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A couple of months ago, I received an e-mail in my inbox that caught me off guard. I actually had to read it several times over to make sure it wasn't some type of scam. The sender appeared to be the head of human resources in my school district, but I was still a little wary.

The message explained that I qualified for a new program that will be implemented in my school district next year. The program is called the Talent Transfer Initiative. To qualify, teachers have to teach in a grade level that participates in standardized testing and they have to show student gains for the last three years.

Here is a link that has an article about another school district that is participating in the program.

A company called Mathmatica was used by the federal government to get test score information from our human resources department. They ranked all teachers according to student gains and chose the top 60 to invite to a reception to recognize as exceptional educators. These teachers were also invited to apply for a transfer to a high-need school where students aren't gaining in the ways that their teachers were gaining.

$20,000. This is what we were offered for a two-year commitment to transfer to a high-need, most likely inner-city, school. We were told that this program is being funded by a grant from the federal government. They explained that only 7 school districts across the country had been chosen for this grant. The superintendent explained that they were doing research to see if you can take a high-performing teacher and put them in a low-performing school to increase the student gains in that school.

There are lots of mixed emotions surrounding this program in our county. Teachers in high-need schools are very disgruntled about the potential of working with teachers who are getting paid significantly more to do the same job. There is a program manager who is employed by the federal government to run the program. She had hopes of beginning to match teachers with schools by this time. We haven't heard anything from her in weeks.

Rumors at school tell stories about principals refusing to participate in the program. I've also been told by someone who works intimately with high-need schools that there is no way that the superintendent would pass up the funds to bring our district's best teachers to the neediest schools.

The sensationalized media hype over the swine flu has finally taken a leap from the television to my living room. One of the middle schools in my school district has been closed down for a week for a thorough cleaning . The students have been told to stay inside, away from public places for the week. The local television website forums are buzzing with comments from local residents, both young and old. The reason for this drastic action is one student who has been labeled a "probable" swine flu case. The CDC still has to confirm that it actually is the swine flu. The local health department has confirmed that it is not the normal flu virus.

In my eight years of teaching, I have seen three principals and three assistant principals.My classroom has been inside the building for three years and was outside in the portable for five years prior to that. I have been, and hope to always be, a 4th grade teacher in a public (K-5) elementary school in a suburb outside of a medium-sized city.

My first principal was an older, very conservative gentleman. The first two years I worked at my school, he served as the sole administrator. He was known for taking suggestions from a small group of veteran teachers and office staff that were close to him, but he was thorough on evaluations and firm on his decisions.It had been a fact of life for many years, that if his inner circle of advisers disliked a teacher, he/she may have seen an increase in road blocks and difficult challenges.

My third, and tenure, year, the county decided to add an assistant principal position to our school of roughly 700 children. An eager, older woman, nearing retirement, joined the staff. Her sister also works in the system as an Elementary Supervisor over several different schools. Our principal took a backseat in the administration of the school as the new woman in town began forming an alliance with his inner circle who had befriended several of the younger primary grades teachers.

The new assistant principal (AP) was given the responsibility of conducting all IEP meetings for our special needs students.This included the overseeing of the creation of the plan that the team used to teach the child. Regular Ed and Special Ed teachers must communicate and collaborate in order to most effectively teach a child with learning disabilities.

Occasionally, teachers have differing opinions on the strategies and procedures to implement to most benefit a child.The principal had always handled these situations with fairly unbiased compromise.He did, however, have a tendency to give in to parents quickly, even if the teacher was obviously forming her opinions and making decisions in the best interest of the child.

There may have well not been an administrator in the room after the assistant principal began supervising the meetings.The Special Ed teacher often created an individualized education plan (IEP) for students with little or no input from teachers.

During meetings to approve IEPs, the team listened while the SpEd teacher explained the plan. Teachers were discouraged from giving their valuable input by the fear of being humiliated, patronized, or becoming the target of retaliation for questioning a plan that is supposed to be a collaborative work. All of a sudden, a teacher may have found herself accused of not liking special needs children because she feels that a student's hours of special education instruction should not be reduced.

In fact, this did happen.It happened to me, and it happened to several other teachers that year, as well. In several different IEP meetings involving different teachers, there had been a question or comment made by the teacher to initiate conversation concerning the plan. In the cases of these teachers, the Special Ed teacher was not open to suggestions or discussion about the detail of the plan in question. The assistant principal did not handle these situations with an unbiased compromise, or even a discussion.

Being the target of one made us the target of many. The climate of the school became very divided and isolating. The assistant principal's evaluations of us seemed overly critical compared to evaluations of others. Even though she had never had anything less than an outstanding evaluation, one teacher's recommendation for tenure was being questioned.Several teachers were expressing their negative opinions about some of the teachers to parents. One parent called me to tell me how upset she had gotten when the Special Ed teacher had called her at home to tell her that her special needs daughter definitely didn't need to be in my class the next year. I had been her older daughter's teacher, and she respected me as a teacher and as a friend. I reported the incident to the principal, and the harassment seemed to subside, for me.

A good principal would not let this happen.A good principal would be professional. A good principal would work in the best interest of the child and school and not in the interest of convenience, ever. A good principal would encourage and guide the staff to collaborate.

The teacher whose tenure was being called into question was told her contract was being non-renewed during her summative conference with the principals. She did not receive tenure. After going over the details of what was going on with other staff members, a group of us decided to go to the School Board. The assistant principal had some pull downtown, from her sister and brother-in-law (a County Commissioner). The School Board member who was willing to listen and investigate our story helped us show the superintendent that the assistant principal was retaliating against this teacher. He dismissed the assistant principal from her position at our school. Unfortunately, the teacher had to apply for a transfer and ended up at a comparable school closer to her home.

The principal announced his retirement (one year earlier than planned) at the end of that year. Teachers were trying to repair damaged relationships, and a climate of hope and common concerns developed while the long wait for the announcement of our new administration began.

I recently discovered the work of a teacher named Taylor Mali while I was searching Youtube.com for inspirational videos for teachers. Although Taylor Mali's seemingly harsh words and tones may turn away sensitive ears and psyches, his prose captured my attention. As I listened to him passionately recite his poem, "What Teachers Make", I could relate to many of the lines. He seemed to be writing to explain the motivation for teaching or to demonstrate the satisfaction that comes with being an educator.

The method used to communicate his thoughts, feelings, and emotions is a technique called slam poetry. Taylor Mali is a champion in the realm of slam poetry contests. According to his own mission statement, Taylor Mali wants to help reform education in America and be a spokesman for teaching's nobility.

I've included a youtube.com video of Taylor reciting "What Teachers Make". This video is not for everyone. Do not watch it if you fear being motivated by the passion of a fellow teacher.

Oh, and, by the way, there is some offensive language in the video. I normally avoid watching videos or performers who use unnecessary cursing or swearing, but Taylor Mali's powerful and thoughtful statements about teaching were meaningful and inspirational enough for me to ignore the profanity. TheTeachingCastle.com does not promote or endorse the use of profanity, cursing, or swearing.

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