“We must build a culture nationally where great educators … choose to work with the children and communities who need the most help.”—Arne Duncan

Secretary Duncan correctly recognizes that, in order to turn around our lowest performing schools, many of which are located in our poorest or hardest to reach communities, the culture of education must change so that experienced principals and teachers choose to work in these schools. The operative word here is “choose.” What will it take to get the best teachers and principals to voluntarily choose to work in the neediest schools?

At this time, experienced principals and teachers want to work in the highest performing schools. Threats of sanctions and firings are causing experienced educators to literally run from under-resourced schools, where turnover is a major issue. Being a principal or a teacher in a struggling school is a risky proposition. In fact, it can be a career-killing experience, a risk that most of our colleagues would not volunteer to take on given the prevailing slash and burn mentality.

When principal positions open in most districts, the more affluent, resourced schools have more applications than can be processed. On the other hand, when positions open in under-resourced schools, there are only a few applicants.

Recruiting teachers to work in under-resourced schools is a real challenge. Our school had to convince teachers to drive farther so they could work harder for the same pay. Instead of asking applicants what they could do for us, we had to convince prospective teachers what we could do for them. From our staff’s perspective, it was a buyers market and we were the seller.

Struggling schools have far fewer applicants for vacancies than do other more affluent schools in the district. As the years went by and our student achievement and reputation improved, recruiting was not as difficult. In fact, our teachers were such strong believers in our school and its success that they became our best recruiting tool. However, in the early days of our school improvement effort, we had a hard time competing with the top schools for talented teachers. Under the current reform guidelines, schools do not have the luxury of taking years building a reputation that will attract top teachers. The “quick fix” is on.

The truth is that there is a pecking order among the schools and it relates to socioeconomic status of the students and families. I was told by more than one district official that our school never received the kind of recognition that it deserved because no one wanted a “school like that with students like those” to be the face of the district. It simply was “not good for business.” I always felt looked down upon by my peers just as our students were constantly put down by students from other schools because they attended a “ghetto school.”

Threats, harassment, and intimidation won’t change the culture. Changing the culture means changing our behavior by creating incentives for teacher and principals to work in under-resourced schools including up-front financial incentives, a promise of small class sizes, upgraded facilities with the latest technology, and award and recognition programs that recognize teachers and school leaders.

Next: Is Merit Pay the Answer?