Effective Teaching

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GO's Teacher Policy Fellowship is a yearlong, stipended opportunity for a small cohort of current Oakland teachers to Learn, Think, and Lead about the future of education. 

GO Teacher Policy Fellowship: Application Timeline and Description

Thank you for your interest in applying for the GO Teacher Policy Fellowship.  This application has two parts.  All applicants will complete Part I. Selected applicants will be notified on Nov. 27th and asked to complete Part II.

 

Part I. All applicants must submit all sections of part I of the application by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012.  Starting Nov. 1^st, each section of the application can be completed and submitted separately up until the deadline.  We encourage you to complete your application at your earliest convenience.  There are four mandatory sections and one optional section:

1. Written Application (online):  Basic contact and background information, including three references, as well as two short answer questions. Follow this link where the Online Application is available.
2. Telephone: Applicants will leave a short answer on GO's voicemail service in response to the two prompts below. Dial (510) 863-0172 and state your name to access GO's voice mailbox. You will then be prompted to leave a voicemail. Place a separate call for each of the questions, identifying yourself at the beginning of the call and at the start of the message.
1. Call #1: Give a 30 second "elevator pitch" for why you would be a good addition to the cohort.
2. Call #2: What are your strengths and weaknesses as it relates to this role?
3. Resume: (via e-mail) two page limit submitted via e-mail at policyfellows@gopublicschools.org. 
4. Optional: Writing sample (via e-mail) of your own choosing that is at least 250 words in length (examples include blog post, news article, and excerpt of research paper) submitted via e-mail at policyfellows@gopublicschools.org. 

*Part II. Select applicants will be notified on November 27^th and asked to the participate in the following:

1. Interview:  Nov. 28^th, 29^th, or Dec. 3^rd:  A brief interview on the evening of Nov. 28^th, 29^th, or Dec. 3^rd between 5:00 - 8:30). Please hold these time available to the extent possible.
2. Classroom Visit:  Dec. 3-7^th Classroom Visit: Classroom visit the week of Dec. 3-7^th. 

If you have questions, please contact Marc Tafolla at (650) 862-5457 or Marc@gopublicschools.org

Please note: GO will not share personal information with any outside organization. We will utilize this information for communications and selection purposes only. 

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The Launch of the Teacher Policy Fellowship

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Teacher Policy Fellowship. 

Committed to the principle that students will be better served if teachers are deeply involved with decision making, the goal of the fellowship is to develop and facilitate a community of policy fellows who are fully engaged with current leadership opportunities and brokering additional opportunities where none currently exist. 

This action-oriented opportunity is open to all Oakland teachers, the Teacher Policy Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for teacher leaders to:

• Learn: Meet with state and national experts in various areas of teacher policy (retention, professional growth, etc.).
• Think: Join a cohort of dedicated Oakland teachers who are looking to shape the future of public education.
• Lead: Work on individual and group advocacy projects and receive training and individual support on effectively organizing for change.

Ideal candidates are characterized by three traits:

• Growth mind set:  The ideal candidate believes that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work--brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. 
• Strong sense of responsibility & belief that effective teaching matters:  The ideal candidate believes that great teaching matters for students.  They understand the other challenges faced by students and the impact of poverty, but are invested in improving student access to effective teaching. 
• Openness to new information and perspectives: The ideal candidate is not only open to, but seeks new information and perspectives.  They are avid learners who seek new information and use it to advance their understanding of the world.

To learn more:  For an introduction to the fellowship (e.g., time commitment, stipend, and scope of work, and application) please follow the link to RSVP for one of the following dinners.

• Thursday - November 1, 2012 6-8pm
• Tuesday - November 13, 2012 6-8pm

Some quick details include:

• Stipend:  $500
• Application Process:  Applications are Due Nov. 25th (online app posted by Nov. 1).
• Meetings:  Monthly
• Time Commitment:  Monthly meetings with some limited outside prep for reading and advocacy 
• Topics covered:  TBD - Tentative Professional Growth and Support Systems; Rethinking Career Pathways
• Advocacy Project(s):  TBD by fellows

Hope to see you there!   The more diverse voices, the better! If you have any questions please contact Marc Tafolla at (650) 862-5457 or Marc@gopublicschools.org.

A little more:

We believe that our public schools will not improve dramatically and drive next-generation learning without a substantially different vision for teacher leadership. According to a hard-hitting report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), "In most high performing education systems teachers do not only have a central role in improving educational outcomes, they are also at the center of the improvement efforts themselves."  To do so, policy fellows will focus on developing the following capacities: 

• Content Knowledge: a broad understanding of the various policy issues that impact classroom teaching, as well as solutions that have been implemented in other locales; 
• Political Context: the tools to analyze and negotiate the political context and recognize advocacy opportunities; and 
• Advocacy Skills: the communication skills (e.g., blogging, and public speaking) necessary to be effective advocates for change.

Why focus on Effective Teaching? The Research.

As a result of a spring/summer 2011 strategic planning process that included input from more than 100 Oakland public education stakeholders and community leaders, GO launched an Effective Teaching Campaign with a vision of every Oakland student having access to effective teaching and our highest need students having equitable access to our most effective teachers.

Research confirms what many educators, parents and students know intuitively: the most important thing a school can do to help students learn is to put them in a classroom where they experience highly effective teaching

The need to address teaching effectiveness

• "Every aspect of school reform - the creation of more challenging curricula, the use of ambitious assessments, the implementation of decentralized management, the invention of new model schools and programs - depends on highly skilled teachers." - Linda Darling-Hammond, 2011
• "More can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor." - Wright, Horn, and Sanders, 1997
• "Having a high-quality teacher throughout elementary school can substantially offset or even eliminate the disadvantage of low socio-economic background." - Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain, 2002
• "The effect of increases in teacher quality swamps the impact of any other educational investment, such as reductions in class size." - Goldhaber, 2009

We must focus on recruiting and keeping an effective teacher in every Oakland classroom. Current studies confirm that among in-school factors, teacher effectiveness is the single most important factor in student learning. Further, effective teaching can close achievement gaps and overcome the impact of poverty on student learning and educational attainment.

We want our children to graduate with strong mathematical reasoning skills, a sound grasp of science and the arts, strong writing skills, world-class capacity for creativity and innovation, and strong understanding of civics and leadership. But all this is impossible unless their teachers have the knowledge and skills we want our children to have.

Click here to review GO's most recent publication: Key questions, research, and data that can help inform the critical conversations being held at the 2011 Oakland Teacher Convention, (April 2011).

Effective teaching will be assured when...

• Community and educational leaders have a shared understanding of current research on effective teachers, and are committing to uncompromising high standards for the adults we offer the privilege of serving our children.
• School sites make their own decisions about financial resources, time, and staffing. This enables schools to create working conditions that treat teachers as professionals.
• Teachers are: provided time and compensation for collaborating with each other and for participating in relevant professional development; recognized, accountable, and rewarded for their impact on student learning and achievement; and provided opportunities for professional growth.
• Teachers use multiple data sources to assess and adjust instruction, student interventions, professional development, and curriculum decisions.
• Teachers consistently review student work against student learning standards, and assess and adjust teaching practice to better serve student needs.
• Principals have the authority and support to recruit, select, develop, and keep or dismiss teachers and other school staff. This ensures that all schools have high-performing staffs that are committed to that school's vision and approach.
• School sites are provided with budgets, resources, training and tools to build the capacity of their staffs, ensuring that all are focused on high performance student outcomes and standards of work.
• We have a higher base salary for teachers, as well as incentives to retain and reward effective teachers and those who choose to teach in high-needs communities, that is, teachers are paid more!
• Teacher salaries are competitive with those of surrounding districts and communities.
• The teacher recruitment program is powerful enough to attract and recruit the strongest candidates, and effectively induct them into the system; Oakland leaders collaborate with those organizations that have shown that they can recruit and train teachers who positively impact student learning.