Sherwood School Model Hopes to Lure Federal Funds

Federal officials recently unveiled the ground rules for getting some of the billions of dollars in education stimulus money they’re offering, under a program called “Race to the Top.”

One aspect drew particular attention in Oregon. The feds want states to retain and train the best teachers and school leaders to improve the nation’s schools. Oregon advocates say there are connections between those priorities, and a program already in place here. Rob Manning reports.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says states will only get money if they make a convincing argument that they can put great teachers into the classroom, and keep them there.

Arne Duncan: “We believe that talent matters tremendously. When we allocated points in the application process, we gave more points for improving teachers and leaders than for any other category.”

Duncan, who spoke about the guidelines earlier this month, is calling for schools to question their assumptions – about everything from how teachers are trained, to how they’re paid.

And the federal government wants to keep the best teachers in the classroom. Educators often leave the classroom – either to become administrators, or to do something completely different, in search of better pay.

Eric Beasley: “We definitely need to develop career options for people that are not the administrative track.””

Eric Beasley is an assistant principal in Sherwood, a district that Oregon officials say could become a model for the nation.

Eric Beasley: “We have built into our system in Sherwood, technology mentors, we have math coaches, and I think there are a lot of people who do want to stay in the classroom, but they want opportunities to have leadership.”

Sherwood created those alternate career paths thanks to Oregon’s foundation-backed education non-profit, the Chalkboard Project. Its leaders are hoping that Chalkboard pilot programs --  like the one in Sherwood -- may meet Secretary Duncan’s challenge. 

Mid-afternoon, at Sherwood’s Laurel Ridge Middle School, kids are waiting for their parents, or playing ball in the gym. It looks like a lot of middle schools.

But Sherwood is one of only three districts in Oregon where administrators and teachers agreed to a new career framework where teachers could pursue coaching and mentoring opportunities, in exchange for additional pay. It’s called the “CLASS project” and it’s a model specifically highlighted in Oregon’s draft application for the federal  stimulus funds.

Suzanne West is a Sherwood teacher and a member of Oregon’s Race to the Top effort.

Suzanne West: “Just about everyone in the work group was acknowledging that these things that CLASS has done in districts already, we need to use that as a model, and build upon it.”

Secretary Duncan has emphasized that “Race to the Top” is looking for proven results that teachers are becoming more effective. One way to do that, he says, is by tying teacher pay to student test data. 

Arne Duncan: “Student achievement including test scores has to be important.”
 
Suzanne West says that Sherwood’s program makes that connection optional.

Suzanne West: “Although we’re not requiring teachers to use test data, they may use that, as part of the innovative compensation model we’ve put together.”

Whether or not the model being used in Sherwood goes far enough to please the feds isn’t clear. But there are some advocates who say Oregon shouldn’t go any further.

Courtney Vandersteck: “We do not believe it’s appropriate to tie student achievement test scores to teacher evaluation, or teacher compensation.”

That’s Courtney Vandersteck with the teachers’ union, Oregon Education Association,  a member of the panel working on the state’s “Race to the Top” application.  She’d rather risk losing ground in the competition for federal money, than implement a pay-for-performance system.

Courtney Vandersteck: “If that in fact it means we lose points on the application, from OEA’s perspective, it means we lose points on the application. We don’t put something in the application that isn’t good for students, for teachers, and the state.”

Sherwood’s  new career and compensation program mirrors the federal guidelines in other ways. Both call for tying professional development to what’s happening in the classroom.

Middle school administrator Eric Beasley says Sherwood has already moved away from the “make everyone listen to a lecture” model.

Eric Beasley: “We can send people out to different workshops – and we do – but if we’re really looking at our students’ learning, and we’re collaborating and looking at data, and changing our instruction because of that – that’s where it’s at right now for us.”

Beasley says sometimes teachers find problems that require outside help. Chalkboard offers small grants for those, and Beasley says even a few thousand dollars can make a difference.

Eric Beasley: “Here, we’ve got this group of kids, the regular program is not seeming to completely meet their needs, so we looked at some different programs, we were able to purchase some interventions, put those kids in, and we saw gains with those kids.”

Chalkboard is now expanding this program to 12 districts. That means it will be harder for Chalkboard to fund these incentive grants. That makes getting “Race to the Top” money an attractive proposition.

But Kate Dickson, with Chalkboard, says Oregon may have a better shot at a smaller pot of federal money, called the “Teacher Innovation Fund.”

Kate Dickson: “That particular set of grants, we’re waiting for the regulations to come out. But the pre-guidelines that have been stated is that they will almost match the four components of the CLASS project.”

Those are the career pathways, evaluations, professional development, and of course, compensation.

Dickson is taking a few Sherwood school officials with her to DC this week to talk up Chalkboard’s program, while most of Sherwood’s teachers keep their focus on students, at places like Laurel Ridge Middle School.