How to get the best teachers possible

IMPROVING TEACHING quality in schools that serve high numbers of children from low-income families requires an urgency and fierceness that we have not yet seen in our city.

Recent data obtained by the Public School Notebook, which follows school issues in Philadelphia, shows that the schools with the highest level of poverty still have the highest teacher turnover rates and the lowest percentage of highly qualified and experienced teachers.

While we acknowledge that improving teaching quality is a complicated and highly nuanced issue, too little has changed and too much remains unaddressed by the school district and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

As the new school year begins today, we have a fortuitous opportunity before us that we must seize. We have both a mayor and a governor who understand and speak passionately for school reform, we have a new School Reform Commission ready to engage, we have a new superintendent who has outlined her plan for improvement and we have a citizenry that is weary but stalwart in its passion for improvement.

WE ALSO have significant federal economic-stimulus funds available - a portion of which is targeted at improving teaching effectiveness, as the district and the PFT are engaged in contract negotiations.

We also have a coalition of civic and community groups that are pressing both parties to ratify commonsense solutions for change outlined in a campaign called Effective Teaching for Every Child. We must not turn our back on this convergence of good fortune.

We believe that there are things that can be done immediately:

Our schools should be dominated neither by veteran teachers nor novices, but a rich mix of both - where the energy of a new teacher blends with the knowledge of an experienced one to provide a balance of skill and enthusiasm.

First, put the best principals in the hardest-to-staff schools. Give them autonomy, professional development support for themselves and their staff, and a salary bump for taking on the task of making those schools good places to teach and learn. Strong school leadership is an essential component of any school-reform effort, and this must be at the top of the district's must-do list.

Then adopt full school-based hiring ("site selection") districtwide.

In site-selection schools, teacher vacancies are open for all eligible candidates to apply - veteran and novice teachers alike, and applicants receive equal weight in their candidacy, unlike the current system that allows many vacancies to be filled first by more-senior teachers exercising their automatic transfer rights. In that system, the number of years of service trumps everything else, including performance.

To attract the best teachers to hard-to-staff schools, institute a series of strong incentives such as smaller classes, strong school leadership, access to continuing education on-site and salary boosts. Preferred incentives vary among teachers and schools, so the school district needs to offer various motivations that might draw a dedicated teacher to a difficult school. These changes benefit union members who will still have a choice whether they want to apply.

There is, of course, more to be done, but these three steps would be a powerful beginning, and what's more, they are doable. There is abundant research to support all of these actions.

There is no reason to wait. Our first research report was titled "Once and for All: Placing a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom." It was written in 2003, and we thought the title told it all - let's do this once and for all. While some progress has been notable, the stark reality is that our persistently failing schools cannot continue to be a training ground for new and inexperienced teachers.

We call on all Philadelphians to add their voices to ours as we say, "Enough!"

People can sign the Effective Teaching for Every Child petition to Mayor Nutter, the school district and the PFT at www.PhillyTQE.org.

The time has never been better, the urgency never greater.

Jolley Bruce Christman is principal and Betsey Useem a researcher at Research for Action (researchforaction.org), a Philadelphia-based nonprofit engaged in education research and evaluation in support of public schools.