How about a "Teach For South Bend" initiative?

What a wonderful achievement and honor Tania Harman of Warren Primary Center accomplished. As announced in the South Bend Tribune on Sept. 23, Ms. Harman is our Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Something that particularly grabbed my attention is that Ms. Harman volunteered to leave a comfortable post at Wilson Primary Center to take on a new challenge at Warren. She is to be commended for that. From the Tribune:

Maritza Robles, director of the corporation's bilingual program, said she knew long ago that Harman was a special teacher and tremendous asset to the ENL program.

So much so that Robles went to her when the ENL program expanded to Warren. "Based on seniority, she didn't have to leave Wilson," Robles said. "She said, 'I will go wherever you need me to.' To me, that's when you know she wants what's best for students."

This is Harman's 21st year as a teacher in South Bend. She also has taught at Kennedy, Monroe and Lafayette.

There are a lot of gifted teachers in our corporation, and not all of them are willing to be as selfless as Ms. Harman. I don't blame them. It's not reasonable for us to expect that.

But what if we could create incentives to provide for those folks willing to take on the extra challenge?

I will never forget the young mother who addressed the School Board in June and asked "Why is it that we seem to be making good progress in Primary Centers on the perimeter of the corporation, and doing so much less well in schools near the center?'

The simple (and not very satisfying) answer, I believe, is that it's a harder job. I gather that very well meaning people go into these situations, become discouraged fairly quickly, and leave. I've heard from people who've studied this issue that mentoring is critical to helping teachers succeed in situations like these. So it seems clear that we need teachers in the tougher schools with the proper skills and experience and/or strong mentors to guide them. We won't be able to anything like this for free, of course.

But the business community, and the Chamber of Commerce in particular, have displayed a real eagerness to be part of the solution to the challenges we face. So what if we were to ask them to handle fund-raising and administration of a new program "Teach For South Bend", which would provide grants/stipends/bonuses to our gifted teachers willing to take on the extra challenge?

I will be meeting with the Chamber next month, and will ask for their feedback. I've discussed this idea informally with the NEA-South Bend leadership. Though it won't fit into our current agreement, that agreement ends soon. I was assured a well-crafted proposal along these lines would be considered seriously.