Focus on Improving Teacher Quality
Winter 2003 Vol. 11 No. 2
Philadelphia continues to struggle with hiring and retaining adequate numbers of qualified teachers, particularly in high-poverty schools.
Teacher quality gap persists across District
by Beandrea Davis
"If you don't have a qualified teacher, you're not going to learn."
Debbie Russell Brown, of the community organizing group Pennsylvania ACORN, made this remark early this fall to a crowd of about twenty ACORN members and supporters standing in front of FitzSimons Middle School – notable for its 70 percent teacher turnover rate last year.
ACORN was there to raise awareness about inequities in how qualified teachers are distributed in the School District of Philadelphia.
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Hiring 'highly qualified' new teachers for Philadelphia
by Paul Socolar
The School District of Philadelphia has expanded its teacher recruitment efforts, but will need to do more in order to meet federal requirements regarding "highly qualified" teachers.
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In other large districts, schools have more hiring authority
by Whitney Meagher
Many school systems in large cities across the United States have a teacher hiring process that gives more control to principals and allows more interaction between schools and candidates than the process used in Philadelphia.
"Few districts across the country have a hiring and school assignment process as centralized as Philadelphia," wrote the authors of Once and For All, a report issued in September by the nonprofit group Research for Action on teacher hiring in Philadelphia.
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Table of Contents
Theme articles
- Teacher quality gap persists across District by Beandrea Davis
- A teacher quality timeline Compiled by Beandrea Davis
- Will teachers stay? A look at the numbers
- Roads to classroom teaching: recent arrivals take varied routes
- Why Philadelphia loses promising teachers and what is being done about it by Eva F. Travers
- Teachers must understand, embrace differences by Cristina Gutierrez
- Hiring 'highly qualified' new teachers for Philadelphia by Paul Socolar
- 5 Things to Know: About every child's right to a highly qualified teacher by John Weidman
- Site selection of teachers now in place at 31 schools by Amy Rhodes
- In other large districts, schools have more hiring authority by Whitney Meagher
- High school students speak on the ideal teacher by Hoa Moc, Jessica Robinson, Monique Lee, Felicia Fullard, Arleatha Newton, Sarah Simms, Daniel Alicea, and Vicky Gonzalez with Paul Downie and Catie Cavanaugh
- Homegrown program succeeds in teacher recruitment, retention by Rebecca Reumann-Moore and Rachel Mausner
- Access to certified, experienced teachers is not equal for all
Other news & features
- District gets an earful about new curriculum by Paul Socolar
- PA school budget impasse continues by Aldustus Jordan
In our opinion
- Getting, keeping good teachers
From our readers
- Greenfield data distorted
- Implement Safe Corridor program
Eye on special education
- Teacher vacancies a problem for special education students by Ajuah Helton
Activism around the city
- ACORN members call teacher vacancies 'scary'
- Protesters demand improved African American studies
- EPOP succeeds in push for schoolwide voicemail
Neighborhood Notebook
- After years of struggle, high hopes for new Feltonville campus by Amy Rhodes
- A history of advocating for change
News in brief
- High-poverty districts falling further behind
- Grants of up to $3,000 offered for college-going
- Report cards provide extensive school data
- School District holds first anti-violence conference
School snapshot
- Beeber Middle School
Guest opinions
- A balanced approach to attracting teachers by Ted Kirsch
- The case for school-based teacher selection by Nancy J. McGinley
En español
- Así es como Filadelfia pierde maestros buenos por Eva F. Travers
- Los maestros tienen que entender y aceptar las diferencias por Cristina Gutiérrez
- 5 cosas que debe saber por John Weidman
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