Young “Teach for America” recruits succeed where the rest of the district has failed
When it comes to effective teaching, seniority doesn’t mean squat.
That’s the lesson Hoosiers are learning from the results of student test scores in Indiana’s largest school district, Indianapolis Public Schools.
Last week state officials released the results of their annual ISTEP-Plus test for students in grades three through eight. While test scores inched upward statewide, they slid backward at IPS.
One exception was the H.L. Harshman Middle School, which had been on the state’s list of lowest performing school for four straight years.
The number of Harshman students that passed the math and English portions of the test doubled, from 33 percent last year to more than 60 percent this year. It was the biggest gain for any middle school in the state, according to media reports.
In a press conference last week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett cited the high-poverty school as an example of how school leaders can turn things around, despite the socio-economic challenges that union bosses typically blame for failing schools.
How did this turnaround occur? By purging the school of ineffective educators and bringing in a fresh batch of eager college grads from the Teach for America program, according to media reports.
School Principal Robert Guffin told CNHI Newspapers that the new staff used student data to craft individualized plans to improve learning. The new employees also brought a new attitude to the school, illustrated by the adoption of a theme song – “Just One Person” – which was originally a Sesame Street tune about children’s ability to succeed.
The simple but effective changes at Harshman serve as the latest example that the union-contrived seniority system is flawed. Experience is great, but it apparently doesn’t translate into better classroom results unless it’s mixed with a healthy dose of passion.
If there’s one quality Teach for America instructors bring to the table, it’s passion.
The test results in Indiana underline the need for real changes in public schools that are focused on students, not union employees. Harshman is the perfect example of how teacher seniority and other organized labor concepts are inhibiting students from reaching their true potential.
That must change. If it means dumping ineffective union teachers and replacing them with youngsters from Teach for America, so be it.
Harshman is evidence that it doesn’t take veteran teachers to effectively instruct children – it takes dedicated teachers, like the type that are found in the Teach for America group.
That’s not to say that there aren’t many capable teachers in the Indianapolis district right now. But somehow many of them aren’t getting the job done, and that’s unacceptable. Schools must have the power to retain the teachers who are effective in the classroom and remove those that aren’t, regardless of their length of service.
