The equitable distribution of high-quality teachers: the American recovery and reinvestment act has brought renewed interest to this topic.

The equitable distribution of high-quality teachers: the American recovery and reinvestment act has brought renewed interest to this topic. A NEW REPORT BY THE NATIONAL Comprehensive Center for TeacherQuality (TQ Center) highlights efforts across the nation to address akey point in the No Child Left Behind law and the American Recovery andReinvestment ReinvestmentUsing dividends, interest and capital gains earned in an investment or mutual fund to purchase additional shares or units, rather than receiving the distributions in cash.1. In terms of stocks, it is the reinvestment of dividends to purchase additional shares. Act (ARRA)--the equitable distribution of high-qualityteachers across all schools. Research consistently has pointed to effective teaching as the mostsignificant factor affecting student achievement (Rivkin, Hanushek,& Kain, 2005; Babu ba��bualso ba��boo ?n. pl. ba��bus also ba��boos1. Used as a Hindi courtesy title for a man, equivalent to Mr.2. a. A Hindu clerk who is literate in English.b. & Mendro, 2003). The most commonly applieddefinition of high-quality teachers derives from the No Child LeftBehind law: "the teacher has obtained full State certification as ateacher ... or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holdsa license to teach in such State, except that when used with respect toany teacher teaching in a public charter school." Perhaps the most challenging task for school districts is therecruitment and retention of effective teachers, particularly inhigh-poverty and/or high minority schools. One goal of the No Child LeftBehind law was to "ensure that poor and minority students are nottaught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced in��ex��pe��ri��ence?n.1. Lack of experience.2. Lack of the knowledge gained from experience.in ,unqualified, or out-of-field teachers." While progress has beenmade, inequities still exist in high-poverty and high-minority schools(U.S. Department of Education, 2009; Alliance for Excellent Education,2008). The ARRA has brought renewed interest to this topic. States mustdemonstrate an equitable distribution of high-quality teachers as one offour assurances prior to receiving the second phase of ARRA funding. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] States and districts across the country have initiated efforts torecruit and retain high-quality teachers in these schools. The challengeis twofold: (1) What incentives will attract high-quality teachers tothese schools? (2) What characteristics will entice them to remain?Additionally, which entity is primarily responsible? State? District?School? The Status of the Problem According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the TQ Center's August 2009 report, most statesand districts increasingly are placing greater emphasis on teachercredentials and the development of longitudinal lon��gi��tu��di��naladj.Running in the direction of the long axis of the body or any of its parts. data systems that linkstudent results with teachers. The report found that states increasinglyrequire more "robust preparation programs"; emphasize theidentification, recruitment and placement of effective teachers; andencourage technical assistance for teachers. It also analyzed the myriadchallenges in accomplishing these goals, particularly while addressingthe specific needs of students with disabilities and English language English language,member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Spoken by about 470 million people throughout the world, English is the official language of about 45 nations. learners. The TQ Center underscored the problem that high-quality teacherswork disproportionately dis��pro��por��tion��ate?adj.Out of proportion, as in size, shape, or amount.dispro��por in low-minority and/ or low-poverty schools. Itconfirmed the findings of other studies that high minority and/orhigh-poverty schools have difficulty recruiting and retaining highquality teachers. But why is this so? Unfortunately, research that might answer this question is lacking,due in part to the inconsistency in��con��sis��ten��cy?n. pl. in��con��sis��ten��cies1. The state or quality of being inconsistent.2. Something inconsistent: many inconsistencies in your proposal. of data among schools and districts;however, existing studies point to a few common characteristics thathinder retention: lack of teacher autonomy, student behavioral problemsand lack of support by administrators. The report suggested that statesand districts should collect and analyze more student and teacher data,work more closely with teacher unions in developing high-quality teacherplans, build the skills of existing teachers as opposed to encouragingeffective teachers to transfer from other schools and understand that aproductive school culture and effective leadership may be as significantas teacher income. Statewide Efforts in Delaware and Tennessee The examples of Delaware and Tennessee may provide state educationagencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) with a betterunderstanding of the challenges and next steps in ensuring the equitabledistribution of high-quality teachers. In Delaware, teacher vacanciesare most prevalent at the secondary level, and in the subject areas ofmathematics, science and special education--typical throughout theUnited States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Through interviews with principals and human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. directors, researchers identified three key factors in Delaware thatpositively affect the equitable distribution of teachers: 1. All 14 principals said that school-based incentives, such as"extra pay for extra duties" and "betterfacilities," attract high-quality teachers. 2. The human resources directors felt that the state'sefficient processing of teacher licensure licensure(lī´snsh allows districts to makeinformed decisions about teacher quality. 3. Some LEAs provide a small stipend sti��pend?n.A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance.[Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st to teachers who provide timelynotice of their employment intentions for the following year. The humanresources directors stated that this gives them a head start in fillingpotential vacancies. As part of this same study, interviews with 539 secondary teachersalso produced interesting results. They identified the following factorsas the most important in deciding to stay in their current positions:teaching assignment (37.7 percent), school leadership (18.3 percent),extra time during the workday (16.6 percent), and collegial col��le��gi��al?adj.1. a. Characterized by or having power and authority vested equally among colleagues: "He . . . environment(15.2 percent). The least significant factors were teacher empowerment(4.9 percent), school facilities and resources (4.6 percent), andprofessional development opportunities (2.7 percent). The researchers urged that individual states may want to conducttheir own studies since the factors may vary across the nation. In 2007-2008, the Tennessee Department of Education audited sixdistricts using a tool developed by Edvantia and the Council of ChiefState School Officers The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a national nonprofit organization in the United States which represents public officials that head elementary and secondary education departments. (Sheinker et al., 2005). Based on these results,the TQ Center compiled research-based recommendations for schools facingthe greatest challenges: Recruitment * Create high-quality alternative routes for teacher preparationand certification. * Fully utilize community colleges for teacher preparation. * Implement grow-your-own strategies for hard-to-staff schools. * Revise transfer and hiring practices for at-risk schools toprovide more options and control over budgets and recruitment decisions. Retention * Provide comprehensive induction and support for new teachers. * Improve working conditions at schools. * Recognize and support quality leadership in at-risk schools. * Provide professional development and challenging careeroptions--including leadership opportunities--for teachers. * Create learning communities. How Other States Are Addressing the Problem The TQ Center supplemented this report with a research and policybrief that analyzed efforts in California, Georgia and Ohio to addressinequitable distributions of high-quality teachers by encouraging datastudy and self-analysis (Imazeki & Goe, 2009). California developed a toolkit to help districts define theirstrengths and needs (California Department of Education The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The Department oversees funding, testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. , 2007). Thestate's intention is that districts will use data to identifyapparent factors that affect student academic performance. These factors may include the number of high-quality teachersoverall and in core classes, teacher qualifications and professionaldevelopment, and the pairing of ineffective teachers in schools withineffective administrators. Georgia created Project EQ, which allows districts to analyze theirhigh-quality teacher distribution by comparing and contrasting dataonline. The system enables districts to draw their own conclusions bycomparing factors such as student results, teacher experience andstudents' socioeonomic status. Likewise, the Ohio District Teacher Equity Project places data intothe hands of educators and policy makers to help determine which schoolsand subjects have the highest number of ineffective teachers and tocraft strategies that address these issues (Imazeki & Goe, 2009). Other statewide efforts include the following: * Florida prioritizes teacher professional development for schoolsgraded as a D or F. * California and Texas assume student-loan costs for teachers inlow-performing schools. * Nevada, Texas and Tennessee continually monitorteacher-distribution patterns. * Tennessee offers tuition incentives for courses taken by staff intargeted schools, teacher preparation programs aimed specifically aturban issues, and pathways for recruiting teachers in high-needsubjects. * Texas recruits teachers from Spain to assist Spanish-speakingstudents (Goe, 2009). The brief concluded with nine recommendations for states: 1. Use key indicators to identify schools most in need ofassistance. 2. Maintain comprehensive data on characteristics of teachers. 3. Link teachers with all students they teach, thus making itpossible to collect and analyze student characteristics and outcomesrelated to specific teacher characteristics. 4. Track teacher movements both within and across districts. 5. Investigate the reasons for inequities within and acrossdistricts. 6. Analyze the specifics of union contracts--specifically, hiringand assignment policies--in order to identify areas where reform may beneeded. 7. Involve all stakeholders StakeholdersAll parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. . 8. Weigh the relative cost-effectiveness of policies. 9. Collect and analyze detailed information connected specificallyto policies designed to affect the distribution of teachers (Imazeki& Goe, 2009). Ultimately, states, districts and schools all have responsibilitiesfor ensuring the equitable distribution of high-quality teachers. Statesmust vest in districts the authority to make changes; districts mustdesign and implement unique strategies to ensure teacher equity; andschools must ensure that, regardless of the socioeconomic status oftheir students, the atmosphere attracts high-quality teachers andencourages them to remain at their current schools. Stan Bumgardner is an Edvantia writer. To find citation ofreferences used in this article, go to www.DistrictAdministration.com.