Teaching
Research consistently demonstrates that one of the greatest predictors of student success is the quality of the teachers. School leaders consistently bemoan the difficulty in attracting and maintaining the best teachers – especially those willing to teach students for whom learning in traditional schools does not come easily. Part of that has to do with pay, but the fact is that many talented young people who come into teaching and leave after one to three years do not do so because of the pay. The best teachers often leave teaching because the compromises between what they know works for kids and the what they are allowed to do are too great.
Research consistently demonstrates that one of the greatest predictors of student success is the quality of the teachers. School leaders consistently bemoan the difficulty in attracting and maintaining the best teachers – especially those willing to teach students for whom learning in traditional schools does not come easily. Part of that has to do with pay, but the fact is that many talented young people who come into teaching and leave after one to three years do not do so because of the pay. The best teachers often leave teaching because the compromises between what they know works for kids and the what they are allowed to do are too great.
MFES is committed to creating a teaching environment that ensures the best educators survive AND thrive through the following practices:
- Schedules that incorporate family schedules, work style, outside interests. Approaches including half-time teaching/half-time enterprise job, job shares, on-site childcare, and other family friendly practices will be the model not the exception.
- Professional Learning Community model of shared, data-based and best practice-based decision-making, feedback on professional practice, and conflict resolution.
- Ongoing Professional Development plans that ask our teachers to do what we ask our kids to do: assess what they’re good at, what they need to learn more about, and develop a plan that gets them there.
- Non-negotiable” practices consistent with MFES curricular and behavioral models so that our students benefit from consistency on the “big” stuff and our colleagues can count on us to back them up. For example, a student violation of a community norm MUST be addressed immediately.
- Autonomy with respect to curricular and structural decision/practices not covered by non-negotiable, core practices.
- Salaries and benefits will be consistent with Maine public school contracts in the communities our schools serve. Teachers’ work schedules will be staggered to ensure adequate coverage throughout the summer. Long-term goal will be to improve the pay and status of teaching as a profession.
