United States Department of Education, RESPECT Project

“Our goal is to work with educators in rebuilding their profession—and to elevate the teacher voice in shaping federal, state and local education policy…Our larger goal is to make teaching not only America’s most important profession—but America’s most respected profession.”

United States Department of Education, RESPECT Project

An Introduction to the National Conversation

Logistics

• Please use the chat function of the WebEx platform to submit questions.

• Questions may be submitted at any point during the discussion.

• Mute your phone when not speaking to reduce background noise.

Agenda

Time Topic Presenter(s)

5 Minutes Introductions and Agenda Gillian Cohen-Boyer

5 MinutesBackground: RESPECT Project and National

ConversationGillian Cohen-Boyer

20 Minutes RESPECT Project Toolkit Laurie Calvert

10 Minutes Honoring the Process & Next Steps Greg Mullenholz

20 Minutes Questions and Discussion All Participants

Panel of Presenters• Gillian Cohen-Boyer– Director, ED Teaching

Ambassador Fellowship

• Laurie Calvert– Teacher Liaison, Office of

Communications and Outreach

• Greg Mullenholz– Washington Teaching

Ambassador Fellow

Objectives

• By the end of the session, we will have:– Developed an understanding of the background

and impetus for the RESPECT Project;– Identified the features of the toolkit and the

process for hosting a conversation of your own, including setting it up, facilitating, and reporting back to ED;

– Gained answers and understandings to any related questions.

Why RESPECT?

RR Recognizing

EE Educational

SS Success

PP Professional

EE Excellence

CC Collaborative

TT Teaching

What Does It All Mean?

• Educational Success recognizes our commitment to improving student outcomes

• Professional Excellence means that we will continuously sharpen our practice, and that we will recognize, reward, and learn from great teachers and school leaders.

• Collaborative Teaching means that we will concentrate on shared responsibility and decision-making. Successful collaboration means creating schools where principals and teachers work and learn together in communities of practice, hold each other accountable, and lift each other to new levels of skill and competence.

Why a National Conversation?Want to Get it Right

• Secretary, Senior Staff and TAFs have talked with 100s of teachers and heard the many challenges to teachers feeling and being respected.

• President addressed through 2012 State of the Union: “Teaching is a profession and should be treated like one... The President is asking for a new competitive program

that will challenge states and districts to work with their teachers and unions to comprehensively reform the teaching profession.”

- http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/blueprint_for_an_america_built_to_last.pdf

• Department proposed $5 billion in 2013 Budget for: “States and districts to pursue bold reforms at every stage of the profession, including by reforming colleges of

education and making these schools more selective; creating new career ladders for teachers and ensuring that earnings are tied more closely to performance; establishing more leadership roles and responsibilities for teachers in running schools; improving professional development and time for collaboration among teachers; providing greater individual and collective autonomy in the classroom in exchange for greater accountability; creating evaluation systems based on multiple measures, rather than just test scores; and re-shaping tenure to raise the bar, protect good teachers, and promote accountability.”

- http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget13/summary/13summary.pdf

RESPECT Project Toolkit

• On the web: http://www.ed.gov/teaching/national-conversation

Before the Conversation

• Send Discussion Document

• Ask participants to read and bring it with them

During the Conversation

• Introductions (pass around sign-in) (10 min.)• Purpose and agenda (5)• Review time (5)• Discuss vision and questions (20 min)• Small group discussions, 5 groups (20)• Groups report/whole group discussion (50)– 5 min to report and 5 min to discuss

• Wrap up: whip around, next steps (10)

Small Group Topics

• Listed in How to Lead a Conversation• Each group examines a distinct aspect of the

Vision1. Teacher selection and prep2. Professional career continuum and compensation3. Conditions for success4. Evaluation and support5. Getting teachers to high-need students and subjects

• What would you add, keep, eliminate?

Other Items in Kit

After the Conversation

• Send a thank-you note to participants with follow up information (how to have their own conversation, strategies to get involved, etc.)

• Email ED: TeachTalk@ed.gov

What to Send to TeachTalk@ed.gov

1. Group Feedback form

2. Sign in sheet

3. Message about how it went

Honoring the Process

• Open Discussion – not a Campaign.• Moving from Listening for Challenges towards

Crafting Tangible Solutions. • ED is asking for assistance in setting the Vision so

get the solutions right.• Critical importance of teachers leading the future

of the profession.• Means trying to not get bogged down in the

challenges and turning worst fears for the future into articulation of our best hopes.

What’s Next?

Questions

Further Reading

• Education Week Op-Ed: – http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/

2012/02/08/20debose.h31.html• Huffington Post Op-Ed:

– http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-mullenholz/for-students-to-excel-the_b_1306548.html

• Secretary Duncan’s RESPECT Roll-Out Speech:– http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/teachers-get-r-e-s-p-e-c-t

• ED Press Release: – http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/obama-administration-

seeks-elevate-teaching-profession-duncan-launch-respect-pro• ED.gov Blog Entry:

– http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/02/launching-project-respect/