With contract negotiations still stalled, Michelle Rhee has revealed the other prong of her DCPS overhaul: professional development. Rhee had hoped to let go (either by buyout or simple firing) a significant portion of DC teachers and overhaul the PD program for those that remained. But the new union contract stalled (and, notably, as yet to go up for a vote) and Rhee was left with "Plan B." It seems Plan B has been put in motion and her PD changes will go into effect in 2010-2011. Details are scant so far but we've gotten a few hints at what's to come:
--DCPS no longer supports National Board for Professional Teacher Standards certification. It's unclear whether this means that having NBPTS certification will no longer hold the salary increases usually associated with it (which, presumably, would have been eliminated under the stalled union contract) or if this move is more symbolic. DCPS argues that having national certification has only weak ties to demonstrable improvement in teacher effectiveness.
--Creating a PD program based on the experience of DC's suburbs, specifically Montgomery County. This would include an apprentice-master teacher system, where effective teachers mentor new teachers, and the introduction of The Skillful Teacher program, a six day seminar created by Jon Saphier of the Research for Better Teaching Program in Massachusetts. The program's mantra is that every student can learn, regardless of background, circumstances, etc. According to the Washington Post, a 2004 independent study found that:
before taking the course, Montgomery teachers rated students' home life and motivation as the factors that most influenced learning. After the course, home life dropped to 11th on the list, and teacher enthusiasm and perseverance were described as most important.
Pulling support for national certification has potential if it also means cutting ties to salary increases. Otherwise, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal since fewer than 1 percent of DC teachers have national certification anyway (according to the Post, 39 out of roughly 4,000 teachers). The PD improvements, however, definitely seem reasonable.??For starters, The Skillful Teacher program has a "no-excuses" attitude that is common to many of the successful charter schools (David Whitman's Sweating the Small Stuff details six of them). Breaking out of a closed-door classroom model with a mentor teacher structure also has potential. But as with much during Rhee's tumultous almost-2-year tenure, only time will tell how these ideas will transplant to the District's urban schools.
