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September 30, 2009

TAP Assistant Principal from Minneapolis Testifies Before House Education and Labor Committee

Latanya Daniels Urges Action to Increase Effective Teachers in High-Need Schools

TAP Assistant Principal Latanya Daniels from Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis, MN, testified before the House Education and Labor Committee about TAP’s positive impact on student achievement and teacher effectiveness in a high-need campus. The hearing, entitled "Teacher Equity: Effective Teachers for All Children," was held on September 30, 2009, to examine the progress states and school districts have made toward ensuring that every child is taught by an effective teacher. The Committee heard from several witnesses working to bring high-quality teachers to high-need schools. Several highlighted the lack of accurate evaluations in schools and the need to create evaluation systems that can identify effective teachers, and link teacher and student needs with professional support.

Given her experience as a career, mentor and master teacher in high-need schools, Daniels provided a unique and valuable perspective. Thomas Edison High School has approximately 88% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. In the last few years, Edison has received the lowest achieving 9th grade students entering all Minneapolis high schools. While much of the discussion focused on the challenges facing high-need schools, Daniels focused on a solution. According to Daniels, TAP's comprehensive approach to reform provided her school with the tools to increase teacher effectiveness and, consequently, student achievement. Daniels shared that for the 2007-2008 school year, 80% of Thomas Edison's 9th and 10th grade students made one year's growth or more in math—a significant departure from previous years. Further, Daniels explained how TAP helped recruit quality teachers and increase teacher retention. Prior to TAP, her school experienced a 70% teacher turnover rate over a two-year period. Last year, Edison only lost one teacher.

In this timely discussion on attracting and retaining highly effective teachers where we need them most, Daniels also urged the Commission to support comprehensive systems that offer educators opportunities for professional growth and the chance to take on new roles and responsibilities. She emphasized the need for these solutions to be linked to school-based professional support that is driven by student data, and for additional compensation for effective educators who teach in high-need schools. According to Daniels, in order to see continuous improvement at a high-poverty school, systems must be in place to align professional support, accountability and opportunity. TAP offers this solution at Thomas Edison High School.

View Latanya Daniels’s testimony on the House Education and Labor Committee Web site

Watch the hearing video via the House Education and Labor Committee Web site
(To watch Latanya Daniels, slide the blue bar below the picture to 57:05.)

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Jane Liepitz, Master Teacher, Anne Sullivan Communication Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"We did a questionnaire . . . and something that came out over and over again was the strength of the leadership team and its individuals. TAP won't work with unqualified master or mentor teachers because they carry the system. If you get people that can't work together or people that aren't trusted, it isn't going to work."