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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > November > 23 > Entry
Editorial: Poor children need quality teachers, too
Ohio looks good when lined up against the Obama administration’s newly released guide telling states how they can get in on $4.35 billion in stimulus grants designed to encourage education reform.
But there is more that the state has to do — for children and to assure that Ohio can compete well for this money.
Specifically, it needs to be more aggressive about ensuring that poor kids have access to good teachers and that evaluations of teachers and principals are partially tied to student performance.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week released a “scoring” system that will be used to evaluate states applying for “Race to the Top” grants.
Twenty-eight percent of each state’s grade will be based on its efforts to create “great teachers and leaders.” The administration says each state must have a plan to improve teacher and principal effectiveness.
Last summer Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland pushed through the legislature his own reform plan that emphasized improving teacher and principal quality. For instance, Ohio is working on a new teacher “career ladder” that allows top teachers to move from beginner, or “resident educator,” to higher rungs of accomplishment termed “professional,” “senior professional” and “lead professional.”
That squares nicely with Secretary Duncan’s request for “high-quality pathways for aspiring teachers and principals.”
Other changes are focused on improving teacher preparation and ensuring support for new teachers.
One area Ohio falls short on relates to teacher evaluations. The administration wants states to count student test performance as at least one factor in judging their teachers’ and principals’ effectiveness. That idea hasn’t made its way into any state laws or onto state report cards.
Additionally, the federal guidelines say states need to see that quality principals and teachers — especially in math and science — are equally distributed in high-poverty schools and those with large minority populations.
This is a glaring problem in most states, Ohio included. High-poverty schools, in both rural and urban areas, are avoided by many veteran teachers. Teaching in suburban districts and high-scoring schools is less demanding and frustrating.
Getting great teachers in front of kids who need them the most is difficult. It may mean battling with teachers’ unions about rules that traditionally let more senior teachers pick choice jobs within their district.
Or it could mean providing extra money or other incentives for teachers who agree to harder assignments.
What’s clear is Ohio needs a plan to attack this problem. Right now, it doesn’t have one.
If “Race to the Top” money nudges Ohio and other states to keep at their reform initiatives — education reforms that proponents on the political left and the right have hailed as steps in the right direction — the administration is getting more for your tax money.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Scott Elliott
Comments
By kurt
November 23, 2009 7:16 AM | Link to this
Has anyone thouht, maybe the students bear much of the responsibilty for this crisis?, but at least this one time, the DDN—did not blame Bush.
By max
November 23, 2009 7:28 AM | Link to this
I am soooooo very tired of the poor performance of poverty-ridden districts being attributed to a “poor” teacher - there needs to be “better” teachers. Education is NOT meeting the needs of these students - there are not alternatives for disruptive students, they are left in the classroom to disrupt the educational process for all. Parents are not held accountable for sending students prepared for school. It’s an all encompassing problem - not just the teacher.
By Melanie
November 23, 2009 8:33 AM | Link to this
After reading this editorial,one would think we have an epidemic of bad teachers in our country. As with every profession there are always a minority number of inferior teachers. This editorial does not discuss the bigger issues poor children face in education. How about parents that really don’t care about education & see the value in it? How about parents that don’t care whether their child does his or her homework or even attend school? How about the new classroom materials schools are using that do away with enforcing the basics such as phonics and basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division facts as in the “Everyday Math” program? All children CAN learn but w/o going back to the basics and having a supportive foundation at home it is a losing battle that teachers should not bear the responsibility alone!
By null
November 23, 2009 8:54 AM | Link to this
THE DDN IS SO HYPOCRITICAL. WHY DO THEY CONTINUE TO CENSOR COMMENTS ON CRIME STORIES SUCH AS TODAY’S MOTEL CLOSING ON N. DIXIE DR. WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING MAT HECK AND PHIL PLUMMER?
By Mike
November 23, 2009 9:46 AM | Link to this
Leave it up the DDN staff to insult teachers that work in areas that most don’t want to. There are damn good teachers in the Dayton Public Schools Systems and poor rural areas. Getting so called “better” teachers will do nothing if there is nothing done in the home. THe reason suburban schools do so well is because you see involvement throughout the community. Teachers are a small fraction of successful school districts.
By bobby
November 23, 2009 9:56 AM | Link to this
Melanie, The teacher unions have made it extremely difficult to fire incompetent teachers. I urge you to read the New Yorker article by Steven Brill. Mr. Brill tells of a New York principal that stated he was told by Randi Weingarten [president of the American Federation of teachers]”would protect a dead body in the clssroom. That’s her job.”…..I do agree with your placing responsibility with parents for homework and attendance. I do not understand why the government only gives a carrot and not a stick to these parents.
By Melanie
November 23, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
Bobby, I do know firsthand about how teachers unions make it impossible to fire bad teachers and staff at school districts. I agree that unions have got to stop protecting inferior employees! I personally experienced improper professional behavior by a local school employee & the districts hands were tied in regards to dismissing these indivuals. Instead I was the one who had to leave my position. Unions had a place in our country to protect workers but now we have new labor laws & rights.Americans cannot afford to fund union run school districts nor can business’s afford union contract. The need for constant levies is mostly due to the costly expenses due to union contracts. Think about how much school districts could save with non union maintance, food service, admin. & teachers. The taxpayer is essentially like the American auto manufacturer finding it difficult to keep up with those union contracts. Here in Centerville we have gym teachers making $70 & $80,000 + a year. An elem. principal is bringing home $115,000 @ my daughters school. These are ridiculous salaries for taxpayers to foot the bill. I believe the predominant problem with poor children’s education is not teachers but lack of materials, and most of all good parental support.
By Rob
November 23, 2009 12:07 PM | Link to this
Just a thought, why not make all Teachers State Employees? This allows the State the ability to rotate Teachers if need be and ensures a quality spread thoughout the State. It would also go a long way to cutting a good bit of the BS out of the “bad teacher” arguement.
By Melanie
November 23, 2009 12:34 PM | Link to this
Isn’t it hypocritical for a writer employed by Dayton Daily News whom almost always comes out in support of all school levies to now bash teachers unions? Those union contracts are what are taxing most Ohio residents in their property bills. As long as the DDN keeps endorsing school tax levies they continue to show their support for those unions. So which way do you want to have it DDN? Keep those step raises increasing w/o any accountability or what about a novel approach & do w/o the unions? School employees can be like most Americans & save for their retirement. More importantly, no more guaranteed job security when you aren’t preforming well on the job! I would like to see a report on how much nonunionizing our local school districts would save the taxpayers! Now that would be real “change!”
By bobby
November 23, 2009 10:50 PM | Link to this
Melanie, Good thoughts. This recession has crushed the private sector. School districts in Ohio are about to experience the “new normal” that no longer tolerates SAVE OUR SCHOOL levies that are merely a disguise for status quo increases in salaries and benefits for administrators and teachers. Eighty percent of the typical district budget goes to salaries and benefits. If the median teacher’s salary and benefits exceed the median income of the community they serve or the medical benefits are higher than taxpayers, then it’s time for teachers to let taxpayers catch up.
By max
November 24, 2009 8:10 AM | Link to this
let’s take some figures…..IF I take a teacher’s annual salary of $40K per/year(a bit higher than starting, & yet not an experienced teacher’s pay) Divide that $40K by even 40 weeks since some people think teachers don’t work during the summer. That comes to $1000/wk. Divide that by 50 hrs/week because most teachers i know work AT LEAST that - only comes to $20/hr - for a person w/ a Masters Degree!!!! Don’t even start w/ the teachers don’t get paid enough!!
By Bill
November 24, 2009 8:31 AM | Link to this
Again with the blame on Unions. I wonder how many of these whiners are just jealous of the security or are knocking down an undeserved $100k. Most Union company failures have more to due with bad management than high wages. No responsible person wants to work with a slacker. Unions can only be as strong or weak as the members allow it to be. Strong Unions are an American asset.
By davidss2
November 24, 2009 9:05 AM | Link to this
I agree about adjusting teacher’s to equal that of the community. Let’s collect the info about most professionals with Master’s degrees and up working: accountants, attorneys, dentists, doctors, city planners, bank presidents, and let’s include the techs with their 2 and 4 year certificates and engineers from the Base. Let’s adjust the teacher salaries up to where they should be for professionals. ————A big problem is the green-with-jealousy folks in communities always want to compare teacher pay to some working in a daycare center. Or with the local personal working a job who has a high school diploma or doesn’t even have a high school diploma. I always agree with taking a close look at pay scales.————As for unions that Bill refers to, most are of the ACORN level. They are strickly political machines used by the Democrat party. Look at the dirt coming out about ACORN (only the beginning of the dirt to be publicized) and you have the equivalent of the methods of the unions. However the unions have kept businesses from underpaying their employees to the financial benefit of the owners and big wigs.
By fortressdayton
November 24, 2009 9:08 AM | Link to this
Stick to the basics and quit teaching the tests so we all feel better about this mess. My child is in the 6th grade and he isn’t learning what I learned in the 4th grade in Catholic school where the nuns went unpaid. They taught out of conviction and did a great job while we shared textbooks and sat with 43 students in cold classrooms. Learning happens when children are taught to think. Having religion forced down my throat was worth the education - thank you, sisters Martha, Beatrice Marie and Immaculata! It isn’t about money or computers. Our children are being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator while we argue about pay, benefits and unions. No one ever became a teacher for the money and no one ever should. Thank You to the teachers who try in spite of it all.
By bobby
November 24, 2009 12:01 PM | Link to this
Max, I am so weary of hearing the same examples about teacher’s salaries. What you failed to factor into the equation is the generous nontaxable medical benefits, social security exclusion,and guaranteed retirement benefits. The total cost to the school system/taxpayer is significantly more than the 40k you use in your example. Once tenured,teachers have a job until retirement,regardless of competency. This is why the federal government is spending an ADDITIONAL 4+ billion on education reform..
By Tazz
November 24, 2009 1:59 PM | Link to this
First, I can remember the discussion and argument back in the 70’s when I was just a kid. Today, I am hearing the same song and dance. I am sick of it. you are all correct in some point. If my history is correct, the education system started going down hill a 100 years ago. Read up on it.