Learning Point Associates
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Toward the Structural Transformation of Schools: Innovations in Staffing
The transformation of schools means that education will become “unbundled”—no longer tightly wound in a neat brick-and-mortar school package, with teachers struggling to differentiate their instruction in a homogenized one-teacher-per-classroom delivery model.
To harness the opportunities for large-scale reform, Learning Point Associates calls for states to lead the structural transformation of schooling, beginning with revolutionizing how they think about, prepare, license, deploy, and support educators. This analysis advocates for differentiated staffing and cites research, examples, and case studies.
The following key points provide a platform for discussion on this topic:
- “Neo-differentiated” staffing model. This model organizes teachers into teams and differentiates roles according to their skill, expertise, the demands of the curriculum, and the needs of students. It also outsources some of the work of teachers to experts in other schools, communities, and states.
- Teachers as specialists. The concept of a generalist has been abolished from almost every profession that strongly impacts society. Teachers, however, are expected to wear an inordinate amount of hats. This model does not treat teachers as interchangeable widgets but differentiates instructional roles according to skill and expertise.
- Changing the career trajectory. A neo-differentiated staffing model would up-end the current flat, linear, unsatisfying career trajectory. Teachers could move flexibly between roles as their expertise shifts, interests evolve, and family responsibilities grow and recede.
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