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The author of this blog, Christine Gralow, neglects to mention the other major element of the design of this school — purposely large classes of thirty or more. this will substantially impede the success of both teachers and their students — especially as each teacher will be responsible for four classes of thirty students each. The purposely large classes at this school was openly discussed in the NY Times article about it, but interestingly, I can find no mention of this on the charter school website itself.

In national surveys, teachers overwhelming say that the best way to improve schools and raise the quality of teaching is to reduce class size– far above raising their own salaries. Sure, teachers should be paid more — but at what cost? In another posting on her blog, this same teacher herself despaired of finding an appropriate inclusion setting for a special education child because of the overly large class sizes in NYC schools.

Check out the comments from some of the other teachers to this post:

Current salary scales are NOT the problem in public education…..The REAL issue is the conditions under which teachers, particularly those in hard-to-staff school and in special education, have to work. — Debbie

I am also a NYC public school teacher. Getting paid $125k/year would be great, but would not solve the issue of burn-out that so many teachers face. It also sounds like at this school, teachers will have even more responsibilities (administrative and the like) than at a traditional school…. If TEP wants to create a more sustainable model for attracting quality teachers, they should halve the proposed salaries (start at 75k, still very good) and halve the class sizes. That would make a significant difference in the quality of work-life of their teachers, not just the quality of the apartments they can afford to live in.
— Alex W

As a parent, I read this article w/ great interest on the NY Times web site, and these comments here on Gotham really bother me. I also read many of the 300 or so comments on the NY Times in response to this story. I think Leonie Haimson (above) is just out to prove his point, b/c I actually saw many comments from many teachers who support this school. Leonie simply pulled the comments that suited his opinion, w/out mentioning all the other, positive comments. Please don’t pretend you are speaking for all teachers, Leonie. The comments I read included a variety of perspectives and opinions, and many teachers who responded were in favor of the school’s model.

Also, when I visited the TEP web site, I quickly found mention of the 30 students per class, so I’m not sure where Leonie was looking. I also don’t know why he is saying 30 or more. The web site is very clear that 30 students, not more, will be admitted to each 5th grade class. Please don’t change the facts by saying, “purposely large classes of 30 or more.” I’m not saying I think this school model is absolutely perfect, but I do think it is on the right track, and I don’t think throwing around misinformation about the school is helpful to anyone. Also, Maria, I don’t think the author is a teacher at the school. She makes it clear that she is volunteering.

As for the La Guardia “experiment,” I doubt the teacher qualifications were anywhere near as high as TEP is making them. Have you taken a look at the TEP requirements? I myself would not be qualified. But if you feel you have a better school model, by all means, lay it down and implement it. Stop complaining and take some action!

Also, Leonie, the child the author was worried about being in a class of 31 was a kindergarten child with autism. As a parent of a preschooler soon to enter kindergarten, I personally support kindergarten classes of no more than 20. I know many people agree that kindergarten classes should be significantly smaller than middle or high school classes. At the middle or high school level, if the school is good and the teachers are great, I would be fine with my child being in a class of 30. That’s how it was when I was in high school at a great public school, and it worked.

Leonie also mentioned “teacher surveys” that prove the best way to improve education is by smaller class sizes, but surveys are not research. My understanding from the new York Times article is that The Equity Project’s model is based on actual research, not surveys, showing that teacher quality is the biggest factor:

“The school’s creator and first principal, Zeke M. Vanderhoek, contends that high salaries will lure the best teachers. He says he wants to put into practice the conclusion reached by a growing body of research: that teacher quality — not star principals, laptop computers or abundant electives — is the crucial ingredient for success.

“I would much rather put a phenomenal, great teacher in a field with 30 kids and nothing else than take the mediocre teacher and give them half the number of students and give them all the technology in the world,” said Mr. Vanderhoek, 31, a Yale graduate and former middle school teacher who built a test preparation company that pays its tutors far more than the competition.”