What would YOU say?

Secretary Arne Duncan and myself at the Gala

All the State Teachers of the Year got to meet with the US Department of Education while we were in DC. I think this was the first time the DOE has met with the STOY since Clinton's administration. We were led by teaching fellow, Stephanie Canada, who was a 2008 OK TOY. We divided into groups to answer different questions...how to get the most "bang for your buck" with the stimulus dollars to how to better improve data and assessments. The DOE really listened....I mean they REALLY LISTENED. They sat, took notes, asked us a few clarifying questions, and seemed genuinely interested in teacher's opinions. Novel thought, huh? Tony Miller, nominee for Deputy Secretary of Education, was on the panel and addressed our group of TOY's. There are some people you just get the feeling they are genuine when you meet them and Tony is one of them.

Tony Miller addressing the STOY's at the US Dept. of Education

Education is about to get some "one time" money pumped into it...like $650 million. It sounds like a lot of money but I suppose by the time you divide it among the states that accept it, the money gets quite a bit less. I am fearful about the "one time" money...yes, I want it but am fearful. I almost feel like it is setting us up to lose. Schools can't really spend it creating new programs to address student learning as the money isn't coming again and there would be nothing to sustain the program. So how can we best invest it? Should we invest it in updating our facilities to make them more efficient, thereby saving money on energy that could be used for years to come? BUT what if we get this money and in one or two years, scores don't improve? Will policy makers say, "See, educators want more money...we gave it to them and scores still didn't improve!" A one time monetary investment may not be enough to make sweeping changes in student learning - especially if we can't maintain those programs financially. Even if we invest the money in professional development, excellent PD must be systemic and continuous. You wouldn't want your doctor to be allowed to attend PD only ONE time a year would you?? Why is any other profession different?
So - what would you tell the DOE if they asked what needs to be changed in NCLB, how to best spend the stimulus money, should we have national standards? Be ready to answer those questions because Secretary Arne Duncan is traveling to different states with questions in hand and he wants - and is going to listen to - our answers. Some of our answers included having national standards, fewer standards, spending money on quality assessments, recruiting and retaining teachers and performance pay. What if Secretary Duncan showed up in your classroom tomorrow, what would YOU answer?