They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yesterday, a portrait of Delaware’s teacher workforce was unveiled as part of Harvard’s Strategic Data Project[1] – and the preliminary results show both the value of data and areas of improvement here in The First State.

The report, titled “Delaware Educator Diagnostic: An Analysis of The First State’s Teaching Force,”covers recruitment, placement, development, evaluation, and retention of teachers within our public schools. Sifting through the data, it’s clear that we have areas in which to improve, particularly at schools that serve predominately low-income students.

Looking across the state, there are a few tidbits that jump right off the page. First, teachers demonstrate significant growth in their ability over the first few years inside a classroom and then plateau after year four. In addition, teachers with Master’s Degrees perform no better or worse than those without. This becomes problematic because at least sixty cents of every dollar on public education goes towards teachers’ salaries, which are driven by classroom experience and attainment of educational credits – which, as the data shows, have limited impact on student learning. In addition to effectiveness, we see that novice educators who are still improving their craft are more likely to be placed with lower-performing students both within and between schools, exacerbating the problems of low student performance.

The problems get more acute when comparing those that work with low-income students compared to their more affluent peers. On the recruitment side, it is clear teachers don’t look and sound like the students they teach. And while this is no doubt attributable to opportunities previously unavailable to women and people of color in other professions, it is an area of concern we must address. And on the retention side, we see significantly greater turnover at these schools – which only intensifies problems of instability and inequality within these communities.

Through Race to the Top, we’ve taken initial steps to address many of these areas. Whether it’s recruiting top talent through Teach For America, providing continuous feedback as part of DPAS II, or offering educators a voice in improving their school culture through TELL Delaware, our state has started to move the needle around these areas. As a state and country, it is incumbent on us to get this right. Some of the best school systems in the world–such as Finland, Singapore, and Korea–have focused on these efforts with great success for their students.

Thinking big picture, we now have data that was available but never unearthed. This information is critical to helping determine what’s working and what isn’t so that the state can make smarter decisions around human capital. We hope Rodel’s investment in the project catalyzes a long-term, sustainable approach to research and development at the Department – which will yield enormous dividends for our students and teachers working in schools.

Delaware is on the move—we’ve catalyzed an education renaissance. And while initial results are mixed, we believe Delaware has the courage and creativity to continue pushing forward in implementing strong new policies, based on research and with local innovation, as part of a coherent strategy—which will no doubt reap benefits for our students generations to come.

Survey results released today from the inaugural TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning) Delaware study highlight that Delaware educators have favorable beliefs around areas such as professional expectations and handling student misconduct while voicing a greater need to be at the table when making critical decisions. The survey, administered by the New Teacher Center as part of the state’s Race to the Top initiative, is meant to gauge educators’ thoughts around various conditions that impact their working environment and overall effectiveness.

Last time we mentioned the survey, we highlighted that potential topics covered include issues of time, facilities, resources, community support, professional development, and managing student behavior (among others) and that we were anxious to see the results. So what did educators throughout the First State have to say?

For starters, a significant chunk of teachers reported that they were held to high standards and received feedback that helps them improve their practice – which could demonstrate that DPAS II is starting to have a positive impact on the day-to-day experiences of our students and teachers. Second, teachers reported that they are viewed as leaders within their buildings and encouraged to pursue leadership roles, showing both the need and desire to provide more robust and meaningful paths for instructional leadership that keeps our best inside classrooms. Third, educators stated that professional development opportunities are aligned with the school’s improvement plan, are data driven, and enhance practices within classrooms – which could prove to be a positive sign for Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

While those results are positive, educators did express discontent with a few key areas, which include:

• Educators feel that they don’t have enough time to meet the needs of their students;
• Not only do educators feel that they don’t have enough time, but that when they do, they aren’t assigned to work with classes that maximize their likelihood of success – which probably compounds the problem of time since they must spend more time preparing for class; and
• Educators expressed discontent at that level of influence on decision making within the school.

So what does this mean? For starters the results of the survey aren’t the end, rather the beginning. In the coming days and weeks, the website will feature tools that districts and schools can utilize to facilitate conversations around their teaching and learning conditions and how to use that information to inform school improvement planning. Second, in areas where teachers have expressed discontent, there are opportunities to mitigate these problems – through ideas such as incorporating technology to help teachers plan and instruct students and reorganizing the school day to provide not only more learning time for students, but also opportunities for collaboration and preparation for teachers.

In the end, the survey is only as good as we make it. Hidden in each schools’ response lies an opportunity for principals, teachers, and central office staff to come together, have open and honest conversations about what’s working and what isn’t, and craft a plan to help the school move forward to the benefit of the students – one in which we hope every school with available data takes advantage of.

Over 700 Delaware educators from 143 schools gathered in Dover last weekend to dig deep into the Common Core State Standards as part of the Department’s Common Ground for the Common Core initiative. The project is designed to support educators implementing the standards by providing intense support to a team of teachers that can take that knowledge and work with educators in their building.

The project will help bring Delaware educators up to speed on what the standards are, its implications for their day-to-day classroom instruction, and changes that are necessary to ensure they successfully rollout and benefit students.

In pushing forward with this effort, Delaware educators are not alone. Teachers in 45 states throughout the country are transitioning from their original state standards to the Common Core. However, since the changes are about more than a tweak here and a shift there, it’s going to take the collective efforts of lots of people inside and outside the state to make this work.

A couple good resources that educators and other stakeholders can access include (but are by no means limited to):

• Common Core Video Series – explanatory videos of what the Common Core is and instructional shifts necessary
• Common Core Works – informational videos, exemplar lessons, and other materials for both novices and experts to help them dig in to the standards
• LearnZillion – short video lessons for each standard and supporting resources for educators
• Better Lesson – lesson plans and instructional resources for educators

Digital Learning Now!, a national campaign to advance policies that will create high quality digital learning environments,  recently released their second set of report cards for each state – and the results are not good, with Delaware receiving an overall grade of an F and percentage score of 50 percent.

The reports cards highlight state-level policies that should be in place to enable high-quality personalized learning experiences for every student. In total, only 13 of 50 states received a C grade or higher. In our report card, Delaware scored well on providing quality instruction to students (through such mechanisms as the statewide definition of “teacher of record” and evaluating educators based upon student performance) and the infrastructure to support digital learning (broadband access, devices, etc.). Areas highlighted for improvement include allowing funds to follow students to the schools of their choice and advancement within grades and/or subjects based upon mastery versus time in class.

The report focuses on topics which we don’t agree are necessary to launch personalized experiences for every student (funds provided to private school students, multiple opportunities for approval throughout school year for providers, etc.) along with underemphasizing critical components necessary for success. These could include encouraging career paths that utilize technology to enable personalized learning experiences (such as those highlighted in Opportunity Culture) or the professional development necessary to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to successfully implement these strategies.

Looking ahead, there are components within this report Delaware should focus on; however, a more broad, and inclusive outlook must be utilized if we are to ensure all Delawareans have access to a personalized learning experience.