Next phase of education reform already taking shape

DES MOINES - How teachers work and spend their days and how much they make will be the focus of the 2013 education reform package coming from Gov. Terry Branstad.

Lawmakers have yet to wrap up work on this year's reform package, which includes such provisions as end-of-course exams for high school seniors, retention for third-graders who are behind on reading and a push toward competency-based learning for all schoolchildren.

But work already has begun in earnest on the 2013 package. The Taskforce on Teacher Leadership and Compensation, a statewide group that includes teachers, principals and leaders of advocacy groups, has been brought together to shape next year's proposal.

Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said the 2012 reform package focused a lot on recruiting and keeping the best teachers and administrators, or human capital reforms. The 2013 proposal will focus more on the system within which those people work, or social capital reforms.

“What we have to do in the next session is focus on the social capital approaches - the collaboration time, the connection time and creating teacher leadership roles,” Glass said. “Part of it on this social capital side is trying to not have all the power in a school in the hands of a building principal and building a team around the principal.”

Milken's work on TAP

Glass said his thinking on social capital reforms has been influenced by Lowell Milken's work on TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement. Milken is a multimillionaire known for his philanthropic work through the Milken Family Foundation and his efforts in early childhood education and education reform.

TAP advocates a four-tiered approach to recruiting and keeping high-quality teachers: pay-for-performance, multiple career paths for teachers, ongoing professional development and teacher accountability.

Some of those items were in this year's education reform outline in a plan that created a tiered system of apprentice, career, mentor and master teachers. Pay and responsibility would go up in each successive tier.

“What we propose (in 2013) may not look like that,” Glass said.

Who decides?

Paul Gausman, superintendent of the Sioux City School District, is a member of the leadership and compensation task force. He also chairs the Urban Education Network, an association of the 17 largest school districts in the state.

The task force, Gausman said, has met once, but the real work of outlining policy has yet to begin.

“It does appear that there will be some form of merit pay based on achievement (recommendation) but it's not something we've talked about yet at all,” he said. “It's not something that most people can agree to define, and it tends to get bogged down in the process.”

Still, Gausman said, “everyone appears to be willing to have these discussions; no one appears to be obstructionist.”

Ann Lebo, an English instructor at Grundy Center High School and Hawkeye Community College who also is serving on the task force, said she's particularly interested seeing how the teacher leadership role develops.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to have a professional path,” Lebo said. “If you're a good teacher, sometimes you have no choice but to leave the classroom if you want to grow in your career.”

Mary Jane Cobb, executive director of the Iowa State Education Association and a member of the task force, said she's glad to hear the department talk about collaboration time as part of the next education reform package.

“That's what we've been talking about since the summit; that's what everybody in the summit was saying was so important,” Cobb said. “It is a little disheartening that what came to the Legislature this year seemed more focused on teacher employment policies than how to adequately fund our schools.”

Asked if she expected a tough legislative fight next year as the state starts to look at teacher pay and professionalism, Cobb demurred.

“Right now I'm focused on getting through this legislative session,” she said.

Next year's education reform package could contain plenty of holdovers from this year's bill, depending on what happens this legislative session. Branstad said as much last week when he met with business leaders to talk about his policy initiatives. The governor chided Senate Democrats who he said should follow the lead of the Republican-controlled House and push for “bold” reform.

“My message is this: If you want to vote against that, we'll be back next year after you're gone,” Branstad said. “You can be part of the solution or you can be part of the problem, but we're going to get this done.”

Members of the Taskforce on Teacher Leadership and Compensation are:

----  Teresa Bellinghausen, teaching and learning consultant, Heartland Area Education Agency

----  Connie Boesen, school board member, Des Moines Public Schools

----  Molly Boyle, third-grade teacher/2011 Iowa Teacher of the Year, Brookview Elementary School, Waukee Community School District

----  Mary Jane Cobb, executive director, Iowa State Education Association

----  Tom Downs, executive director, Iowa Association of School Boards

----  Paul Gausman, superintendent, Sioux City School District

----  Jason Glass, director, Iowa Department of Education

----  Jessica Gogerty, school improvement leader, North High School, Des Moines Public Schools

----  Jodie Graham, principal, Humboldt Middle School, Humboldt Community School District

----  Justin Gross, principal, Nevada High School, Nevada Community School District

----  Julie Heller, crisis interventionist for behavioral disorders program, Central High School, Davenport Community Schools

----  Kent Henning, president, Grand View University

----  Angie Jandrey, kindergarten teacher, Lincoln Elementary School, Mount Pleasant Community School District

----  Ann Lebo, English instructor, Grundy Center High School and Hawkeye Community College

----  Duane Magee, assistant superintendent of human resources, Waukee Community School District

----  Kent Mick, history teacher and curriculum coordinator, Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne Community School District

----  Diane Pratt, talented and gifted specialist, Fort Dodge Community School District

----  Carl Smith, Iowa State University faculty member, Iowa Board of Regents

----  Dan Smith, executive director, School Administrators of Iowa

----  David Stoakes, superintendent, Cedar Falls Community School District

----  Denny Wulf, superintendent, Norwalk Community School District

----  Don Zuck, executive director, Ankeny Economic Development Corp.