Gates reboots classroom skills

So much money has been poured into public school reform - usually with little lasting effect - that it's easy to become jaded about the latest effort.

But there is reason to be genuinely excited about the change coming to Hillsborough schools.

It does not involve new technology, a novel teaching technique or a revolutionary curriculum. Instead, the sole focus will be on improving teachers.

It sounds simple, but it will require an overhaul of a system in which teachers receive little on-the-job assistance and are largely rewarded for seniority and advanced degrees - not on how well their students fare.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the school district a $100 million grant to pursue the changes. Hillsborough is one of three districts and a coalition of charter schools chosen by the foundation for its Intensive Partnership Project for Empowering Teachers program. Hundreds of school districts across the nation applied. But the proposal submitted by Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and her team stood out.

Gates officials say Hillsborough's proposal was aggressive and detailed. They noted that the district already had sought to improve teaching, including experimenting with pay-for-performance. And they were particularly impressed by how the district and the teachers' union collaborated on the grant proposal.

Planned changes include developing a radically different teacher evaluation system, using peer evaluators to assess other teachers' effectiveness, recruiting full-time mentors to help young or struggling teachers and devising a compensation system that rewards classroom success more than seniority.

Under the plan, veteran teachers could choose to remain under the existing compensation system, but all new teachers would be paid based on their classroom performance.

The Gates' money, which will be disbursed over seven years, comes with strings attached.

Foundation officials will establish performance benchmarks and closely monitor the results, visiting Hillsborough at least monthly.

With Gates' oversight, the money shouldn't be lost in the bureaucratic mists. Moreover, the district must match the grant and officials estimate it will have to spend $32 million a year to continue the teacher-improvement project after the grant is spent.

So the grant represents an expensive challenge, not a cash cow. Much of the money will be spent on training and hiring more teachers to enable "master" teachers to leave the classroom to mentor others. The mentors will likely help others for a year or two and then return to the classroom, an experience that should sharpen their own teaching skills.

While the money is being spent on teachers, Gates' ultimate goal is to help students.

Vicki Phillips, director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, College-Ready, says, "Research shows that teachers are the single most important factor" in students' academic success.

Jean Clements, executive director of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, emphasizes teachers don't fear reform, including pay-for-performance, but they want to participate in the changes, not have them imposed on them as so often happens with legislative mandates.

She is enthusiastic about ideas she believes will help attract people to the profession and keep them passionate about it.

Elia, Clements, the school board and all those involved in pursuing the Gates grant deserve praise for their willingness to overhaul the status quo.

Hard work is ahead. But Hillsborough's educators have already shown they have the necessary commitment. As Phillips says, "It's no small feat to get us to invest $100 million."

Now the task is to ensure that the reforms result in better teachers and, most importantly, more successful students.