APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall expressed a hope to explore ways to reward quality teachers who want to stay in the classroom without having to promote them into administration positions as part of a “listen and learn” event with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) on Monday morning at Tech High School.
“Human capital management strategies have to be implemented,” Dr. Hall said as Duncan nodded his head. “We’re going to have to look at how to incentivize the best and brightest to teach. We know what the best practices are [for teachers]. But now the question is how do we provide professional development, and give [teachers] the opportunity to lead and still teach. Our survey shows that 82 percent of our teachers said there were open to pay-for-performance. So it’s about effective leadership, and effective teachers, and wrapping that around our services to our students.” Hall made rewarding quality teachers a part of her State of the Schools speech back in August. (View the speech here.)
After the speech Duncan met with teachers, including 2008 APS Teacher of the Year Charon Kirkland of Carter G. Woodson Elementary School (pictured above, second row far right). Duncan later took questions from both the media and Tech High students, including student body president Alexis Johnson and sophomore Roderick Rhone, and posed for pictures with students and Tech High Principal Eliza A. Falco.
Hall spoke as part of a group of educators and community and business partners. Duncan and other education department officials have held similar Listening and Learning sessions across the country in recent months as Congress plans to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the cornerstone of the government’s involvement in elementary and secondary education.
Duncan later visited Grady High School. More on that in future Talk Up APS coverage.
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