Let’s place ProComp in context
Tuesday, July 8, 2008Written by: Rachel Pickett
Blogfather’s note: Rachel Pickett is a teacher with the Boettcher Teachers Program.
The ProComp debate is a good one: should teachers be paid, in part, based on our performance? (And I must confess, my limited knowledge about ProComp is based on what I’ve read on this blog.) Will this initiative work to increase our kids’ test scores? Will those of us who are effective in our practice shine, and will our schools become bastions of effective, innovative teaching because effective teachers will guide each and every classroom?
I see ProComp as situated in the larger context of educational reform. Paying teachers by our performance is one idea trying to tackle the larger question ‘how do we raise all students’ academic understanding and achievement? How do we engage in the hard work of creating school environments that are mainstays of effective, innovative teaching and learning?’
If ProComp is going to be effective, it needs to be one of many diverse yet interconnected initiatives all working to create healthy and innovative instruction, school culture, and communication. Perhaps paying teachers based on our performance is one brick in the larger process of building an engaged, creative, literate classroom.
Imagine what our schools would be like if all teachers were trained in ways to structure purposeful learning environments where students want to be engaged and literate. Imagine if it was expected that we freely share our best practices and problem-solve our confusions/concerns, with one another (maybe district-wide).
Imagine if teachers were seen as inherently capable, and structures were created which both expected and supported us to capitalize on our strengths and capabilities. Paying us more for our success might be one of thousands of initiatives that we need to scaffold truly effective reform.
There are other possibilities of ways to support students’ learning and increased test scores, too. In Montgomery county Maryland, the entire school district (which is one of the largest and most diverse school districts in the country) is experimenting with study circles. These circles, where students, teachers, and community members come together to problem solve about the issues facing their schools, have begun building trust and stronger avenues of communication school-wide. Test scores are beginning to increase, and achievement gaps are beginning to narrow.
Innovative residency-model teacher training programs (such as the Boettcher Teachers Program) might be another possibility. Thoughtful and relevant professional development could help teachers become more effective. Setting up clear accountability systems for teachers is another. Maybe each of these steps is another brick.
ProComp makes sense to me if we look at it as a piece in our larger climb towards effective and equitable education for all students.
