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Memphis, TN, July 24 - When Partners in Public Education (PIPE) recruited The New Teacher Project to Memphis, it was with the understanding that fundamental change only takes place when organizations change their fundamentals. And that is exactly what The New Teacher Project set out to do after taking charge of the recruitment and selection of teachers for Memphis City Schools, the nation's 21st largest district. In only 18 months, The New Teacher Project has recruited more experienced, better-educated and a greater number of applicants for teaching jobs at Memphis City Schools. "The results have been dramatic, and The New Teacher Project proves every day that large urban school districts like ours have the power to shape their own destiny," said Ms. Ethele Hilliard, president/CEO of PIPE in Memphis. "PIPE set teacher quality as a priority, because it is key to improved student achievement and better schools, and we're making important strides." PIPE Chairman David Wayne Brown added that The New Teacher Project is about doing even more. "Most of all, it's about the transformational change that takes place in the culture and philosophy as a result of improvements in human resources policies and operations. The New Teacher Project approach is methodical, strategic and results-oriented, and it's proving that urban districts can attract the best and brightest to their schools." Benchmarks of Success Already, in Memphis City Schools, The New Teacher Project has: 1) Restructured the human resources department 2) Created the first online application, computerized applicant tracking system and a website marketing Memphis and its school district 3) More than doubled the number of applications over the previous year 4) Increased the grade point average of applicants by 10 percent to 3.1 GPA 5) Increased the applicants with previous teaching experience to 60 percent 6) Quadrupled the percentage of applicants with advanced degrees to 41 percent 7) Increased applicants in critical needs subject areas to 45 percent Working in a handful of districts, the program is built on the national nonprofit organization's groundbreaking report, Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High-Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms, which challenged the conventional wisdom that urban school districts are strapped for teachers because few people want to teach in high-poverty schools. The research concluded that with good recruiting strategies, up-to-date technology, efficient human resources systems, data-driven goals and candidate cultivation, urban districts can attract quality teacher applicants. That has been the case at Memphis City Schools, and the stakes can't be higher. "No single factor has a greater influence on student achievement than teacher quality," said Ms. Kaya Henderson, The New Teacher Project's vice-president of strategic partnerships. "The partnership in Memphis is a good one, because there is a strong network of community support. It's like the best partnerships: we're learning from Memphis City Schools and Memphis City Schools is learning from us." Focusing on Results To execute the changes needed to attract quality teachers, The New Teacher Project concentrates on three focus areas: 1) improved human resources processes to create a more effective organizational structure 2) hiring timeline reform to speed up deadlines 3) school-level capacity development, working with principals and school staff to equip them to identify vacancies and hire teachers earlier Proud of the progress that has been made since The New Teacher Project took responsibility for strategy, execution and technology in the recruitment and selection of new teachers for Memphis City Schools, Ms. Henderson cautions that much remains to be done. " Ultimately, we are talking about a mindset shift," she said. "We are now in the midst of doing the hard work, which is getting everyone to rethink the role of the human resources department. In most urban school districts, the mindset isn't that the central office serves schools, but that the schools serve the central office. That's why client services - with schools as the clients - are at the heart of the institutional change that we're seeking." Cultural Change Takes Time True organizational change takes three to five years, she says, and it builds momentum from the proof that it is possible. "The challenge that we face is that we have the investment of the district leadership, but we also need the investment by H.R. leadership. In the end, to succeed, what it really takes is leadership by H.R., and it is sometimes hard for them to think differently because of the daily fires that they have to put out. In some ways, we not only are trying to show better ways of doing business, but we are also giving voice to changes advocated by some H.R. staff for a long time." At a time when schools face a growing shortage of teachers - a 35 percent increase in the number of people entering teaching is needed just for the U.S. to remain where it is now - and the number of applicants scoring in the top 10 percent of their classes has fallen by 50 percent, The New Teacher Project couldn't come at a better time for Memphis City Schools. "The days when it was a seller's market are long over," said Ms. Henderson. "Not too many years ago, there were many more jobs than teachers, but all that has changed. Now we have to compete for teachers. We can't afford to wait for them to come to us. We have to find them, differentiate Memphis City Schools from other districts, tell what makes Memphis City Schools and Memphis better, and get them to consider us. We sell the city the same as the Chamber of Commerce sells the city." In addition to a new website - www.teachmemphis.org - that it created, The New Teacher Project communicates regularly with applicants, and even has current and retired teachers - "ambassadors" - calling to tell applicants that they are wanted and needed in Memphis City Schools. "We want the best people, but we want people who are not just looking for a job, but want to be part of something important," said Ms. Henderson. To this end, the Human Resources Department of Memphis City Schools has a new team structure geared to customer service; process-oriented teams that are standardizing processes to eliminate bottlenecks; certification and staffing links that cut down on terminations for lapsed licenses; real accountability using workflow tracking tools and customer surveys; and improved communications and school relations to create better rapport and mutual goals. Rolling Away The Big Stones While she resists labels like "miracle workers," which has been applied to The New Teacher Project, she instead makes the point that real innovation takes time, as proven by the program's work in New York City and Washington, D.C., where The New Teacher Project has worked since 2000. "It's about steadily working and building partnerships," she says. "Only then do we roll away the big stones that stand in the way of change." Ms. Hilliard of PIPE agreed: "In the end, it's all about removing barriers that stall hiring, whether it is the application process, poor data, lack of urgency or too much bureaucracy. The New Teacher Project adds momentum to reform initiatives under way and directed at a singular goal - improving student achievement - and it would not be reaching these benchmarks of success without the full support and help of (Memphis City Schools) Superintendent Carol Johnson." The three-year program is funded with $1 million that The New Teacher Project received from the U.S. Department of Education and $600,000 committed in Memphis by PIPE, Hyde Family Foundations and Memphis City Schools. "The kind of improvements we're seeing here may not generate headlines in the daily paper or stories on the nightly news, but there's nothing going on in Memphis City Schools that's more critical to our students than The New Teacher Project," said Ms. Hilliard, "or more important in proving to the rest of the country that urban school districts have the power to innovative, to lead change and improve." |
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