Text Links: Home Lesson Plans Humor Teacher Inquiry Urban Education Web Wizardry Links All material is my personal opinion, and not that of any other organization. Copyright 2001. Permission is granted for individual teacher use. All rights reserved. Feedback is invited: Email me!

"My Word" guest editorial, Oakland Tribune, Nov. 20, 2001 A tale of two school districts THIS is a tale of two districts, a tale of two classrooms. The districts: Oakland and Palo Alto. Oakland's middle school Academic Performance Index scores average 470 points on a 1,000-point scale, while Palo Alto middle schools have scores close to 900. Only about half the teachers in Oakland's middle schools hold teaching credentials, as compared to 90 percent of Palo Alto's middle school teachers. What will it take for the students in the poorest neighborhoods of Oakland to succeed? We are ending the cycle of welfare, setting expectations that everyone should go to college and raising standards so that you can't even get a high school diploma without passing a tough exam. What should we do to make sure these children have a fair chance in their competition with the children in Palo Alto? We cannot control their family's educational background or even the level of violence they must live with in their neighborhoods. But we do have some control over their schools. Numerous studies have demonstrated the dramatic effect the proportion of qualified teachers has on student success. Even after controlling for poverty and language background, schools with higher numbers of qualified teachers outperform those without such teachers. Three-fourths of the teachers in the four top-performing schools in Oakland are fully credentialed, which means they have preparation in their subject matter and how to teach it. Fewer than half of those in the four bottom-ranked schools have credentials. The students with the greatest need are being taught by those with the least preparation and experience. If we are serious about closing the gap between Oakland and Palo Alto, we should make sure the students of Oakland are taught by experienced professionals, skilled at creating a positive environment for learning, attuned to the needs of their students, prepared to give them the education they so desperately need. That is what logic would suggest. That is what justice would require. The recently released report of the California Professional Development Task Force looked at these issues and proposes some remedies: Eliminate the practice of allowing anyone to teach without a credential. Increase service scholarships and forgivable loans for those who prepare to teach (before they enter!) in shortage fields and shortage locations. This also will lower attrition since well-prepared teachers stay longer. Increase and equalize salaries to market competitive levels. In spite of recent raises, starting salaries in Oakland are still more than 10 percent below those in Palo Alto. Improve teacher education and mentoring for beginners. Improve teaching conditions in hard-to-staff schools. Encourage (and pay) National Board certified teachers to start new programs and new schools in places where they are most needed. When hospitals in rural areas or inner cities are hard to staff, the government does not simply have untrained medics learn on the job. Rather than lower standards, we provide incentives to lure doctors to where they are needed. Students in our schools are no less valuable, and it is unconscionable that those suffering are those in greatest need. The steps recommended by the Task Force should be acted upon immediately to correct this injustice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anthony Cody is a national board certified teacher at Bret Harte Middle School in Oakland. He lives in Berkeley.