Richness of Poverty in Our Struggling Schools
Education remains the key to escaping poverty, even as poverty remains the biggest obstacle
to education. According to the Southern Education Foundation, over 50 percent of the nation’s
children are in poverty. Poverty is a vast and complex issue that plagues all communities in
a seemingly endless cycle. No county in Tennessee is immune from poverty. Tennessee has
the fourth highest food insecurity rate in the United States. More than 1 in 5 children is at
risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, it’s 1 in 3. We know that students who
live in poverty come to school every day without the proper tools for success. As a result,
they are commonly behind their classmates physically, socially, emotionally or cognitively.
This means more absenteeism and truancy, bullying, and trust and engagement issues that
can weaken the learning
environment. This feeds
the school to prison
pipeline. The Nashville
zip code 37208 has the
highest percentage of
incarceration
in
the
nation, according to a
Brookings
Institution
analysis.
Does Tennessee have the
capability to move to
online testing?
Promoting the Profession
We need to be raising the professional status of teaching, attracting the best and brightest
into teaching, and restoring respect for the education profession. When McKinsey &
Company compared educational performance around the world, it came to the seemingly
obvious, conclusion that “the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of
its teachers.” Schools need to do three things: get the best teachers; get the best out of
teachers; and step in when pupils start to lag behind. The issue of restoring respect for
teachers is also urgently needed. Far too often the voices of classroom teachers are not
included in the decisions that impact their livelihood or their students. Few occupations are
given so little say in their chosen field. That must change.
Teacher Retention
We know without a doubt that teachers are the number one in-school influence on student
achievement. Data indicates that in the last 20 years, teacher attrition has nearly doubled. In
fact, 16–30% of teachers leave the teaching profession each year. It is estimated by some that
nationally we spend well over $1 billion a year to replace these teachers. The average cost to
replace a teacher is about $20,000 each in many districts. One-third of today’s teachers will
retire in the next five years. Shortages also persist in specific areas: mathematics, science,
special education, English language development, and foreign languages. Turnover rates are
50% higher in Title I schools, which serve more low-income students. Turnover rates are also
70% higher for teachers in schools serving the largest concentrations of students of color.
Teacher retention is critical. And teacher benefits are a critical component of that strategy.
Parent Engagement
We are w ay beyond simple community involvement. You are already involved, even if you are
just a taxpayer. I firmly believe public education should focus on building community support
and engagement. There is strong evidence that parental involvement and engagement can
have a positive effect on children’s learning motivation, well-being and learning outcomes
at school. It is hard to define the appropriate amount of engagement for parents in the
education process. There is no one size fits all, and it may vary from child to child, district to
district. A 1966 report titled “Equality of Educational Opportunity” (otherwise known as the