident that “buy-in” from the members will be critical to the success of this initiative and that with the high level of communication we are achieving, this “buy-in” is possible here in Memphis. Sincerely,

Stephanie Fitzgerald Ken Foster MEA President MEA Executive Director ds

To whom it may concern:

I am writing in support of Memphis City School’s grant application to the Gates Foundation. I can

think of no city whose students suffer more from the impact of poverty and the achievement gap;

no city that is as uniquely positioned to benefit from collaboration with the Gates Foundation; no

city where there is a greater appetite for deep and lasting education reform. It is for these

reasons that Teach For America in Memphis is eager to strengthen its relationship with Memphis

City Schools through a partnership with the Gates Foundation.

Over the past four years, Teach For America and Memphis City Schools have worked together to

recruit 50 corps members per year to teach in our city’s lowest-performing schools. Though we

have seen progress, we know that the achievement gap is a moral issue that requires a forceful

response and as many of our most outstanding future leaders as possible. Therefore, we are

acutely interested in becoming a much larger percentage of the district’s new hires and have

already begun to explore doubling our incoming corps each year over the next two years.

In addition to corps growth, we have already met with Dr. Cash and his team to discuss revising

our professional services agreement to deeply cluster our corps members. At present, we are

operating in 45 schools; we would like to concentrate that number to 20 or fewer schools. By

focusing our numbers, we can maximize our impact and serve as a national pilot that examines

the impact of greater corps concentration.

We are also excited for our corps members to be part of a more thorough review of the state of

Tennessee’s value-add data. We believe that this data will prove invaluable as a resource to

inform the recruitment, selection, training, and support of all future corps members. We are

already working with the district and the state to isolate trends in our highest-performing

teachers but, with greater access and further study, we believe that this collaboration could have

national impact.

According to the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 15% of citizens

in Memphis over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree. Though this is certainly troubling,

Memphis is positioned to respond. We know that when given the right opportunities, our students

can achieve at the highest level. Through a partnership with the Gates Foundation, Memphis City

Schools and Teach For America can build a relationship of national consequence.

Sincerely,

Bradley Leon

Executive Director

Teach For America Tennessee

mcs tei gates fdn proposal_final

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