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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
Monday, November 23, 2009
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.
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