Comments on April Griffin Blog: Do top teachers avoid schools with large minority ...

my God, i thought you were going to chip in with s...

2009-12-29T04:34:16.425-05:00

my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with ‘we leave it to you to decide’.

"People would be outraged if they had a clue as to...

2009-07-18T12:42:00.511-04:00

"People would be outraged if they had a clue as to how much time teachers waste each day dealing with a behavioral issue of a student or two while the rest of the class waits for instruction to continue.Admin and APs need to take a hard line beginning day one of school and be consistent."

As long as the administration is second guessed by everyone from the Area Director to the Board itself there will never be consistent application of policy.

When the district runs the school's discipline records and concludes that "too many (insert group here) are being suspended for (insert infraction here)" and then required to document the "approved interventions" for each student before a suspension was handed down, what do you expect?

Having to justify your actions to an off-sight supervisor can adversely affect your career. Administrators learn early that they are essentially impotent.

The result is a breakdown in discipline, minimal leadership and minimal innovation at the school level.

Anonymous 4:50-- You're right. Unless admin backs...

2009-07-17T11:26:49.147-04:00

Anonymous 4:50--
You're right. Unless admin backs up teachers on discipline it really doesn't matter where one attempts to teach. People would be outraged if they had a clue as to how much time teachers waste each day dealing with a behavioral issue of a student or two while the rest of the class waits for instruction to continue.Admin and APs need to take a hard line beginning day one of school and be consistent.

To stir up the discussion: IBEA - Part 5 - Behavi...

2009-07-17T06:41:40.601-04:00

To stir up the discussion:

IBEA - Part 5 - Behavior

I must say that I am a bit surprised that no one has said that my proposal for the Individuals with Blackness Education Act (IBEA) is offensive.

Richard L. Hancock

I will only work in a school where I feel the prin...

2009-07-12T16:50:34.774-04:00

I will only work in a school where I feel the principle and admin supports and defends their teachers. If that is a school in Tampa Palms so be it. If that is a school that is inner city so be it. Race, extra money, etc. makes no difference to me. You couldn't get me to switch to some schools with poor administration if you increased my salary to 6 digits!!

The concern that students must go to school with t...

2009-07-10T19:20:37.578-04:00

The concern that students must go to school with the appropriate attitude and behavior was the same reason that disabled students were kept out of public education systems until the mid 70's.

I sarcastically submit, for the explicit purpose to challenge the current perception, that there be a federal mandate named:

"Individuals With Blackness Education Act" - IBEA.

Simply take the aim and goals of the current Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA, and substitute the challenges.

The below link addresses the need for "highly qualified teachers" to teach students with disabilities. Substitute "students with blackness" for a rousing discussion.

PRO on HCPS: IBEA - Building The Legacy of IBEA 2009 -Part 1

Historically, public school systems ridded themselves of minority student problems by over-identifying them to be students with disabilities.

The school systems apparently haven't figured out how to deal with this issue, yet.

1. Require policies and procedures.

The State must have in effect, consistent with the purposes of 34 CFR Part 300 and with section 618(d) of the Act, policies and procedures designed to prevent the inappropriate overidentification or disproportionate representation by race and ethnicity of children as children with disabilities, including children with disabilities with a particular impairment described in 34 CFR 300.8 of the IDEA regulations.
[34 CFR 300.173] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(24)]

OK-- I read the piece on D/schools that have heavy...

2009-07-10T16:32:16.926-04:00

OK-- I read the piece on D/schools that have heavy minority populations. Until the powers that be get it--that they can workshop/mentor teachers to insanity, change admin time and time again, build fabulous new building equipped with the newest tech, yet not work with parents and students in those schools--NOTHING will change.

Until students of all ethnicities and backgrounds ...

2009-07-10T09:33:10.530-04:00

Until students of all ethnicities and backgrounds come to school with appropriate attitudes and behavior, it will be so.

Let me see if I have this correct? As an effectiv...

2009-07-08T20:12:20.471-04:00

Let me see if I have this correct? As an effective teacher I can work at a school with a positive environment and students that are more likely to meet the benchmarks that determine my bonuses, including AP, with fewer behavior problems, and get paid on the same scale as my counterpart that is banging their head against the wall everyday at an at-risk school. Did I mention the overabundance of meetings and trainings required at these "problem" schools? hhhmmm...NO THANKS!!

I see that behavior is a concern for teachers. I ...

2009-07-08T16:41:32.340-04:00

I see that behavior is a concern for teachers.

I don't know what type of curriculum the HCPS has for teaching behavior, but here is a link to what is available locally at the pre-school level.

http://www.challengingbehavior.org/communities/program_leaders.htm

I have found it works wonders for all kids and teachers.

I must second goader's comment. If I can work i...

2009-07-08T14:41:11.194-04:00

I must second goader's comment.

If I can work in a less stressful and more rewarding and supportive environment I will. Heck, I have.

Race has nothing to do with the decision even though, at a superficial level, there SOMETIMES appears to be a correlation.

I also noticed that Sulphur Springs Elementary, wh...

2009-07-08T11:58:00.146-04:00

I also noticed that Sulphur Springs Elementary, which has an 80% minority rate, improved from an F grade to a B grade.

Assuming the grading has integrity, what changes occured in that school that contributed to the improvement?

Was there a significant change in the "raw material" or was there a significant change in the school personnel, or were systems changed?

Behavioral problems are a huge reason for most tea...

2009-07-08T10:33:41.972-04:00

Behavioral problems are a huge reason for most teachers! Those "bonuses" aren't a possibility for effective teachers whose students are constantly suspended or worse- those students that are allowed to continually disrupt classrooms. Administration is overwhelmed at these schools. Parents do NOT care in many instances!

I don’t think teachers leave or avoid schools beca...

2009-07-07T16:58:11.583-04:00

I don’t think teachers leave or avoid schools because of race or school grades. They do so because of persistent incorrigible behavior problems.

According to the HCPS website, Middleton High Scho...

2009-07-07T13:30:24.488-04:00

According to the HCPS website, Middleton High School has a 70% minority population. Has the District done any type of analysis regarding the number of effective teachers that are at that school? It seems to me that the situation at Middleton would be a great study specific to this issue.

I also found some interesting comments made about the recent 6th-straight D rating for Middleton. Although I realize that these comments can not be verified, nor can they be identified, they do offer food for thought:

High school grades drop in Hillsborough County, but district and majority of schools earn an A from state - St. Petersburg Times:

"redisni from New TampaJun 19th, 2009 10:21 PM

8:18 pm. Little you know about Middleton's situation. After going through 3 different admins in the last 4 years, and with an annual teacher turnover of more than 70% what Ellia needs to find is how to keep the good/exper admin/teachers in Middleton."

lee from tampaJun 25th, 2009 8:01 AM

i worked at middleton for 2 years and until you get some decent, caring individuals in there nothing is going to change. i worked there and some of the admins had a don't care attitude as well as the teachers. there were some very good educators at the school but when you have to many chiefs and not enough indians what is a person to do. mhs had more than its share of level one readers since they opened. i must say though mr. green has been weeding out the bad seeds but that's not enough."

The more interesting question which the study did ...

2009-07-07T11:19:10.002-04:00

The more interesting question which the study did not seem to ask is:
Were the effective teachers in Charlotte/Mecklinburg compensated based on the performance of their students? If so then their departure may have been to avoid losing bonus money because of the expected poor performance of the minority students. Which clearly indicates that the promise of additional teacher compensation tied to student performance probably does not promote effective teaching. Even here in Florida we reward A schools with additional compensation which is usually distributed to the staff. However, the schools with large minority populations struggle to earn A's. The "top teacher flight" might be something that SDHC wants to look hard at as we proceed toward rewarding "effective teachers" with additional compensation a la the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.