Karen Hawley Miles' presentation as the keynote speaker of the Rennie Center's event, Smart School Budgeting, on October 3, 2012.

1. Tough Times as Opportunity
Karen Hawley Miles October 3, 3012

2. Systemic Budget Gaps
cost structure rises regardless of revenue
• Longevity based teaching
salaries grow at ~2-4% annually
• Benefits growing at ~10+%
annually
• SPED spending continues to
grow
• Pre-set COLA increases
• Tax revenue falling
• Enrollment declining
• Drop in Federal Funds
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3. What do industrial-age structures mean for a 6th
grade student like Tamika?
• Tamika has always loved school
• Proficient in reading but behind
in math
• One of 100 students her math
teacher is responsible for
• 2 out 4 of her teachers are
novices
• Her teachers don’t know she’s
behind
• Her teachers don’t know what
makes her smile
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4. …and for her teacher, Ms. Jones?
• 100 students and two different
courses
• no past information about Tamika
• no assessment tools or support
for Tamika
• Has one duty-free period, but no
time with other math teachers
• She sees her mentor who doesn’t
teach math, but only for coffee
• Ms. Jones feels powerless and
alone.
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5. Four highest priorities for transformation:
1. Restructure job and compensation structure to attract
needed expertise, promote teamwork, and link to
contribution
2. Rethink standardized class size model to target individual attention by
strategically raising class sizes and rethinking one-size-fits-all class size
models for providing individual attention
3. Shift special education spending toward early intervention and targeted
individual attention in general education settings where possible
4. Optimize existing time to meet student and teacher needs and extend
where needed
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6. High Performing Schools are about team,
not just individual performance
Deliberate
OR assignments to
Isolated with teaching team
little support
School-based
expert Collaborative
support planning time
Formative
assessments
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7. Teacher Salary Components
TYPICAL DISTRICT
MAXIMUM TEACHER SALARY =$75,000
100% Leadership, Respons
ibility, 10%
Education, 10%
80%
Longevity, 30%
60%
40%
Base, 50%
20%
0%
ERS Analysis of partner and Aspen district salary structures
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8. Most districts devote less than 5% of all teacher
compensation spending to reward increased teacher
contribution or performance
120%
100%
24%
Benefits
80%
>1% Responsibility and Results
60% 27% Longevity
40% 7% Education
20% 42%
Base
0%
District with Senior Teacher Force
Source: ERS Analysis
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9. Industrial Age Compensation Structures don’t
match needs of information age work-force

Early career teacher salaries not
Attract competitive with comparable
professional opportunities

All teachers paid the same regardless
of contribution or role. Slow rise in
Retain salary & pension structure encourages
low performers to stay

Leverage Limited opportunity or incentive to
take on greater challenges or
Expertise leadership roles
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10. To transform the teaching job,
in the short term...
To Reverse Misalignments
Cut spending • Reduce benefits spending
by • Shrink or end automatic step increases
• Tighten approval process for moving lanes
Increase • Pay more for high-needs and leadership jobs
spending to • Support expert-led teacher teaming
• Restructure time for teaming and planning
To Support Sustainable Transformation
Invest • Build effective evaluation and data systems
transition • Create new school designs that make teaching job more
resources to doable
• Design new compensation structures
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11. Four highest priorities for transformation:
1. Restructure job and compensation structure to attract needed
expertise, promote teamwork and link to contribution
2. Rethink standardized class size model to target individual
attention by strategically raising class sizes and rethinking
one-size-fits-all class size models for providing individual
attention
3. Shift special education spending toward early intervention
and targeted individual attention in general education
settings where possible
4. Optimize existing time to meet student and teacher needs and extend
where needed
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12. Most schools have significant
numbers of adults
Example District: Elementary School-Level Staffing Ratios
Regular Class Size 23
Regular Ed Student Teacher Ratio 17
Pubils per Teacher 12
Pupils per Instructor 10
Pupils per Professional 9
Pupils per Staff 7
Instructor = Teachers & para’s 0 10 20 30
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13. “Push in” models that utilize expert resource
teachers can increase individual attention and
build teaching capacity and community
Student : Teacher ratio—18:1 Student : Teacher ratio—9:1
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14. Typically secondary schools don’t vary
class size by subjects
Class Size (General Ed)
45 41
40
Average Class Size
35
30 28 28 27
26 25 24
25
20
15
10
5
0
ELA Math Science Social StudiesLanguage Non Core PE/Health
Note: Core includes ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies & Foreign Language.
NonCore includes art/music, voc/career & computer literacy, internships & ROTC.
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15. Even within core classes, class sizes are not
necessarily being differentiated strategically by
grade or student need
Math: Class 9th Grade Math:
Size by Grade Size by Need
22 23 23 22
20 19 21 21 20
15
7 8 9 10 11 12
Grade Level
*Source: RCSD SY0910 Budget; RCSD SY0910 BEDS data; ERS analysis
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16. Legacy practices mean students face sudden
loss of personal attention from teachers
in middle school
Teacher Pupil Load in Academic Subjects
Typical Urban District 150
160
140 125
Number Students Seen
By Regular Ed Teacher
120
100
80
60
40
21
20
0
K–5 6–8 9–12
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17. Cycle of Isolation and Specialization
Large, diverse classes
Teachers without needed
expertise and support
Remove “problem”
Add on support
student
Administration to coordinate
Resources and responsibility
fragmented
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18. More spending on separate classrooms
means less on early intervention
SAMPLE DISTRICT SPENDING BY STUDENT TYPE
$45 2009-2010
$40
Fully Allocated $ Per Pupil
$35 Poverty
Increment
(Thousands)
$30
$25
$20 $42.6
$15
$10 $19.9
$15.2
$5 $11.7
$0
General Ed LEP Sped Resource Sped Separate
Enrollment: 37.8K 6.6K 5.4K 5.5K
Weight: 1.0 1.2 1.7 3.5
Note: Excluded are all district Alternative/Adult schools.
Sources: SY10 October enrollment, district budget as of 10/09. Excludes students who did not report; ELL includes those currently in programs, excludes students who opted-out
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19. To target individual attention to students,
in the short term...
To Reverse Misalignments
Reduce • Increase general class size targets
spending • Increase class size for low need students, grades and
by… subjects
Increase • Reduce group size for high need students, skills, grade
spending levels and subjects
to… • Pay teachers more for dual certification (ELL and Sped)
To Support Sustainable Transformation
Invest • Expert support and PD to increase teacher capacity to use
transition individual attention strategies
resources in • Formative assessments and tools to enable targeted
instruction and grouping
• Technology to leverage teacher time and customize
instruction
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20. Four highest priorities for transformation:
1. Restructure job and compensation structure to attract needed
expertise, promote teamwork and link to contribution
2. Rethink standardized class size model to target individual attention
by strategically raising class sizes and rethinking one-size-fits-all class
size models for providing individual attention
3. Shift special education spending toward early intervention and targeted
individual attention in general education settings where possible
4. Optimize existing time to meet student and teacher needs
and extend where needed
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21. Questions?
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22. You Have Choices
Trade-offs for Transformation
For the same cost, a typical 25,000-student
urban district can:
Pay the top
Reduce class OR contributing
sizes grades 4- 15% of
12 by 2 teachers $10K
more
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23. Trade-offs for Transformation
For the same cost, a typical 25,000-student
urban district can:
Add 60
Allow benefits OR minutes to the
spending to school day in
increase by the 25% lowest
10% performing
schools
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24. Trade-offs for Transformation
For the same cost, a typical 25,000-student
urban district can:
Provide half-
Give all OR day PreK for
teachers 50% of
annual step incoming
increase Kindergarten
students
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25. Transform Now
Play Assess Analyze Make Trade-Offs
ResourceCheck ERStrategies.
org
Learn more Explore the Find the tools you Go deeper and
about budget seven strategies need to connect explore
trade-offs and begin to your resource strategy-
during tough quantify where decisions to specific self-
times. your district improving assessments.
stands. performance.
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