In yesterday’s New York Times, there was an editorial entitled “Carrots and Sticks for School Systems” which criticized public schools for their lack of action in response to teacher evaluation results.  The author stated that there are no incentive programs in place to reward high-performing teachers. “The result is that poor teachers stick around while good teachers go elsewhere or leave the profession, frustrated because they are not promoted, rewarded with better pay, or even simply acknowledged” (“Carrots and Sticks”, 2012, para. 2). In the editorial, the author cites a study from The New Teacher Project. The study The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools looks at four urban school districts, focusing on the experiences of “the ‘Irreplaceables’: teachers so successful at advancing student learning that they are nearly impossible to replace” (TNTP, 2012, para. 2). The study identifies the current trend of large losses of “Irreplaceables”, the causes of these losses, the obstacles to retention, and the consequences on teachers and schools.

Explore the New Teacher Project website and you will find additional reports, as well as resources for teachers, school leaders, and policy makers. Here are some examples of what you’ll have access to:

• Teacher Talent Toolbox
• Instructional Culture Insight
• Teacher Evaluation 2.0
• Teaching Fellows programs

References

Carrots and sticks. (2012, August 5). New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/opinion/carrots-and-sticks-for-school-systems.html

TNTP. (2012). The irreplaceables: Understanding the real retention crisis in American’s urban schools: Overview. Retrieved from http://tntp.org/irreplaceables