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COMMUNIQUÉ A publicAtion of the iowA StAte educAtion ASSociAtion – SepteMbeR 2014 – Vol. 52, no. 1 IN THIS ISSUE OPINION the value of a profession 3 CHECKLIST back to School 12 CUTOUT Absentee ballot request form 7 Set it... Set it... and forget it! and forget it! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! New roles, higher pay and different choices for teachers iowa department of education director brad buck stood in front of 450 or so educators gathered for a symposium on iowa's new teacher leadership and compensation plan and called Ryan wise to the stage. "he's wicked smaaart," buck said in an affected bostonian accent, as wise walked across the platform set up in a conference room at des Moines Area community college. wise, a harvard-educated state administrator, is, more than most, the author of iowa's new teacher leadership and compensation program which rolls out in 39 school districts this year. those districts serve about a third of the state's public school students. they're the first group that will work through what state officials hope will systemically change how teachers work with administrators and each other on behalf of their students. the teacher leadership and compensation system was the centerpiece of the state's education reform package passed in 2013. the iowa State education Association worked with lawmakers to make sure local districts had an option to design their own plans instead of being forced into a single, state-mandated plan, which is what Gov. terry branstad first proposed. "what is the best place in the world for teachers?" wise asked the audience, many of whom were only a few weeks from the start of their school year. "what if we could unequivocally say iowa?" What is it? the teacher leadership and compensation goal is to make teaching a more attractive profession for both people considering a career in education and for people already in one. to do this, the legislature increased the minimum starting pay for teachers, initiated committees to advise it's student assessments and teacher evaluations and set aside $50 million a year for three years for districts to develop teacher leadership and compensation plans. educators working in districts with teacher leadership and compensation plans will see new roles for their colleagues. Most will likely stay in traditional teaching roles, some educators will split their time between the classroom and other duties, others may leave the classroom entirely. "i'm excited to be a part of this and to be a part of the first group that's going to get this going," said tania Johnson, a teacher in the cedar Rapids School district who will move out of the classroom and into a mentor role under the district's plan. for instance, cedar Rapids will move about 30 teachers – like Johnson - out of the classroom almost entirely. Another set of teachers will split their time about 50-50 between classroom and mentor work. other educators will continue to spend most of their time in the classroom, but will collaborate with the teachers in their new roles. Johnson, who taught kindergarten for more than 20 years and was the 2013 iowa teacher of the Year, said the new system will take some getting used to. "My biggest concern is if the state doesn't see immediate growth it will change directions," she said. "this is not a silver bullet – there are no silver bullets. but if we make sure everyone is all working together on this, it's a great start." Speaking at the symposium, Ray feuss, a national education Association board member who also teaches in cedar Rapids, said the district's plan was developed with an overreaching goal: "our goal was not to create a system where you can collaborate, but one where you have to collaborate." Need to be agile that same day, branstad told the crowd his administration is "paying close attention" to the 39 districts who launch this year. that's a lot of pressure on administrators like wise and early adopters like Johnson who will find themselves under the microscope this first year, not only from the Statehouse, but from teachers and administrators across iowa who look to develop their district plans. it creates a situation where folks might gloss over the bad and tout the good. iowa State education Association director Mary Jane cobb stressed programs need to be Teacher leadership offers opportunities, challenges Tania Johnson, Iowa 2013 Teacher of the Year, speaks about the importance of building, and maintaining, trust in school buildings under the Teacher Leadership and Compensation program during the Iowa State Education Association's 2014 Summer Conference in Altoona. Johnson is one of the district's teachers that will spend most of her time out of the classroom under the district's program. Continued on page 9