Shaire Strong-Duncan made it through her first year of teaching at Big Picture Northwest Middle School.
“I had the worst kids,” she said about her unruly seventh graders. “No one in the entire school wanted to deal with my children.”
Many times she questioned why she got her degree in education, she said.
She finally decided, “It’s a mission. You can’t turn it on and off. I have to stay focused on the task.”
Her words became increasingly passionate as she spoke to other first-year teachers at their “graduation” reception on June 2, hosted by the St. Louis Public School District.
Twenty-four teachers had made it through the St. Louis Plan, which pairs 12 seasoned teachers, who were carefully chosen from 93 applicants, with 87 first-year teachers.
The veteran consultants help answer any questions for the fresh newbies. The consultants sit through classes to watch the new teachers’ progress, and they workshop problems with the teachers.
Strong said she wouldn’t have made it without her consultant, Rochelle Lewis.
“She was designed just for me,” Strong said. “She gave me exactly what I needed.”
Jas Sing, first-year teacher at Langston Middle School, said in the beginning, he had some very tough days. But Anitra Arms, his consultant, assisted him every step of the way.
“This program was crucial,” he said. “I couldn’t have survived without it.”
The idea for the St. Louis Plan started brewing when the State took over the SLPS district. With the district losing 55 percent of its first-year teachers, everyone agreed that something must be done.
Teachers are not lining up at the door like they used to in the old days, said Richard Gaines, who sits on the three-member Special Administrative Board appointed after the State takeover.
Mary Armstrong, president of the American Federation of Teachers–St. Louis Local 420, learned about a plan in Toledo, Ohio that was created in 1981 to retain and build quality teachers.
In Toledo, the school district loses 10 percent of their first-year teachers. After visiting Toledo three times to observe the process, Armstrong said, “I knew this was needed.”
Armstrong took the idea to Gaines, who said, “Leave it to me to find the money. I knew where it was.”
He went to Bill Taylor, the lead attorney representing the national office of the NAACP on the Minnie Liddell school desegregation case.
Gaines said the essence of the desegregation case was to represent the best interest of the district’s children. Hence, the lawsuit’s plaintiffs agreed and committed $5.6 million for the next three years to the St. Louis Plan.
“The challenge is to make this a part of the general operating budget, not just a program, to make quality teachers sooner,” Gaines said.
Kelvin Adams, SLPS superintendent, spoke at the reception as well, recognizing that these past years have been hard on the budget.
The district has made reductions to various departments, salary cuts, and furloughs, he said.
“There has never been an opportunity for the words to pass my lips that this plan is in jeopardy. These three teachers couldn’t be here without their consultants,” Adams said, pointing to the three teachers who spoke at the reception. “It’s an extremely important endeavor.”
Adams said the district is already talking about ways to continue funding after the three years.
The problem with urban education is that new teachers are put in the classroom with 30 students, and then cast adrift, Gaines said. They often don’t know how to resolve certain problems, so they go to the principals. But it’s hard for principals to respond if they have more than one first-year teacher in the school, he said.
The consultants are direct coaches, Gaines said. However, they also review the teachers’ performances and report back to a nine-member panel, who make recommendations on whether or not to retain the teachers.
This year, three teachers out of 87 were dismissed after the panel review. Some dropped out immediately from the intense stress.
“We have to have everyone believe that this program will, as the kids say, ‘Flip the script’ on public education in St. Louis,” Gaines said.
For teachers who have 10 years or more with the district and have grown into “problem teachers,” they cannot be fired. At public forums, this is one of the main concerns that community members have voiced, said Cheryl Ward, co-program manager for the St. Louis Plan.
These teachers can voluntarily take an 18-week program through the state Department of Education. Yet Gaines said there is no consistency on how that’s applied.
Next year, the district will be offering these teachers a choice: they can either take the State’s course or the district’s program. With the State program, the teachers could potentially lose their jobs if they don’t pass.
“It’s about reclaiming our teachers,” Gaines said.
Ray Cummings, St. Louis Plan co-project manager, said that the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came to St. Louis and was impressed by the collaboration between the teachers’ union and the district.
“What’s going on in St. Louis is historic,” Cummings said. “Anytime you have something historic, you have people of vision and believe things can happen.”
