Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference: How Stakeholders Can Support Teacher Quality

In the first official session of the 17th annual Conference, Milken Family Foundation co-founder Lowell Milken addressed the question "Why Teacher Quality?"  He began by pointing out that the challenges of school reform require extensive collaboration between all stakeholders in the educational process.  We need to attract more high-quality teachers to the profession, and we need to create an atmosphere in which those who accept the challenge can thrive.

He pointed out that nothing is more important today than providing a secure future for our children, and the most important factor in providing that security is education.  The home environment plays the key role in the success of children, but education ranks a close second.  As a student of California's public schools, Lowell was blessed with outstanding teachers, and he thinks everyone should have the opportunity to experience that level of high quality instruction.

Historically, the first kind of capital included natural resources.  In time, around the time of the Industrial Revolution, the most valuable capital became financial.  Now those who wish to maximize results are competing for human capital.

Contrary to traditional capital assessments, three-quarters of all American assets are in the area of human capital.  And the most effective way to build this human capital is through education.  For instance, the earning potential of someone with a professional degree is 100 percent higher than someone with a bachelor's degree.

Lowell pointed out that so far, we have not made enough progress toward raising graduation rates.  And many of those who do graduate require remediation in math and English when they get to college, even among the best students. The top ten percent show no increase in reading skills over the last few decades.

Current projections show we will fall far short in 2014 of the No Child Left Behind standards.  Some studies disagree, but when we examine their findings, we find that they are simply redefining the criteria for proficiency.

One of the largest discrepancies between the education sector and the private sector is in the area of research and development (R&D).  Private industry typically spends 40 percent of its budgets on R&D.  Education spends about one percent.  Another area is that of turnover.  Around half of the teachers who enter the profession leave teaching in their first five years.  Finally, it is ironic that the schools with the greatest need typically have access to the fewest high quality teachers.

He reminded us that there have been many educational reforms throughout the history of education, but none have been able to provide consistent, substantial, long-term benefits to all strata of students.  The U.S. will not remain a dominant economic power if only about a third of our students reach a high level of competence. Studies have shown extraordinary differences between the achievement of students of high-quality teachers and those of average or poor-quality teachers.

He showed a brief video clip that presented pros and cons of teaching from the point of view of several students.  There was a solid consensus that compensation was the main sticking point against their considering education as a profession.

The Milken Family Foundation decided that the only way to make a significant improvement in education was to make a substantive change.  So they established the Teacher Advancement Program, a comprehensive reform initiative to attract, develop, motivate and retain students to the teaching profession.  Schools throughout the country are implementing TAP, and so far it is affecting the education of 400,000 students.

The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) is centered around four basic concepts:

• Multiple career paths
• Ongoing applied professional growth
• Instructionally focused accountability
• Performance-based compensation

TAP improves student achievement, but has also other benefits—teacher quality, teacher satisfaction, low turnover, placing high quality teachers in high need areas, and many other considerations.

He offered advice to the various stakeholders:

Policy leaders: please keep the focus on teacher quality
Business/nonprofit groups:  support TAP to produce better graduates
Exemplary teachers:  get involved

Lowell then announced that the Teacher Advancement Program Foundation has expanded into the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET).  The effort continues.

Lowell ended on a striking note:  "There is an equation at the center of the proposition of education that is as appealing as it is basic: All we have to do is think about what we want for every child—and we shall know what to provide every teacher—rich opportunities...high expectations...and sound preparation for the future. This is what every child needs...and this is what all teachers deserve"

For more information on the Conference—including the agenda, bios of Conference presenters, photos and videos—please visit the Milken Family Foundation Web site at www.mff.org.

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