Teacher quality becomes focus
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 8, 2016 9:42 AM
The Wayne County school board approved a plan earlier this week to improve teacher and principal quality and discussed an alternative to destroying outdated textbooks.
Dr. Yvette Mason, assistant superintendent for human resources, presented an overview of the goals and appropriations of Title II, Part A, which includes an estimated $831,616 in federal funding for 2016-2017.
The three main goals, she said, center around increased support for the beginning teacher program, identifying a recruitment and retention task force and providing a yearlong calendar of professional development among all departments and grade levels.
Mentor teachers will be placed in the schools to help beginning teachers, she explained, as well as provide additional staff in the low-performing schools and priority schools. Partnerships with surrounding area colleges have also been helpful in supporting student teacher placement, she said.
"We also want to support the funding for teachers that are National Board certified as well," she said. "We have a lot of National Board teachers that are in Wayne County and we are looking at reimbursing them for their application if they are seeking that higher certification and utilizing those strategies in our classroom."
Board member Dwight Cannon asked about the salary portion of the proposed budget -- which earmarked $101,616 for site-based mentors and $200,000 for beginning teacher coordinators.
"(There are) about 50 mentors for teachers in our classrooms, site-based, and we also have three beginning teacher coordinators," Mrs. Mason said.
The breakdown for the mentors, who are full-time teachers with classrooms of their own, is approximately $2,000 each.
Cannon questioned the low amount, before recalling a previous program, the TLC, or Teaching and Learning Coach, in which veteran teachers were called upon to lend support to beginning teachers.
"They were doing it back then for nothing, basically," board chairman Chris West said.
"I thought they were doing it for $100," Cannon said.
He maintained that the proposed supplement, even at $2,000, is "just sad."
"That's just a sad indictment, when you've got to teach your class, have your lesson plans and all these other things that the state wants you to do and we're going to give them $2,000 to really kind of partner with a new teacher coming in?" he said.
He also asked about the beginning teacher coordinators.
"We do have three beginning teacher coordinators that actually have split up the district so they have 11 schools (each)," Mrs. Mason said.
"And that's their only job?" Cannon asked.
"That's their only job," Mrs. Mason replied.
Professional development, budgeted at $150,000, includes some support to the classrooms and staff development, while the district is looking to expand cultural diversity training among the district, she said.
"Once we sit down and collaborate across the divisions, we'll come up with what is the greatest need and we'll look at some other professional development," Mrs. Mason said.
The board also discussed disposition of old music books at Eastern Wayne High School which have been replaced.
Schools superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore said there were community members interested in using the outdated books and the district is willing to declare them surplus and make them available. Typically the state has recommended books be destroyed.
Board member Jennifer Strickland made a motion to give away the music books, with a second made by board member Patricia Burden.
Cannon raised concerns.
"I think that's very admirable for Wayne County Public Schools to utilize those books that we just labeled surplus," he said. "But I'm wondering about reading books and other books because there are tutorial programs at churches, community centers that might take advantage and if they know that books are available, they can come to the proper person.
"I don't know if we need to make that an inclusive motion now."
Dunsmore said the district could work to inventory what is on hand and post on its website any overages.
"We could start advertising these, start reaching out," he said. "People don't realize we have them available.
"This would help us to clean our closets out and make them available."
West said there had been issues before with items purchased with state funds and procedures the board had to follow in giving away items. He asked board attorney Jack Edwards if that applied in this situation.
Edwards said he believed there would be no problem if the items are considered of no value to the district.
"To donate them, surplus items could be put out for bid but these are basically outdated and no longer used. The state recommends they be destroyed," Dunsmore said.
When put to a vote, Cannon asked about including "all books" in the motion.
The superintendent recommended that be done on an individual basis.
"As we get those in, we bring them back to the board so you know what books you're surplussing," Dunsmore said.