Teach Plus Projects

OUR PROJECT GOALS

The ulimate goal of Teach Plus is to improve student outcomes by ensuring that a greater proportion of students have access to high quality, experienced teachers. Primary, related objectives include:

• Improved teacher retention, particularly in urban, low-performing schools;
• Increased opportunities for teacher leadership and changes in teacher compensation; and
• An enhanced role for early career teachers in shaping education policy.

OUR CURRENT PROJECTS

Teaching Fellows Program. In Fall 2007, we selected a group of fifteen promising early career teachers to serve as a powerful voice for their generation in the field of education. Teachers will form a working group on the second stage of the teaching career and, over the course of their two-year appointment, produce a series of briefs and host a series of public events designed to influence policy change at the state and local level.

Research and Technical Assistance to Districts. We offer a variety of services to schools and districts interested in improving teachers’ career opportunities and compensation. Our work to date has involved: convening teams of district and union leaders, designing a teacher leadership inventory for use in districts, shaping a funding plan for the work expanding teacher leadership opportunities, researching teacher and principal attitudes, exploring changes to the teacher schedule and pay scale, establishing a job description and selection criteria for a set of new leadership roles, and piloting a teacher-led intervention in the district’s low-performing schools.

Contract Analysis and Negotiations Support. We work with school districts to help enable significant changes in the collective bargaining agreement by conducting research and designing negotiations strategy. Our work to date has involved: working with internal negotiations teams to craft priorities and negotiations strategy, conducting research on best practices from similar districts, conducting research using district data on hiring, turnover and compensation, and drafting revised contract language.

Teach Plus Database of Career Opportunities. We are assembling a database the catalogues career growth opportunities for teachers from fellowships to grants to summer internships. All opportunities are focused on leadership and learning for teachers, and almost all offer additional compensation for teachers. We currently have over 150 opportunities in the database and are planning an outreach project to add to these possibilities.

Toolkit on Innovations in Differentiated Pay and Roles. We have created an online toolkit that offers information about innovations designed to retain high quality teachers such as adding leadership roles and differentiating pay for teachers in high-need schools and subject areas, for those who demonstrate specialized knowledge and skills, and/or for those whose students make exceptional progress. Each category in the toolkit includes locations where the work is happening, descriptive cases, language from teachers union contracts, considerations for those undertaking the work and research-based resources.

Click here to learn more about Teach Plus.