I came across this 60-Minutes segment talking about a pretty cool school in New York City called TEP – The Equity Project. It is a publicly funded charter school that is privately run. They take only the funds provided, and imagine this, they prioritize those same funds to impact teaching and learning of all things.
- EVERY lesson needs to be laser focused
- It is not OK to be just OK.
- Teachers can be paid up to $125,000 but paying the teachers doesn”t make them better. Candidates go through a rigorous screening process and then only the great teachers are hired. They turn down thousands of applicants. Attracting the best and the brightest and then holding them accoutable for results, is the essential ingredient to a school’s success.
- Those that don’t meet standards are let go. They are ALL at-will employees. No contract. No unions.
- There are great teachers everywhere, but not all teachers everywhere are great.
- At TEP, all the teachers are great.
- Great teachers can help their students achieve two or three years of growth within one year.
- They learn from one another through constant feedback from administration and from each other. They actually get together and talk about teaching and learning. Wow, what a novel concept.
Watch the video. Good stuff.
The Umenum 