Public schools in New York ran the gamut from segregated to parochial to open-to-all. The African Free School, which was founded in 1787 and expanded greatly after New York abolished slavery in 1827, to schools “for poor white children of any religious background whose family was unable to afford private, paid education” run by The Free School Society. Teachers reflected the characteristics of their student body.

1. CharitySpotlight:Teaching
Matters
Sonny Kalsi

2. Public schools in New York ran the gamut from
segregated to parochial to open-to-all. The
African Free School, which was founded in 1787
and expanded greatly after New York abolished
slavery in 1827, to schools “for poor white
children of any religious background whose
family was unable to afford private, paid
education” run by The Free School Society.
Teachers reflected the characteristics of their
student body.

3. Teachers
Teachers were not expected to: attend all-staff
trainings; coordinate parent-teacher
conferences; purchase equipment and
supplies for the classroom using their own
money; participate in active shooter drills and
deal with their own evaluations being tied to
students’ test results.
The list could go on. Teaching is a job that, at
some point, morphed into a time consuming
profession with significantly more time spent
in activities that were not, specifically,
teaching.

4. The
Department
ofEducation
The Department of Education reported
that in the 2011-2012 school year, “On
average, regular full-time teachers in
both public and private schools spent
52 hours per week on all school-related
activities, including 31 hours per week
that they were paid to deliver
instruction to students during a typical
full week. Both groups of teachers were
required to work 38 hours per week to
receive their base pay.”

5. Teacher
Burnout
Teaching is even harder in urban schools that are
underperforming. Many teachers, especially those new to the
classroom, report feeling ill-equipped to meet the needs of their
students and the demands of the job.
The result is that teacher burnout is real and attrition rates are
high, especially at schools where student needs are the greatest.
That is, high poverty, low performing, schools. If the student
population is historically underserved the problem is even
bigger.

6. Teaching
Matters
Teaching Matters, where I serve on the Board
of Directors, is working to address the needs
of teachers and improve their ability to do
their job well.
As their website states:
"Teaching Matters is dedicated to increasing
teacher effectiveness, one of the most critical
factors in student success. Our services
transform how educators work together at
urban public schools, helping the most
effective teachers develop the skills they need
to lead their peers and drive school-wide
improvement. We also partner with school
leadership to create a work environment that
equips teachers to succeed in the classroom."

7. Organizations
The flagship program is Teacher Leadership Matters. Relying on teacher teams
called Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Teaching Matters works with
school leadership to identify the most effective teachers, and help them develop
their own skills as well as lead their peers in school-wide improvements.
There’s also a program specifically for emerging teachers, which is a critical
focus if we are going to find, and retain, great teachers in our underserved
schools. Subject specific programs, which target literacy, writing and math, also
support teachers who have students that struggle with the basics.

8. Every person who has succeeded in life
has a story about a great teacher. If
today’s students are going to do well, and
be successful, we need to make sure that
they, too, have great teachers and those
same stories to tell years from now.

9. For more information, please visit:
www.SonnyKalsi.org