School Reform Discussed At Black Caucus Confab

MEMPHIS -- As Memphis City Schools enacts groundbreaking reforms to turn around the low-income urban district's troubled history, Deputy Superintendent Irving Hamer is sharing the city's story of increasing the effectiveness of its teachers at the Congressional Black Caucus' mid-year conference in Tunica, Miss., on Friday.

With the recent announcement by the Obama administration that individual states will be allowed waivers for No Child Left Behind in order to craft reform minded education policies, the need for leadership at the local level is becoming even more clear. In Memphis, teachers, small business owners, CEOs, policy makers and religious leaders are working together to improve the education offered to the city's young people.

The reforms in Memphis are based on the fact that teachers are the single most important in-school factor for student success.Memphis stands out as a leader for its work in better evaluating teachers, holding them to higher standards than in the past, better recognizing their dedication and compensating them for their improvements. The Teacher Effectiveness Measure, created by MCS teachers for MCS teachers, is both a process of evaluation and a tool to facilitate continuous growth. Through TEM and a network of tools and professional supports, struggling teachers can become more effective and those who are already excelling can continue to improve.

The district's work also includes a celebration of individual Memphis teachers and of the profession of teaching overall. Through billboards, public service announcements, and awards, the "I Teach. I am" campaign is bringing the inspiring stories of Memphis' educators' skills and dedication to the public square.

In Memphis, administrators and teachers teamed up to earn a $90 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to transform its schools. The business and philanthropic communities of Memphis have since pitched in to contribute another$20 million for this work.