Seattle School District #1 Board Resolution Resolution No.

2011/12-X A RESOLUTION of the Board of Directors of Seattle School District No. 1, King County, Seattle, Washington to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Seattle Public Schools and Teach for America (TFA). WHEREAS, the Seattle School Board values ALL its certificated staff, including those that are members of Teach for America, and WHEREAS, the Seattle School Board wishes to retain effective teachers that are building valuable experience, and: WHEREAS, unprecedented constraints on State budgets has led to decreased education funding, calling for Seattle Public Schools to work smarter with less money and to focus on tested strategies, at low risk, with proven results; and WHEREAS, the Seattle School Board has stepped back from components of the Strategic Plan to ensure maximum investment flows to students and the classroom; and WHEREAS, the former Seattle School Boards stated goal was the elimination of the achievement gap; and WHEREAS, the Seattle Schools Interim Superintendent's stated goal is the elimination of the achievement gap; and WHEREAS, the former Seattle Schools Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer expended considerable effort and staff time on negotiating an MOU with TFA that seeks to place novice teachers in high poverty, high-minority schools serving our most vulnerable students; and WHEREAS, there is little peer-reviewed research which supports the success of TFA recruits in closing the achievement gap anywhere, and considerable peer-reviewed research demonstrating the harm of teacher churn and inexperience; and WHEREAS, there is no shortage of fully-certificated teachers, both experienced and novice, in the Seattle Area; and WHEREAS, the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instructions (OSPI) 2006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Highly Qualified Teacher Revised Plan has Requirement 6, Step 4.5 which calls for OSPI and school district improvement staff to encourage district and building administrators to minimize or eliminate placement of inexperienced and/or beginning teachers to high-poverty, highminority, low-performing schools; and WHEREAS, the OSPI 2006 NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher Revised Plan, Requirement 6, under strategies for Item 3 Out-of-Field Teaching calls for the Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) to evaluate and refine policies related to implementation of more restrictive requirements for

assignments or reassignment of teachers who have less than two years of successful teacher experience; and WHEREAS, the OSPI 2006 NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher Revised Plan, Requirement 6, under measures for Item 3 Out-of-Field Teaching, states OSPI shall track that school district requests for issuance of conditional certificates decreases or is eliminated, and that school districts are proactive in assignment of teachers and in compliance with NCLB HQT requirements to ensure well-prepared and experienced teachers are assigned to hard-to-staff schools; and WHEREAS, WAC 181-79A-231 states that districts will employ individuals with conditional certificates only after careful review of all other options; and WHEREAS, the Seattle School Board is required under the WAC to specifically authorize all requests for conditional certificates for TFA novice teachers; and WHEREAS, the Seattle Public Schools is currently expending limited funds on outside legal counsel to respond to an appeal of the previous Seattle School Boards authorization of these requests for conditional certificates; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Seattle School Board directs the Interim Superintendent to conduct a careful review of all other options to eliminate the achievement gap; and RESOLVED, that the Seattle School Board directs the Interim Superintendent to terminate the MOU with TFA, as afforded under the terms of the contract. ADOPTED this _____ day of ___________, 2012

__________________________________ Michael DeBell, President

________________________________ Kay Smith-Blum, Vice-President

__________________________________ Sherry Carr, Member

________________________________ Betty Patu, Member

__________________________________ Harium Martin-Morris, Member

________________________________ Sharon Peaslee, Member

__________________________________ Martha McLaren, Member

ATTEST: ________________________ Dr. Susan Enfield Secretary, Board of Directors Seattle School District No. 1 King, County, WA