Most of the discussions of this school in the press and on the web has been about the salary and "all-star" quality of the teachers. I certainly don't begrudge the teachers for making the salaries they do; I think all of us wish we could make money like that as teachers. Here are the questions that I'll be interested is seeing answered as the school gets off the ground next year.
- Will these teachers, some of whom aren't currently teaching in urban schools, be ready for the different challenges that they will face in this school? I think even the best teachers may not be ready to face the challenge of entire classes of kids way behind grade level if they haven't done it before. I hope, for their sake and the sake of the kids, that they're up for it.
- Will a staffing model that requires teachers to take on additional adminstrative burdens during or after their teaching day be successful? Can amazing teachers continue to be amazing when not fully focused on their classes? Will they be able to do everything that's being asked of them? Just paying them more doesn't give these teachers more hours in their already busy days. How many balls will be dropped as teachers try to balance their teaching and administrative duties (and personal lives)? I like that the administrators in my school make sure that we don't have too many extra burdens that take away from our teaching and work with kids.
I hope this school is successful ; I'd love to visit in a few years to see some amazing teaching.
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