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Contact:         Julie Ronneburger
                      Media Coordinator

Phone:          212-875-4666

Email:          jronneburger@bankstreet.edu

FINDING, EDUCATING AND KEEPING

QUALITY TEACHERS FOR NEW YORK CITY

New York, February 19, 2004-- The Goldman Sachs Foundation Teaching Quality Forum presented recommendations from an unprecedented year-long discussion among key stakeholders in New York City's Public Education. The forum took place on January 29, 2004, at Elementary School P.S. 20 in New York City. Speakers included:

Stephanie Bell-Rose, The Goldman Sachs Foundation
Natasha Cooke, New York City Public Schools
Joyce Coppin, New York City Department of Education
Aminda Gentile, United Federation of Teachers
Helen Santiago, New York City Department of Education
Maritza MacDonald, American Museum of Natural History
Nicholas M. Michelli, City University of New York
Gitte Peng, Office of the Deputy Mayor, New York City
Jon Snyder, (Committee Chair) Bank Street College of Education
Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers
Joel Klein, NYC Public Schools Chancellor

The Goldman Sachs Foundation Teaching Quality Forum

The Goldman Sachs Foundation Teaching Quality Forum is one such group.Our committee is composed of a variety of people with differing perspectives:teachers, principals, regional and department administrators, educational researchers, business leaders, and philanthropists -- parents and non-parents alike.

This set of realistic recommendations and tactics serve to enrich the capacity of public education to meet its mandate to 1) make knowledge accessible and to give students the ability to think critically so they can function in all aspects of society; 2) prepare students to be contributing members of our political, social, and economic systems; and 3) develop with students the tools they will need to lead rich and fulfilling personal lives.

The Goldman Sachs Teaching Quality Forum is an outgrowth of the Goldman Sachs Foundation Institutes for School Redesign, Teaching & Leadership.

The children of New York City must have teachers who are committed and dedicated to them, who have the courage to take the responsible risks necessary to support student learning, and who possess the professional expertise needed to inform the decisions and judgments they make daily to meet their legal and ethical responsibilities to the children in their care. Ultimately, a teacher's students become part of the larger society. Accordingly, each and every one of us must work together to help give teachers access to the education and support they need, to show teachers that they are needed and valued, and to create settings where creativity and risk-taking in the service of children are encouraged and rewarded.

The Goldman Sachs Teaching Quality Forum met monthly over the past year to discuss how to improve the quality of teaching, with the goal of improving the overall quality of education in New York City public schools. The group is composed of a variety of experts with differing perspectives and from different walks of life: teachers, principals, regional and department administrators, educational researchers, business leaders, and philanthropists. The Goldman Sachs Teaching Quality Forum has drawn up a code of pragmatic recommendations and tactics that are outlined below:

The Goldman Sachs Teaching Quality Forum

Recommendations

Click here to read the TQF Expanded Recommendations (PDF format).

Attract intelligent, prepared, compassionate and committed teachers who can and will remain and succeed in the New York City public school system with:
A. Equitable Educational Incentives -Provide college tuition breaks and other incentives to students who wish to teach in public schools, and give appropriate and equivalent scholarships to individuals who decide to become teachers later in life.

B. Educational Cohesion -Foster ongoing dialogue between the Department of Education and colleges to promote cross-institutional cohesion and opportunities for career-long professional learning.

C. Easing the Application Process through Web-Based Tools
a. Openings List and School Information. List teaching positions online with links to access specific information on regions, schools, and communities.
b. Online Applications. Create a basic online application that prospective teachers need to complete only once. Make the completed form available to all schools in the City. Subsequently, enable districts and schools to request additional specific information from applicants in whom they are interested.

D. Identify Connections between Pathways into Teaching, Teacher Retention and Student Learning-
a. Pathways to and from Teaching. Analyze pathways into teaching, reasons behind the decision to become a teacher, and reasons for leaving the profession to influence programmatic renewal.
b. Connections between Student Learning and Teacher Pathways. Analyze educational outcomes for students with different teachers from different pathways.
c. Refine Data to Impact Policy. Refine existing databases to provide usable information to assess and improve pathways; understand the choices prospective teachers make of pathways; and understand the basis for decisions to leave the profession, demographics, retirements, and their implications for policy. Share data across institutional boundaries.

E. Support for New Teachers-
a. Summer Internships for New Hires. Provide paid summer internships for new teachers at their assigned schools to promote familiarity with the school and the community well before the first day of school.
b. Mentoring. Provide high quality mentoring for the assessment and support of teachers new to New York City, adjusting the nature of mentoring to the specific strengths, interests, and needs of the individual teacher.

Keep educators in New York City public schools with:

A. Collaborative Professional Development-
a. In the School. Provide sustained and databased learning opportunities during established school time. Keep the opportunities grounded in classroom instruction (children, the content, and teaching) to ensure the best results for both teachers and students.
b. In the Community. Encourage professional interaction and collaboration of teachers through informal after-school gatherings. For instance, local restaurants and businesses could sponsor "Dine and Discuss" evenings.

B. City Passports- Increase teachers' quality of life, broaden their New York experience, and recognize their contributions to the community by providing teachers with "City passports." These passports would provide such benefits as newspaper subscriptions; free admission to cultural institutions and movies; and discounts for wardrobe, transportation, community businesses, and housing.

C. Professional Growth Leaves -Provide "externships" for outstanding veteran teachers, in which they accept outside one-to-twelve-month positions related to the subject they teach. For instance, a science teacher may join a museumÿ!=s research team, or a math teacher may work at the stock exchange for a period of time.

Area 3: Organizing Schools for Student and Teacher Learning

Make schools places where students and teachers can achieve what they are capable of accomplishing with:

A. Enriched Classroom Time-
a. Personalization. Enable teachers to spend more time with fewer students using a variety of approaches matched to the strengths, interests, and needs of individual students.
b. Collaboration. Provide weekly meeting time within the school day for teachers with a focus on enriching instructional practices.
c. Observation. Offer regular opportunities for teachers to observe one another teaching.

B. Leadership-Provide ongoing learning opportunities for principals to enhance their capacity to support and retain teachers.

C. Smaller Schools- Expand efforts to create smaller schools (with 500 students or fewer) where studentsÿ!= voices are heard, valued, and respected, and academic achievement is consistently emphasized. Such schools should be places where teachers can work closely together and continually hone their abilities and approaches.

Diana Lam Honorary Member, Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, New York City Department of Education
Dennis Walcott Honorary Member, Deputy Mayor for Policy, City of New York
Lawrence V. Calcano Managing Director, Investment Banking Division, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Thomas G. Carroll Executive Director, National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Natasha Cooke Teacher, New York City Department of Education, Region 8
Joyce Coppin Chief Executive, Division of Human Resources, New York City Department of Education
CeCe Cuningham Executive Director, Middle College National Consortium
Carmen Farina Regional Instructional Superintendent, New York City Department of Education, Region 8
Frederick J. Frelow Associate Director, Working Communities, The Rockefeller Foundation
Aminda Gentile Director, United Federation of Teachersÿ!= Teacher Center
Donna M. Jones Local Instructional Supervisor, New York City Department of Education, Region 9
Gisela Keller Program Officer, The Goldman Sachs Foundation
Maritza MacDonald Director of Professional Development, American Museum of Natural History
Nicholas M. Michelli University Dean for Teacher Education, City University of New York
Gitte Peng Education Policy Advisor, Office of Deputy Mayor, City of New York
Helen C. Santiago Senior Instructional Manager, New York City Dept of Education
Alison Sheehan Director, Professional Development, New York City Department of Education, Region 8
Jon Snyder Committee Chair, Dean, Bank Street Graduate School of Education