An open letter to our Georgia legislators:
As superintendent of Fulton County Schools, I’ve met with thousands of teachers, parents, students and community members over the past four years and have listened to their thoughts, concerns and ideas. I’m writing this letter because I feel it’s important to share their collective story.
As you begin the 2015 legislative session, there will be many agencies making a case for additional funding. I ask that you think about education as an investment rather than as a budget item, and urge you to focus on a few big areas:
• Too much testing. Reconsider the use of the Student Learning Objectives process, which is wrought with challenges and takes time away from instruction while offering little to improve student achievement. With all the standardized testing in Georgia today, teachers are spending more time proving they’re doing their jobs than being allowed to do them, and students are spending more time proving they can pass a standardized test than being given time to truly master the content.
I believe students need to be tested and educators, held accountable, but our heavy reliance on testing leaves little room for teachers to plan, educate and improve outcomes for students.
• Invest in competitive pay for teachers. Today, fewer people are selecting teaching as a profession. It’s no wonder; with frozen pay schedules, we’re at the point we can’t offer teachers competitive salaries. Simply put, we’re losing our ability to recruit and retain top talent.
Take, for example, our high school engineering classes. Even when staffing one of our nationally ranked high schools, it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find an engineering teacher. Under Georgia’s pay system, that teacher would start out at an average of $38,000 compared to upwards of $70,000 he or she could make in the private sector. And our kids suffer as a result. If we want the best education possible for our students, we need to invest money in the people teaching them.
Historian Jacques Barzun said, “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.”
A few weeks ago, I saw Barzun’s quote and was struck by how perfectly it summarizes what was once considered one of our most noble professions. You have the power to lift teacher professionalism.
During my 20 years as an educator, I’ve never seen a time like today — when the teaching profession isn’t valued. The truth is, tens of thousands of teachers across the state are doing exceptional work. But they don’t feel valued as professionals, because today’s narrative focuses on the underperforming educators rather than acknowledging the work of excellent teachers.
Thank you for your commitment to education and for considering these key issues. I know you want our educational system to succeed.
Let’s send a clear message during this legislative session that Georgia values both our children and our teachers.
