I don’t feel like I can provide a complete discussion of the goal of my dream school without mentioning the specific goal of teacher recruitment and retention. Something that is a driving force in this whole thought experiment is the concept of increasing teachers’ job satisfaction through autonomy and control. That is not limited to policies; it is intended to be a major draw for teachers to join our team, and it is a budgeting priority to pay them commensurate with their training and experience.
Right now, the inequity of pay that exists between teachers and other professionals perpetuates a cultural belief that teachers do not have value. I have legitimately sat at the Thanksgiving table with beloved members of my extended family and listened to them complain that classroom teachers in their district “make $90,000. Can you believe that? For teaching.” This was in a district where members of my family make what I assume to be around $400,000 a year, and their children received such top notch public education that they were able to be accepted to and successful in ivy league universities. Because of the excellent education that they received, they are now well on their way to making the same in their futures (if they do not already).
But, I digress. I say all this to assert that salary = respect in our society. For this reason, teacher salaries will be a budgeting priority in my school. I do not take lightly, however, the responsibility that would come along with this increase in pay. Teachers in my dream school will need to pass rigorous scrutiny in order to be hired. Applicants will need to submit lesson plans, teach sample lessons or submit filmed lessons, and supply references from coworkers and testimonials from students. As a team, we will define standards below which we are not willing to fall, and together we will define ways in which to measure the meeting of those standards.
As a team, we will also identify any weaknesses that may exist within our teaching staff, as no recruitment efforts will result in a perfect workforce. Teachers and students may submit concerns about staff for review by the teacher council, and these concerns will be followed up on. I am not a teacher that blindly follows other teachers. I acknowledge that there are teachers who are lazy or who abuse their power. I do not want the power in my dream school to be abused in these ways. However, I am confident that through mutual respect as well as rigorous hiring expectations, each teacher will reach his or her best. We will encourage professional growth and treat teachers like the professionals that they are.
By creating a social contract among staff members in the building, we will have consistent language through which to communicate expectations and shared goals.
In my dream school... 