By Steve Frey
Chances are your child has an outstanding teacher this year, but educational leaders in the Commonwealth are worried about what will happen in the future. Area superintendents have concerns about salaries locally and throughout the state. Average salaries in this part of Virginia are below the state average, and the Commonwealth is in the lower half of national rankings. When wages are low, excellent teachers are difficult to attract and retain.
You see, teachers are just like everyone else. They have families to raise, utilities to pay, children to send to college, and retirements to plan for down the road. Add in substantial student loans to pay back and the ever-rising cost of health insurance, it can be challenging to make it paycheck to paycheck.
If a teacher has a choice between receiving a fair, middle-class salary and something much lower, she’s going to think of her family and do what’s best. That’s why salary levels mean so much.
Then there is the importance of maintaining and improving facilities, which means replacing boilers from the 1960s and creating learning areas that are designed to meet the needs of 21st-century students and programs.
These issues are coming to a head in Virginia as they have in many other states, and on Monday, a large contingent of teachers gathered in Richmond to raise awareness for the need to increase salaries and funding for education.
Since the Great Recession, school divisions have been starved by state and local governments that have not funded them adequately. Divisions can only cut so much. At some point, municipalities (state and local) need to modestly raise taxes to provide the education students deserve and will help them to be competitive in the new economy.
What can divisions do to help attract and retain teachers? Radford Superintendent Rob Graham was quoted in last Saturday’s News Journal: “The climate and culture of the environment of the workplace,” he said, “has a great deal to do with whether a teacher stays or leaves. If they feel valued (compensated appropriately, trusted, respected, treated as a professional, etc.), they are more likely to stay instead of leave.”
Graham is absolutely correct. The school environment created through the leadership of an insightful principal and a caring and knowledgeable staff creates an atmosphere filled with teamwork, trust and respect. That team, working as one, sets a tone that students and parents can quickly discern the minute they walk through the door. Teachers are treated as professionals and growth for students becomes continual and substantial.
As a matter of fact, that is the very kind of environment that one local educational leader strives to create every day. Radford City Schools recently announced that Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Ellen Denny was selected as a recipient of a Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum (VASCD) 2019 Impact Award. According to the VASCD, “Impact Awards are presented to educators who consistently challenge themselves and others to learn, grow and achieve at the highest possible levels…their work exemplifies great teaching. They serve as catalysts, engaging students and/or colleagues in collaborative work. They are learners whose work reflects best-practice research and evidence. They influence, impact, and inspire others.”
Denny was nominated by the RCPS Innovative Planning Grant (IPG) Team, which is comprised of a group of division teachers and administrators. This nomination is significant because it means that her team truly values her leadership.
Having worked with Denny on a series of articles in the past, it is easy to see why. Not only is she knowledgeable about all aspects of K-12 education, but she values the input and opinions of every stakeholder.
For example, in developing a recent upgrade to the secondary schools’ schedules, she made sure students were involved and solicited their input. The entire staff had a chance to review and discuss plans. She held parent and community meetings to share information and receive feedback. She maintained an open dialogue with the school board and received their input. She shared concepts and prototypes through this newspaper, social media and school district releases.
Each step of the way her mantra was simple: “What is best for the students?”
What will provide them with a 21st-century education? What will facilitate cutting-edge instructional strategies for the staff? How can the schedule improve instruction AND create a learning environment students love? She and the IPG team devised a plan that met all of those criteria.
When acknowledged for her efforts at a school board meeting, she immediately diverted praise back to the team and its hardworking members. That’s what a strong leader does.
Denny has been a teacher, a counselor, a principal and now an instructional supervisor. She has a unique skill set that makes her uniquely qualified to facilitate plans and programs that really are best for the students, staff, parents and Radford community.
Congratulations, Mrs. Denny, on this prestigious honor, and thank you for your dedication and hard work in ensuring that every student in Radford has the best learning opportunity possible every single day!
There are other Ellen Dennys just starting out in classrooms today. Area superintendents and school boards want to make sure that they start and finish their careers right here in Southwest Virginia.
Don’t you?
Steve Frey is a writer and CEO of Ascendant Educational Services based in Radford.
