Oxford Community Schools had the distinction of being the very first district in Michigan Tuesday to submit a signed agreement to participate in a federal education reform program that could mean at least $97,179 more for the home of the Wildcats.
‘I didn’t know we would be the first. It just happened to be the case,? said Superintendent Dr. William Skilling.
On Monday night, the board of education unanimously approved signing a ‘Memorandum of Understanding? (MOU) that basically states the district agrees to participate in the state’s Race to the Top plan.
Race to to Top is a federal education reform program designed to improve the nation’s public schools in four areas:
n Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and compete in a global economy;
n Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform principals and teachers about how they can improve instruction;
n Recruiting, developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals especially where they are needed most;
n Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.
Race to the Top is also a national competitive grant program in which states apply and vie for $4.35 billion in additional funding.
Michigan is applying for the grant and the state Legislature has already passed all the necessary legislation to align with or surpass the required education reform components of the federal program. The legislation is designed to put the state in a position to successfully compete for the grant.
State applications are due Jan. 19 and winners will be announced in April. According to the state Department of Education’s website, ‘No one knows for sure how many states will be awarded under Race to the Top.?
If selected, Michigan would be eligible for upwards of $400 million in one-time federal dollars to fund comprehensive education reform and innovation.
What’s in it for Oxford?
As with all the other districts, the amount of money Oxford would receive if the state wins this grant is based on the number of Title I students enrolled in the district.
Title I is funding for students who have been identified as being below grade level in math or reading or both.
‘These are kids who don’t qualify as ‘special needs? kids, but they’re still kids who are not performing at grade level. There’s additional assistance provided for these kids to get them to grade level,? Skilling explained.
‘Our share is $97,000 because we don’t have a large Title I population,? the superintendent noted.
In comparison, the Pontiac City School District, which is plagued by poor student performance, stands to get $2.76 million
Oxford’s estimated amount is only the minimum the district could receive.
‘If not every district signs the Memo of Understanding, then everybody’s proportion (of the $200 million that could be available to the state’s districts) would go up accordingly,? Skilling explained.
Signing the MOU is required for a district to be eligible to receive Race to the Top funds. No agreement, no money.
Skilling noted if Michigan receives Race to the Top funds, part of the money would be used by the state to help fund the Project ReImagine grants, one of which Oxford won and as such will receive at least $9.6 million.
‘The amount of money that we’ll actually receive has yet to be finalized,? he said. ‘We could end up getting more if we’re allowed to expand on our proposal, if we want to.?
Beneficial legislation
Money aside, Race to the Top will also help Oxford through the legislation it prompted the state to enact.
For example, the legislation involving alternative routes for teacher certification is a big plus in Skilling’s opinion.
‘That legislation’s going to help our project because it’s very difficult to find Mandarin Chinese teachers,? he explained. ‘For instance, if we wanted to hire a teacher from China who’s been teaching in China, under our current rules we couldn’t because they wouldn’t be certified in Michigan. Under the new Race to the Top legislation that was passed, there would be an alternative way to temporarily certify them until they could meet the requirements of certification in the state of Michigan.?
The alternative certification route will also be beneficial to the district’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program.
‘We would like to be able to hire somebody in the private sector ? someone with a background in mechanical or electrical engineering ? to teach in that program,? Skilling said. ‘Under the old law, that wouldn’t have been possible because they weren’t a certified teacher. Under the new legislation, now we can go out and seek an engineer from the private sector, hire them as a teacher, get them temporarily certified and get them into a certification program.?
Merit pay
Another facet of the Race to the Top program is the use of ‘student performance as a measurement of teacher performance? and the rewarding of good teachers with merit pay as a result.
However, student performance will be one of many factors and the merit pay will come with educators taking on of leadership roles and additional responsibilities.
‘When that first came out, you were going to rise and fall based on student performance,? Skilling said. ‘Now, they’ve broadened it to include other things, other indicators of teacher performance.?
Skilling isn’t proponent of the concept of merit pay as most people know it.
‘Merit pay, in a traditional sense, never works anywhere that I’m aware of,? he said. ‘The traditional way says students in teacher X’s class over the last 35 years have outperformed teacher Z in the same grade, so we’re going to give teacher X more money.?
The superintendent indicated that’s not effective because it’s not a fair comparison. Maybe one teacher was in a Title I building with a high percentage of at-risk kids, while the other teacher works at a school who students? families have a higher socio-economic status, he explained.
The traditional concept of merit pay also hurts staff members? ability to work together, according to Skilling.
‘Instead of working as part of a team for the betterment of all students, you’re going to become very competitive and isolated and it’s going to create division amongst staff,? he said.
The superintendent believes trying to apply ‘free enterprise principles? to ‘a nonprofit, public institution? doesn’t work because educating people is very different from manufacturing products and there are no profits with which to reward high-performing teachers with pay hikes and bonuses like you would a worker or an executive.
‘No matter how well a teacher performs with a student, it does not generate a dime of more revenue,? he said.
According to Skilling, adjustments were made to this part of the legislation that allows districts to look at other factors besides student performance such as how teachers improve in terms of their ability to manage a classroom; their ability to help students grow academically even though they may not be the highest performers; and their ability to help and mentor other teachers.
‘Those are some other ways to measure teachers,? he said.
Race to the Top legislation also allows districts to reward teachers, who are considered masters or leaders, in different ways.
‘It’s not just limited to a bonus pay, but rather . . . let’s put them in positions of leadership with more responsibility and then pay them more for that,? Skilling said. ‘And that’s the approach that we’re going to take.?
Examples of more responsibility could include teachers helping to develop curriculum or train other teachers.
Skilling noted that ‘not every teacher who’s identified as high-performing will necessarily get additional pay if they choose not to take on these additional responsibilities.?
‘We have that ability to do that.?
No use protesting
Despite the benefits of Race to the Top, Skilling still opposes federal intervention in education.
‘In an ideal world, I would not want the federal government having any control over public education. I think it should be left to the states because that’s what our Constitution provides for,? he said. ‘Most of what our legislators passed is going to be beneficial for the schools, but I think the more the national government tries to control public education, the worse public education will become.?
That being said, Skilling indicated ‘it makes no sense not to sign on? with Race to the Top.
‘If you don’t sign on to it, you still have to do it anyway. It’s the law,? he explained.
The only thing refusing as a protest accomplishes is ‘disqualifying yourself from having those funds.
‘And in these difficult times, that’s foolish thing to do,? Skilling said.
He noted ‘the power of the purse strings? is how the federal government exercises its control over public education. Oxford currently receives approximately $800 per student in federal funding.
‘We could not afford to lose that right now. It would be hugely devastating financially,? Skilling said.