GETTING ACCOMPLISHED TEACHERS WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED MOST

Research shows strong relationships between quality teaching and student academic achievement. How do we then attract, support and retain the most accomplished teachers to schools with students who need them the most? These schools are where student achievement gaps are most distinct and intractable. Washington's 900 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are a credible and influential voice to bring together to develop recommendations for policy makers in this arena.

National Board Certification is the gold standard for teacher accomplishment. Research indicates that NBCTs have a higher than normal, positive impact on learning among low-achieving students. However, research also indicates NBCTs are predominately located in affluent, suburban schools, not urban schools serving diverse student populations.

A coalition of national and Washington State organizations will convene a "policy summit" of NBCTs to explore issues related to Washington's student achievement gaps - specifically supporting and staffing high-needs schools. In addition, the Summit will focus on strategies for encouraging more teachers, especially teachers of color, to seek board certification. The purpose of the Summit is to create a forum within which the voice of Washington's most accomplished teachers can be heard. This will be the first time that NBCTs from across the state will be brought together to examine a critical education issue.

The outcome of the Summit will be recommendations that accomplished teachers believe can guide policymakers on this issue. The Summit also presents a powerful opportunity for a variety of education interests - including communities of color organizations and other education associations - to work together to address this one dimension of the achievement gaps. This Summit could help build organizational relationships and momentum for future collaboration.

SUMMIT SPECIFICS

The Policy Summit will be held at the SeaTac Marriott hotel on Saturday, October 21, 2006. We expect approximately 400 Board Certified Teachers will attend. The Summit will be co-convened by Terry Bergeson, Superintendent for Public Instruction and Charles Hasse, President of the Washington Education Association. We anticipate that a number of top education policy makers, including legislators, will participate in the program. We are also inviting an array of organizations to offer their support of the event as endorsers. Summit organizers are committed to having a significant number of teachers of color and teachers who work in high-needs schools attend the summit, especially from the east side of our state. We will sponsor travel scholarships so that these important perspectives are represented in the conversation.

The Summit agenda has two primary components. In the morning, NBCTs will meet in small groups focused on a variety of policy topics. They will discuss and make policy recommendations on such topics as cultural competence, recruiting teachers of color to high-needs schools, supporting candidates for National Board Certification among teachers in those schools, teacher leadership, professional development to meet the needs of teachers in high-needs schools and closing the achievement gaps. NBCT facilitators in these small group sessions will read a series of background briefing papers, participate in three online trainings and four hours of in-person training and then lead colleagues through the protocol on October 21st.

In the afternoon, NBCTs will present a series of policy recommendations to a panel of legislators and education leaders. Panelists will comment on the recommendations, offering insights about their viability. NBCTs will then participate in table conversations to process these comments and to identify opportunities for achieving recommendations.

The work of the Summit will not end on October 21, 2006. We plan a number of follow-up activities to build on the momentum initiated by the Policy Summit. NEA is funding a written report reflecting the thoughts and recommendations generated during the course of the day. The recommendations and report will be shared with key policy makers and legislators. Participants will become a part of a listserv that will continue the dialogue begun at the Summit and promote continued development of the ideas and recommendations regarding policy and practice. We hope to engage and gather further input and involvement from a larger audience of NBCTs and other accomplished teachers in high-needs schools around the recommendations.

RESULTS

As a result of this Summit, Washington will have state and local policy recommendations for staffing challenging schools, informed by our state's accomplished teachers. We hope this event will also help bring together diverse education interests for future collaboration around closing the achievement gaps.

CONCLUSION

This event is certain to attract attention from state media outlets and from the national education press. We are developing a media plan that will involve national, state and local media, including radio, newspapers and television. Our supporting sponsors will receive the recognition they deserve as contributors to the groundbreaking event both at the conference itself and in the media.

The potential of bringing together this many NBCTs focused on one critical issue has never been tapped. Washington must find creative solutions for supporting high-needs students and hard-to-staff schools. The opportunity - the hope - presented by this policy summit is daring in its potency and immensely important in its consequence.