Decatur board member: “Quality of the teaching in the classroom is the most powerful determinant.”
On the blog today, some folks asked why I don’t write more about the practices of high-achieving districts, such as Decatur. Two hours later, I received this e-mail from a Decatur board member explaining why he is choosing not to run for a third term.
That board member is John Ahmann, who is also a policy expert on education and has worked with the Atlanta chamber and APS over the years. Ahmann and I have had a lot of professional discussions over the years on teacher quality, one of his major focuses. (As I noted earlier, my twins attend Decatur schools.)
I thought Ahmann’s statement offered insights beyond Decatur, so I am sharing it here:
Here is his statement in part:
Over the last eight years, I have worked hard to contribute to helping City Schools of Decatur be among the best of the best. But just as in a relay race, I think now is the time to “pass the baton” so that someone else may continue the sprint to the finish line, and I have decided to not seek re-election to the Board.
Having worked in public policy change my entire adult life, I am acutely aware that any successful endeavor involves many people working together as links in a chain. I am proud to have been a link in the chain for arranging pro bono support from the Boston Consulting Group to develop the System’s strategic plan eight years ago; brokering philanthropic partnerships that led to the early childhood learning center and the program with the Ben Franklin Academy (which ensured dozens of at-risk students graduated from DHS); and working closely with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle on the legislation that enabled the creation of Charter Districts.
The area I have pushed the hardest and with the most consistency the last eight years is raising the quality of our instruction staff. Simply put, Decatur students deserve the best teachers. Recruiting and retaining the best teachers requires that we support them fully in their work and development as well as evaluate their performance in a clear and consistent way. I leave understanding much better how hard teaching really is, and that we must do so much more to nurture, support and reward great teaching. And we owe it to our children to do something about poor teaching in those instances where we find it.
The research is overwhelming in its conclusion that the quality of the teaching in the classroom is the most powerful determinant to a student’s success. A child in Decatur should never have a bad experience because of poor teaching. Decatur is blessed with a high-quality instruction staff, but we should not stop until we believe that every teacher in every classroom in every subject is in at least the top 10% of teachers nationwide. With over 400 applications per teacher opening, CSD can be highly selective.
With the support of an amazing community, CSD has aimed high: to be among the best community school districts in the nation. The challenges ahead for City Schools of Decatur are substantial because we aspire to be among the best in the nation. Over the last few months I have been in the “nay” category on a number of important votes. These included the high school start time; our transportation contract with the DeKalb County School System; a 1.5% pay raise for CSD staff at a time when we are engaged in deficit spending; and the recent 1 mill tax increase. So I have concluded that either candidate currently running for District 1 post would be more effective than I have been at enacting the change I believe is needed to continue our progress going forward.
As a prepare to hand off this baton to the next sprinter, I want to end with a big thank you to this amazing community that gives such tremendous support to our school system, both in engagement and also financially through paying a very high local millage rate. Sometimes the intensity of the engagement was tough on particular votes but in retrospect I can truly say the decisions were better for it. I have learned from my own experience that a temptation on the school board is to assume a, “they don’t understand” posture, or a we/they view instead of “us.”
Another temptation is to manage community engagement instead of truly embracing it, especially when it disagrees. Being human, the ego comes into play and sometimes issues feel personal that really should not be. Checking the ego at the door and the propensity to believe as a school board member I have all the facts and they (the community) don’t is hard. This is why community engagement is so, so important. We are all fallible. None of us know everything. But through the push and pull of dialogue, through engagement (sometimes intense), we will make better decisions. I know I did.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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68 comments Add your comment
ELMom
August 26th, 2011
11:49 am
When I said “no One” I meant no on posting on this board. You inferred that you were being attacked “Seems like people were willing to attack my position, my misrepresenting my position to say that teaching isn’t an important factor.” I do not see anyone arguing that it is THE most important factor. The responses were that it is an important factor. We all see to agree that it is not THE most important factor the question is how can we ensure high quality teachers across the board so that everyone has a fair shake regardless of zip code?
To Really???
August 26th, 2011
11:58 am
Thank you for your comments. They are refreshing.
Good Mother.
Shirley U. Jest
August 26th, 2011
12:51 pm
ElMom, your comparison to college is ridiculous. College professors get students that want to be there. A college professor can stand in the front of the room and give a completely boring lecture, and the students will take notes. They don’t have to be entertained with bells and whistles.
blackbird13
August 26th, 2011
12:57 pm
Re: Decatur schools: I’d imagine a major factor in student success there is that a high percentage of the parents themselves work in the education field.
catlady
August 26th, 2011
1:13 pm
“@Calling, I don’t get people who argue that teacher quality is not a factor when virtually all the research says that WITHIN the school, teacher quality is the most critical element student success.”
But Ms. Downey, here is what your quoted source said (and it is incorrect): “The research is overwhelming in its conclusion that the quality of the teaching in the classroom is the most powerful determinant to a student’s success.”
I am not even sure that is true within the school (school size, resources, peers, counselors, class size all matter also) but am willing to concede that it is possible.
We can all name teachers who made a difference in our lives. Whether they were “excellent” or not, they provided, at a time we needed it, just what we needed. My kids certainly had some excellent ones, and some that were not so hot, in my subjective opinion. However, ultimately my kids’ success or failures were due almost totally to what I provided for them (or didn’t), from birth, not the 7 hours a day they spent in school.
November 6, 2012
August 26th, 2011
4:04 pm
@catlady
August 25th, 2011
8:04 pm
No one is saying Decatur should go out and take other systems’ rejects. But they are not known for that.
#1, they wouldn’t do that and #2, they couldn’t get away with doing that…….
and “calling buffalo chips”, what is your pre-occupation with “free and reduced lunch”?
And I’ll leave it with this…….”Go Decatur, we’re Number One”
No contest. Thanks Maureen for bringing this to everyone’s attention.
C'mon
August 26th, 2011
7:46 pm
Catlady- if you don’t think that the quality is the most powerful determinant of student achievement in a SCHOOL!!!!, then please, get out now! That is the most ridiculous mindset I have EVER heard! It would be hysterical if it weren’t so sad,,,,geezus…
William Casey
August 26th, 2011
8:58 pm
@C’mon: Catlady (one of my school heroes) isn’t saying that AT ALL. She’s blogged on here for years. Check out her body of work.
I’ll speak for myself. The quality of the teacher IS important within a school. However, there ARE many other variables even WITHIN THE SCHOOL (leaving parents, SES, etc. out of it) that determine student outcomes. True whether you like it or not. A few examples from my career:
1. Preserving sanctity of planning time. I had administrators who routinely assigned “duties” during my planning period. Killer to morale and efficiency.
2. Teacher “floating” from classroom. Had to do that a couple of times when I was new. Exhausting and disorganizing.
3. Requiring extreme documentation (reports, notes, etc.) on EVERYTHING. This seems to have gotten even worse since I retired in ‘06. Teachers can teach and do the associated preparation required for classroom excellence or they can spend their time reporting everything to be filed away somewhere unread. Your choice.
4. Coaching/extracurricular overload. I coached and was considered a quality teacher as well. However, there were years when I was overloaded with “extras” and instruction suffered.
5. Administrative bias for personal reasons. If the principal doesn’t like/respect a teacher, instruction suffers. Even the best teachers aren’t immune. Take it to the bank.
6. The sanctity of instructional TIME. I once had an otherwise good principal who was always scheduling non-instructional events which seriously degraded academics.
7. Lack of administrative support in student discipline.
LOTS MORE…
I’m not at all complaining here. I spent four years as an administrator at Chattahoochee HS and understand the other side. Just saying that many IN SCHOOL variables are important. “Teacher Quality” does not exist in a vacuum. Having the best teacher matters but alone, it seldom makes the difference between total failure and true achievement.
Really????
August 26th, 2011
10:59 pm
Again…. Teachers are THE most important factor! The teacher IS the expert on education; NOT the parent, the parents’ money, or the parents’ degrees. Guess what parents with money do to assist their children who are struggling??? You got it! They hire an “education professional”; a tutor; Sylvan etc. Teachers who do not believe that they are THE most important factor in making a significant impact on student learning; even without the most desirable amount of home support, should LEAVE the profession and make way for those teachers who still believe in the MAGIC of moving children forward academically.. Imagine where our children would be academically if the majority of us teachers really thought that way.
Calling Buffalo Chips
August 27th, 2011
4:51 am
I see Really ???? is really reading to defend his/her position. Until confronted with facts and logic.
Again Really???? You are given a great teacher at your disposal. You can earn 10 million dollars if she can get her kids to score above average on the state exams.
You are given a choice. She can work at a school with 10% or less free and reduced lunch, or a school at 90% or more free and reduced lunch.
Which school do you choose? According to your logic, the answer would be “Doesn’t matter. The teacher is above all else THE most important factor”
But you won’t say that, because you know other bloggers would call you on it, don’t you?
Calling Buffalo Chips
August 27th, 2011
5:51 am
ELMom how can you deny something that’s right there at the top of this blog in boldface large font.
The school board member CLEARLY said the quality of teaching is THE most powerful determinant in a student’s success.
Not A powerful determinant; THE most powerful. And yes, people like Really ???? are claiming it’s true.
More powerful than the student’s home life? More powerful than the student’s motivation? More powerful than the natural aptitude of the student?
So Really??? if we take your statement to a LOGICAL conclusion, that the teacher is THE most important factor, you are saying that a child from a broken home, of modest capability and zero interest in learning, with an excellent teacher, will outperform a student from a two parents with advanced degrees, an IQ of 180 and a burning desire to learn if that student, with all those natural built in advantages is saddled with an “average” teacher.
That’s the LOGICAL conclusion of the statement the teacher is THE most important factor.
Still want to defend the statement Really?????
May
August 27th, 2011
4:42 pm
I agree that teacher quality and the administration of a school is extremely important! I also believe all children can learn regardless of their family’s financial situation.
With that said, I believe the single most important factor for success in a child’s life is their attitude and motivation towards life-long learning. While a gifted teacher can do much to instill motivation within a student, the child’s parent and/or guardian’s attitude towards the importance of education will make a far bigger impact!
Really????
August 27th, 2011
10:50 pm
Well Calling Buffalo Chips, actually you are the one whose lack of logic exceeds ridiculous… With your logic, children who have parents with money, degrees, and huge homes DONT need schools or teachers since they have the major ingredients for success.. Right?? WRONG!! Take a child from a family with your ideal set-up, and put him with less than average teachers for three years, and you will get a student who will more than likely, experience an achievement gap, even with mommy’s
and daddy’s money. This IS research.
If you research my comments, I began by saying that a quality teacher is a major factor in a child’s success and is NOT way down on the list! I got so caught up in my “passion for children and teaching” that I admit going overboard in saying that it’s THE most important factor in my most recent post. What are you caught up in Buffalo Chips? What would possess you to labor to try to convince others of the inevitably of children’s failure if they are not from the most perfect of
situations? So with your NO-SENSE logic, most of our children are doomed!
What you offer are excuse and a lack of accountability for teachers! The problem is, we QUALITY teachers understand that we ARE a MAJOR influence on student success and we ARE accountable for our students learning!
clueless about the impact a QUALITY teacher can make on a child academically despite his home life or IQ… Ill break it down to you… That means to help each child reach his or her individual academic potential…… If you ARE a teacher, then this career is NOT for you! When a teacher begins to believe that he or she is NOT a major determinant of a child’s success, you should NOT be in front of future dreams carried in the hearts and minds of our children!
Really????
August 27th, 2011
11:02 pm
Correction: The last paragraph should begin with; “Since you are… clueless” ….
Really????
August 27th, 2011
11:06 pm
Move on to some other baseless, and ILLOGICAL argument Buffalo…
Calling Buffalo Chips
August 28th, 2011
11:40 am
We can move on Really??? now that YOU have admitted your error. The ENTIRE thrust of my argument was to assert that the teacher is A major determinant, but not THE major determinant of a student’s success. Now you want to backtrack and say you never said it, but here it is in plain sight on your August 26, 10:59 post:
Again…. Teachers are THE most important factor!
Now that I’ve point out the folly of YOUR words, you want to claim you never said them. Maybe you should have asked Maureen to delete them before making such an easily refutable claim.
See, what you obviously don’t get is that saying the teacher is A factor, holds all parties accountable. But we don’t want to do that in America, we want to say teachers are THE most important factor, so we can play Maureen and the rest of America’s game, “blame teachers first”
Again, Really??? quote me, as I did YOU where I said teachers were not A major factor.
Crickets chirping.
Theresa
August 31st, 2011
10:47 pm
No one in their right mind could argue that the ‘quality’ of the practitioner doesn’t matter. However, I could have the most skilled surgeon on earth and still die of sepsis if I don’t take my antibiotics and keep the incision clean. Is that a reflection on the surgeon? Of course not, it’s my own stupid fault. Likewise, I can sit in class with the world;s ‘best’ teacher and sabotage her efforts every day. Can I then claim it’s her fault I don’t know any more than I did before the class? Absolutely not!
By the way, how would you quantify, or even define, the ‘quality’ of the teacher. The one that clicks for me might not work for you…
Theresa
August 31st, 2011
10:49 pm
Cactus, could we have citations for the evidence you discuss? I’m very interested in reading the research.