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In this article, author Tina Barseghian, explains the
concept of teacher-run schools and how one school in particular is benefitting
greatly from this flipped authority. A
teacher run school gives the policy making power back to the teachers because
“teachers know their students best.”
These teachers make decisions about curriculum, educational policy,
budget, finances, new hires, and a wealth of other subjects that are most often
left to administrators and state officials.
Teachers at these schools (about 60 across the country) work together in
a collaborative setting to figure out what is the best route for their
students.
Avalon school, a grade 6-12 charter school in St. Paul,
Minnesota is one of these teacher run schools and has found tremendous success
utilizing this model of decision making.
Avalon school has a teacher retention rate of 95-100 percent and has
higher test proficiency scores than the public schools of St. Paul. The teachers decided on a problem based,
student led curriculum format, which has created a culture of democracy and
accountability among the student population.
The teachers take time to evaluate each other in the classroom and also
hire a teaching coach to better improve their classrooms.
In my opinion, this approach has its positives and
negatives. While I fully support more
teacher involvement in decision-making, I’m not sure that most teachers would
be wiling to take on the extra work of budget/financing along with all of their
other duties. I would love to see some
more examples of schools where this approach was successful.
Barseghian, T. (2014, May 20). What a Teacher-Powered School
Looks Like. MindShift. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/what-a-teacher-powered-school-looks-like/
Very interesting concept. I do agree that teachers may not want to take on the extra responsibility of budgets and such and where would they find the time to create policies amongst such a busy day? Sounds like the schools would need to carve out time in a teachers day to allow them to do this. But I really do like the idea because like you said, "teachers know their students best". With so many state regulations, including the Common Core, it seems as though they lose sight of the needs of our students.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine that this approach would work well. I would think that teachers that seek employment at a teacher run school would be interested in taking on the added responsibilities. I assume that the classroom hours per teacher would be lessened to allow time to complete the added duties. With tis concept in mind, I can think of many types of businesses would improve by allowing more input from those that work with the product or customer. In many cases, the decision makers are so far removed that they make choices that are not beneficial and maybe even detrimental.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder about the students that are enrolled in this type of school. My first thought was about classroom management. What happens if a student would need to leave the room due to behavior issues. This might present a problem if the teachers were responsible for this duty as well.
ReplyDeleteI do like the fact that teachers are given the "power" to make decisions about their school and students. I do agree with you, though. I would need to see/read about more schools that are run using this model.
Nice one. Thanks for sharing. Check out CTET 2015 result this page
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