The Lazy Teacher’s Guide to Conferences

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Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Parent Involvment

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were early efficiency experts who did motion study work. The book about their family, Cheaper by the Dozen, explains the technique they used. “A lazy man … always makes the best use of his [time] because he is too indolent to waste motions. Whenever Dad started to do a new motion study project at a factory, he’d always begin by announcing he wanted to photograph the motions of the laziest man on the job” (Gilbreth and Carey, 94).

There are lots of tips and tricks for having effective parent-teacher conferences, from the NEA and KidsHealth to a collection of materials from Edutopia.

But how to be efficient? How to make the best use of your time?

Let me share some ideas. See if there are ones you can adapt to use with your students and your parents.

I have students write in a journal nearly every day. At the beginning of the school year I ask them to write short pieces about gifts or talents they have, ones they wish they had, and ones they are willing to work hard on this year to develop as skills. Often those responses have little or nothing to do with school. They have to do with sports teams or drama classes or art classes. Which is great — I learn a lot about my students’ interests. I have them type those pieces and print them. I hang them on the bulletin board in the hall.

(I also use the discussions we have to drive home the point that there are multiple kinds of gifts and talents, not just the ones that get kids placed into self-contained classrooms. And we talk about how everyone has to work hard to improve skills.)

About four weeks into the school year I narrow the focus. I ask students to write in their journals about what they do well at school. I ask them to think specifically about academics and behavior inside my classroom. The next day I ask them to write about what they need to improve. We’ve had a month of school. By now they should be able to pinpoint some areas of success and areas for growth.

The third day I ask them to write about how the adults in their life can help them—parents, grandparents, teachers, whatever grownups they rely on for help.

Once again, I have them type up what they’ve written, but this time I don’t have them print the pieces. They save them into the Kragen classroom folder into a subfolder called “journals.”

Meanwhile, I have a template for my conferences:

In the week before the conferences, I copy the template, one for each student. I add the student and parent names. Finally, I import the paragraphs each student wrote into their page.

As parents and students arrive for conferences I greet them. I ask the students to collect their most recent papers to go home. I give the parents the STAR test results and any other paperwork from the office.

Just that quickly we are ready to start the interview.

I sit at the computer, facing my student. Parents listen while I conduct an interview. (It’s really hard for them to be quiet and listen, but I ask them to wait to talk until their child is finished.)

First, I ask, “What are you good at? I see you wrote that you are good at math. Are you good at other things too?” As we talk, I add to what the student initially wrote. Sometimes I say, “May I add something? May I put down that you are extremely well-behaved?” or “You do really well in group work.” I’ve never had a student turn me down! It gives me the chance to reinforce the idea that behavior and teamwork are valued skills in the classroom.

Second, I ask for what they need to improve. Usually they have a really good handle on what they need to work on. My contributions are less likely to be additions and more likely to be suggested solutions.

Third, I throw them a curve ball. I ask, “What are your goals for school, for your life? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to accomplish?”

Some children have vague ideas. “I want to get good grades.” I sometimes suggest, “I want to be well-educated?” They usually smile and say yes.

Others have definite plans. “I want to be a veterinarian.” “An entertainer.” “I want to work with robots.” “I want to be an author.” “I want to be an inventor.”

Those responses can lead to a brief but rich conversation.

1.

During the conference I Google the top ten colleges in the field and recommend to the student and parents that they contact the schools to find out what their requirements are. What would the child need to do in high school in order to be a good candidate for the program? Plan ahead!

(My dad did hiring for Lockheed. He told me once that they looked at candidates from only five schools in the US. I always thought that if it was your life-long dream to work at Lockheed it would really be awful to find that out after you graduated from school number six!)

BTW, also look into financial aid at each school. How will you start planning to pay for the college now?

As families take summer vacations, I recommend they visit any of the top schools they might pass. See if they can get a tour.

2.

Find mentors or interview subjects. Can you tour the robotics department at UW? Can you job shadow a scientist?

I won’t take the whole class on a field trip to visit such specific places, but I recommend parents take their own children on personal field trips.

Last summer a girl did field work with a biologist.

“The last question you ask is, who should I talk to next? Daisy chain connections. You may end up finding an area of interest that you don’t even know exists because it’s not something we talk about in a fourth or fifth grade classroom.”

3.

“What’s stopping you? If you want to be an author and write about your travels, start now. You’ve traveled across the country several times. How do you pack for long trips? How do you amuse yourself on long drives?”

“If you want to be an entertainer, start now. Read poems aloud—with GREAT enthusiasm—to the kindergarten classes.”

“Do you know about inventors who are young people?” I suggest the TED talks with Richard Turere and Boyan Slat. “And you should also watch Slingshot on Netflix because you will love it.”

Fourth, I ask each child how the adults can help. By now we may have answered that question within the other sections, but I always like to double-check that I haven’t missed anything.

About this point I turn to the parents and ask, “Is there anything you would like to add? Do you have any questions?”

Virtually every time, the answer is no. Parents tell me the conference feels very thorough.

What you need to notice is that the student has done about 85% of the work. I’ve done some copy and pasting, I’ve added comments into the document, but mostly I’ve had a great time talking to each of my students.

I print a copy of the page for the parents that they can take home immediately. They LOVE not having to take notes!

Of course, I have an electronic copy of everything. In the spring we can pull up the fall conferences and review how well the students are doing.

(In my next post I will share more ways I save time doing conferences!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning to Change

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Education, Elementary, Professional Development, Teacher Leadership

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking.

It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

― Albert Einstein

My world of teaching has been in a four-grade classroom for a number of years now – all subjects, all students, 5th-8th grades. This has lead to a process of thinking and teaching that includes all sorts of skills for differentiating instruction and juggling the inevitable pulling ahead and tugging back of student abilities.

But, last year I became painfully aware of that my “usual” operations were not working for this particular grouping of students. I could tell their needs were not being fully met and frankly, I was getting burned out trying to span the range of abilities. I needed a change in my thinking surrounding teaching and learning. I began to explore other approaches to teaching and took what I found to my students. I knew that this level of massive change would be akin to fixing a plane while flying it. I needed everyone on board, to be…on board!

We decided on an approach rooted in personalized learning and with the added feature of flexible seating. Gulp! Big changes!

What I have found most fascinating throughout this experience has been the way in which we have collectively experienced these changes. When I first told my students about flexible seating and how they would get to design the classroom, they were ecstatic! Big sheets of paper, markers and ideas were strewn about as the students set out to “design” our space. Unsurprisingly, every group featured beanbags. Yet, surprisingly, two of the groups had neatly arranged their beanbags into rows of five by four. Changing thinking is tricky…

The 2019-21Operating Budget request has been released by Superintendent Reykdal. In this budget, there is a $37 million increase in spending for professional development to occur over the next two years. This request seeks to allow for more comprehensive, on-going and content-relative opportunities to develop professionally. This emphasis on sustainable change is reflective of the latest research in what makes for effective professional development. Inherent in this quality of professional development is the process of change on behalf of educators.

The concept of moving from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side” is not new in the field of education. I had honestly thought I had mastered the guiding/coaching side of teaching. A personalized learning approach seemed a natural fit for my students and me. What I have come to discover is that this first six weeks of school has been a steep learning curve, backed with a lot of online professional development as I have reflected on the philosophy of personalized learning and how I am implementing it in my classroom. It turns out the “stage” is awful hard to step away from. Changing thinking is hard…

Education is in a transformative state across the nation and across our state as we work together to prepare our students for the futures before them. We must change our thinking to meet their changing futures. This level of transformative change in the classroom and in our teaching requires time, effort and resources. The operating budget set forth by Superintendent Reykdal allows for the time to implement such changes. The vast majority of educators I know are willing to put in the effort for change – that is if it is “real” and worthy. Now, it will be interesting to see how the availability of resources unfolds to meet the challenge of changing our thinking.

The Superintendent’s Budget: My Takeaways

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Education Policy

I live in Vancouver and teach in Camas. You might have noticed that many schools in my region didn’t start on time this year.

While we eked out a last-minute settlement in Camas (full disclosure, I was on the bargaining team and am the immediate past-President of our association), our neighbors on all sides of us had to head to the picket line in order to settle their contract issues. At the time I’m writing this, there are still several classified unions representing secretaries, support staff, and other vital members of our educational teams who are working without a settled contract.

In the October 9th News Release from OSPI where Superintendent Reykdal shared his proposed state school funding priorities, he called out the struggles Southwest Washington faced under the revised funding model… which many people recognize as the reason that so many educators’ unions ended up picketing instead of starting the school year on time. That model is one I’ll get to in just a minute, though.

While Superintendent Reykdal identifies some important funding priorities, he also properly identifies the root of the problem in our present system: revenue. While the shift to the statewide property tax was intended to be some sort of great equalizer in funding, it did not have that effect. Besides the mythical 3.1% cap on salary increases (which was finally in early August dismissed by Reykdal in a memo to districts), limits on levy capacity became the stalling point at bargaining tables around Southwest Washington, and despite double-digit-percentage increases in total incoming revenue, skittish district leaders were spooked by the shakeup of the levy structure… so much so that at many tables, the initial counter-offers from district leadership constituted de facto pay cuts for educators, despite net gains in total revenue available for educator salary.

Continue reading →

Reading From the Ground Up

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Education, Elementary, Literacy, Science

Last year my district bought a brand-new ELA curriculum for the elementary grades. It has short stories, poems, and even a handful of class sets of novels for teachers to share. There are also nonfiction materials integrated into the standard social studies and science topics of the different grade levels. For example, since fourth graders across America often study Native cultures, the fourth grade ELA curriculum has booklets about Native tribal history and a traditional Native story. In addition, there are booklets about money management, economics, and innovation. For science, the booklets include topics ranging from earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, skeletons, and porpoises. There is also a short biography of an early paleontologist.

Our school day is scheduled around lunch, recesses, specialist time, a set period for math, a set period for reading, plus additional WIN times for math and reading—WIN standing for “What I Need,” whether it’s reteaching, extra support, or enrichment. Last year our fifth grade teachers complained that they had 20 minutes a day to fit in all the district-adopted science and social studies curriculum. “But you are teaching science and social studies in your ELA curriculum, right?” was the response they got.

Well yes. To a degree.

This week I attended a full-day curriculum workshop on the Next Generation Science Standards. The presenter at one point blurted out that he wished that one subject would be dropped from the school day altogether—reading.

Publishers would love to have you believe that they have provided the tools needed for integration by teaching science and social studies lessons within the ELA curriculum. But that’s exactly backwards for how true integration works.

In fact, this backwards system of integration may explain why reading scores have flatlined since 1998!

According to The Atlantic, “Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia … writes about the science behind reading comprehension. Willingham explained that whether or not readers understand a text depends far more on how much background knowledge and vocabulary they have relating to the topic than on how much they’ve practiced comprehension skills.”

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute says improving reading and writing instruction in America’s schools requires teachers taking the lead. “Teachers should tackle the content-knowledge deficit. In particular, they should take the lead in adopting content-rich curricula and organizing their lessons around well-constructed ‘text sets’ that help students build on their prior knowledge and learn new words more quickly.”

For real integration, I maintain that you need to start with your content-rich subject. Start with science. Or start with social studies. Figure out the main topics you will teach over the course of the year and decide how you will organize them. I teach either science or social studies, one at a time, alternating them. I am starting this year with Explorers and then Mixtures and Solutions. Next will be Colonies followed by Space. Finally we will study the Revolution and Constitution, and we will end the year with Living Systems.

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Later Start Times and the Afternoon Drag

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy | ,

My district made a research-driven decision this year: We flip-flopped the start times of our elementary and secondary schools. Now, for the K-5 set, the bell rings at 8:00am (compared to last year’s 9:00am start) and for the secondary crew class starts around 8:45am (instead of an hour earlier).

Being a high school teacher and a morning person myself, I grudgingly accepted this shift to an almost 9:00am start (the day is practically half over by 9:00am!). I get the research all over the place about later start times for teens. The CDC has a page clearly stating their position, titled “Schools Start Too Early,” the New York Times Opinion page weighed in, and there is apparently a bunch of research supporting the premise that teens need to sleep in later.

Try as I might to find research to pile behind my confirmation bias, all I could seem to find were arguments that kids will “just stay up later” or that earlier start times leave room in the evenings for extracurriculars or jobs. Alas, no research at all that earlier start times can actually benefit kids.

So the problem I face now is the long stretch after lunch, and the reality that the time when kids are tired (from having just eaten) or wired (from having just eaten) is a greater proportion of my and my students’ day than it used to be. Granted, back in the olden days of last year when students had to rise so early for first period, there was the struggle of managing the bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed and the faces-on-the-desks-and-drooling in the same classroom just as I now face the dichotomy of postlunch tired and wired.

This new after-lunch slog just feels different, though. It’s probably me (reminder: morning person) but after-lunch-learning looks a whole lot different than before-lunch-learning.

Continue reading →

Differentiating around the Traffic Jam

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Assessment, Education, Life in the Classroom |

At the end of last school year, I had a heated exchange with a colleague about the concept of “differentiation.” I have evolved the mindset that it is my responsibility as teacher to attempt different strategies to enable students to access and demonstrate learning. My colleague’s perspective was that this was setting students up for failure. Her claim was that the world doesn’t do for people, so in her classroom, it was the student’s responsibility to do what was asked, how it was asked. In the real world, when an employee is given a task, that employee must execute the task. That’s the way it is.

Besides, she concluded, she didn’t have time to make 25 different lesson plans for each of her learners.

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Going Global

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership, Uncategorized |

My teacher leadership journey has evolved from an inability to say no to a training, a committee, or an extra responsibility, into an ongoing urge to seek out new and innovative opportunities for learning. It’s not a journey that suits everyone, but, for me, constant growth and learning is as integral as the air I breathe. So, I keep looking for the next teacher leadership opportunity around the bend.

This summer I received the news that I was chosen for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program (TGC). This wonderful opportunity will allow me and my cohort of 75 other teachers around the country to travel next spring to visit teachers overseas. Of course, I’m thrilled! I am always looking for ways to broaden my horizons as a teacher, and going “global” seems like the ultimate leap forward.

The program requires me to complete a course of study in global competence in the classroom, and, one week in, I am completely blown away. I feel like a whole world of teaching skills and strategies has opened up to me. I feel both validated in my beliefs as a teacher and severely challenged in my methods. It’s, well, a sea change for me.

Let me catch you up. I will use elements from ASCD’s Global Competent Learning Continuum to explain. This is a rubric that measures a teacher’s global competencies. You can explore the full continuum here.

Teacher Dispositions
1. Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives
2. Commitment to promoting equity worldwide

When it comes to the the dispositions outlined by the continuum, I find myself approaching “proficient.” That means that I see myself as actively recognizing biases and the limitations of my own and others’ perspectives. Also, I actively engage in activities that address inequities, often challenging myself and others to seek change at a local or regional level. I felt pretty good about this area, although I could see that to become advanced in a global teaching disposition, I would have to lead others to value diverse perspectives and act on issues of inequity. I need to step up my game.

Teacher Knowledge
3. Understanding of global conditions and current events
4. Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected
5. Experiential understanding of multiple cultures
6. Understanding of intercultural communication

In the area of Teacher Knowledge, I am approaching proficient as well. I pride myself on being educated and aware, of pursuing knowledge and understanding of history, current events, and social issues. However, I recognize a glaring weakness in my competency. I don’t see myself as capable of change or leadership beyond a local level. Even though I tell my students that they can enact change, that they have the power to create a better future for themselves and our world, I am not walking the walk. I merely talk the talk. Continue reading →

Short Talk on Teacher-Leaders

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Professional Development, Teacher Leadership

It’s too early to feel this tired. But that is the word about school—in the copy room, teacher’s lounge, at meetings. Teachers are tired. Teaching is an exhausting job and there are millions of ways to wear out within it, but one element occurring to me is the (relatively) newly developed idea of a teacher-leader.

I think the term is a positive evolution, and it is one often worn with pride. I’ve been thinking about the idea of teacher-leader for some time, and I think the recent bargaining rounds coupled with a new team in my school has brought these ideas to the forefront of my mind. Plus, I read a great deal of writing by Tom Rademacher this summer. He’s become one of my favorite voices in education. Direct, explicit at times, but honest in important always. Here is a great piece about what is sustainable for teachers. It speaks exactly to why I think everyone in my building is haggard. I admire Rademacher’s ability to hold cynicism and optimism in one space—something teachers do on a daily basis. In my role as English chair, I tell my department, my pessimism comes from a sincere desire for optimism. And it does.

The idea of teacher-leaders is not new, and it is a good idea. The term floating through the air at my school is “flatten the hierarchy.” I believe it is necessary to have teachers join the larger conversations about education. Ideas in schools should come from the ground up and include as many voices as possible. I like that our professional development days involve presentations from our own teachers. I like that the presentations are not slotted with outside “experts” telling other teachers what they should do, but teachers/friends/colleagues who are sharing what they have tried in their classroom. We have veterans and younger teachers alike presenting. It is bumpy, slightly messy (mostly because everyone is already taxed), but is going in the right direction.

Here is the question puzzling me: how can we do it without stretching teachers to the point of unhealthy exhaustion? How do we make space for thoughtful reflection and philosophical and invigorating discussion and sharing in a profession so rife with practical demands? I agree with Rademacher—students first. But those larger conversations at conferences, at district offices, in-building presentations, at negotiation tables, in picket lines, in books come from an intentionality to create the greatest conditions for students. I don’t think that is lost for anyone. The demands on teachers have always been great, and the added dimension of teacher-leader extends them exponentially.

Perhaps leadership roles should come with class reductions, sabbatical like? Perhaps, we should reduce class hours overall and provide more breaks, Finlandesque? Here is a peek in a teacher’s lounge in Finland, where coffee breaks become professional development. Plus, they have massages.

These ideas involve policy decisions far above my pay-grade. And might not work. I’ll admit, these days I’m more interested in finding good questions than answers. More interested in failing well than success—both in the classroom and as a department chair.
Enter the new leadership model experiment in my building: the Professional Risk Takers (PTR). It is an interesting idea. Our main objective is to direct and lead professional development for our staff. Our job is to live in the discomfort of holding “model classrooms,” remaining open to learning walks (both leading them and welcoming adults into our classes), taking time during our prep period to reflect and discuss together. The idea is to live more in a professionally vulnerable space. It is going to be more work, and tiring, I think it is a step in the right direction. I think it will be difficult in all the right ways, hopefully invigorating, energizing, and sustaining.

Fighting Together

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Uncategorized | , , ,

By Guest Blogger, NBCT Bethany Rivard

On August 14th, I answered a phone call from my union president. She asked me to step up into leadership and head to a training in Longview to prepare our members for a possible strike. The possible strike turned into a likely strike, and then before I knew it we were out on the picket lines. There were MANY sleepless nights and massive amounts of anxiety swirling through my mind and body during this time. The strike both tore me apart and strengthened me, in equal amounts. The negativity we encountered paled in comparison to the support and solidarity we received.

Somewhere in the midst of those Twilight Zone like weeks, I stumbled upon a text I had been perusing pre-strike entitled, When We Fight We Win. I flipped to chapter two, “Grounded in Community: The Fight for the Soul of Public Education.” I learned about the Chicago Teachers Union Strike of 2012 over issues of excessive testing, increased class size, the school-to-prison pipeline, and corporate takeover of public schools. The strike was ultimately successful because impacted families (led by African American and Latino parents), community organizations and labor allies joined forces with educators. The strike shut down the nation’s third largest school district for a week. The entire community came together to fight for the heart of public education, and won.

The three days Vancouver Education Association members were on strike, we were joined full force by our community. The overwhelming support has been a common refrain through teacher strikes across the state; education allies consistently showed up and linked arms with us. Over 900 parents and guardians lined up outside the VEA office to sign declarations that their child would not be irreparably harmed by a work stoppage when we were threatened with an injunction. Many parents and guardians brought their kids to the picket lines to meet their teachers. Local businesses stepped in to donate and show their support for educators. Labor allies were consistently on the lines with teachers, ILWU, SEIU, LiUNA, Firefighters…the list goes on. We were not alone.

The negative vocal minority painted us the same way that Rahm Emanuel painted the Chicago Teachers Union: Greedy. I find this false narrative of educators insulting and ridiculous. It’s no secret that the educator workforce is overwhelmingly female, and that certain people find it “unseemly” for us to ask for professional pay, even if the state money was earmarked for salaries. We fight for smaller class sizes, increased supports, full day kindergarten, arts funding…and now, ourselves. The vast majority of educators I know literally pour their heart, soul and resources into their students and classrooms. We routinely spend our money on food, supplies and curriculum. We give of our time well above and beyond what we are paid for. We know the relationships we build with students and families goes well beyond our contract hours.

The strikes in Washington state are about valuing the education profession. We have a massive teacher shortage, so it is imperative that we find ways to attract new educators into teacher preparation programs and make it worth taking out hefty student loans. I want my culturally and linguistically diverse students to become future educators in my building, and to be able to stay in the communities they love. By standing up for ourselves, we are standing up for the future of public education in Washington state.

José, a fabulous former student who is also leader and organizer, gave a speech to bolster the spirits of my fellow Fort Vancouver High School Trappers when we were on the line. He knows what it is like to confront adversity, to confront power that seeks to silence. He told us, “It’s not easy raising your hand and declaring your opposition to injustice. I know how it feels, teachers. I know how it feels to stand up and use my voice only to be ignored. I know how it feels to be treated unfairly. I know how it feels to be promised something only for that promise to be broken. Keep fighting. Keep striking. Nothing is more beautiful that uniting for one cause. Being a teacher is an overlooked job, but they are crucial in every student’s life. There is no way around this, to get through it we must go through it. Do not give up. In the end, they have no choice but to hear you. Keep on fighting and follow the light that is surely at the end of the tunnel.” José knows that with solidarity, unity and community we can confront opposition and declare our worth.

Educators across the country are running for office because they know we need to be at the table to shape education policy. We have expertise on issues that directly affect our caseloads and classrooms, our kids and communities. These educator-leaders have inspired me to announce a run for my local school board of directors. I know I will not be the only educator running for an elected position this year. I hope many others have internalized their worth and realize they have much to offer and choose to run as well. I stand with educators. I stand with students and families. I stand with my Labor Union brothers and sisters. I stand for the transformative power of public education. When we fight, we win!

Bethany Rivard, NBCT, teaches English Language Arts and Theater at Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies and is a member of the Washington Teacher Advisory Council (WATAC). She is a 2016 Washington Regional Teacher of the Year and serves on the Professional Educator Standards Board. Bethany is a Vancouver Education Association member and recipient of the NEA Foundation California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two daughters. 

Support Strikers Even If You Aren’t Sold On The Idea

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Current Affairs, Parent Involvment

Sometimes, you don’t realize how much you need a hug until someone reaches over and gives you one. Sometimes, you forget to hug the people closest to you and say “thank you.” Anyone who became an educator knows this is part of the deal. We don’t become teachers or counselors for the praise. We do it because we believe in community and the power of education to change lives. We believe our work makes the world a better place.

But for many public school educators this summer has presented a challenge to the “Why” of our work. By now, you’ve seen or read the news about education association contract negotiations. When the legislators finally agreed to put money towards funding the McCleary decision last spring, districts across the state celebrated. They also began to grapple with what the new funding would mean in terms of teacher salaries and program development. Simultaneously, education associations across the state began re-negotiating their contracts, specifically focusing on compensation. The purpose of this post isn’t to explain the ins-and-outs of the work (start here if you’re feeling wonky and listen to Nerd Farmer & Citizen Tacoma) but what I am going to ask you is to support the educators in your community.

We may disagree on the way McCleary funds should be spent locally or what percentage should go to educator pay. Perhaps you feel the whole thing is such a confusing mess. Regardless, it’s critical that you support your public school staff.

I’m part of Tacoma Education Association and we’re headed into day three of striking. Every box of donuts, case of bottled water, tray of cookies, baggie of fresh fruit, or cup of coffee dropped off to striking educators, is like a giant hug of support that means more than any pictures, hashtag, or blog post could convey.

As I reflect on the last few days and look through the countless photos of educators from across this state, I’m reminded of a couple things. Teachers aren’t perfect. We have our faults. We mess up. But because research shows that an effective classroom teacher is the number one in-school factor impacting student achievement, we have to make sure that the best teachers are working in our public schools. A competitive compensation package is one way to ensure this.

If that doesn’t persuade you, then think about the individuals. The person in the red shirt holding a sign is the same person who taught your son to read last year. The lady in the capris is the same person who comforts your child when he falls down on the playground. We are the people who wipe snotty noses, help tie shoes, celebrate SAT scores, wrestle through career choices, and cheer your baby on from kindergarten to senior year.

Support your educators any way you can.