At present, there are a myriad of initiatives aiming to attract and keep good teachers in so-called STEM subjects. But even if the U.S. doubled recruitment of top talent, cut top teacher attrition in half, and tripled the rate at which ineffective teachers are dismissed, this brief by Public Impact estimates about 60 percent of classrooms would still be without skilled STEM educators—those who can help students make an extra half-year of progress every year, on average, compared with typical teachers. Public Impact proposes to fix this by applying its Opportunity Culture initiative to STEM teachers. Schools identify their top teachers, expand their reach, and pay them more, within budget. These expansion efforts, which would apply to only the best STEM educators, include larger class sizes; streaming and/or recording lessons so that other students can watch remotely; ensuring that teachers only teach their best subjects; and augmenting class time with digital instruction to improve learning and maximize class size. The putative STEM superstar teachers would also be tasked with leading teams of less effective teachers, creating in-school STEM teams. Leaders would determine team curricula and tailor each teacher’s role to his or her strengths. Thirty schools in four districts located in three states are piloting the idea, says the report. By the fifth year, a “multi-classroom leader” directing a math or science team while continuing to teach could in theory earn a salary supplement of up to $23,000—not enough to close the STEM pay gap entirely, the authors say, “but [it would bring] STEM teachers much closer to their private-sector peers.”
SOURCE: “Redesigning Schools: Reaching All Students with Excellent STEM Teachers,” Public Impact (2014).