Education Sector Report

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Excerpt:

By Elena Silva, Education Sector
April 2008

Hamilton County, Tennessee, is home to one of the nation’s most widely touted school reform success stories. Beginning in 2001, eight low performing elementary schools began an ambitious upward trek. With $5 million from the Chattanooga-based Benwood Foundation and funding from several other local organizations, school and community officials launched an intensive teacher-centered campaign to reform the inner-city Chattanooga schools. The effort, now known as the “Benwood Initiative,” drastically improved student achievement, and education observers took notice. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige cited Benwood’s success in his 2003 annual report to Congress. And national media outlets have trumpeted the Benwood story since, including the Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, and Education Week.

Most of these accolades have focused on a distinct approach to improving teaching in low-performing schools. In short: get better teachers. To some extent, this is what happened. School district officials reconstituted the faculties of the Benwood schools, requiring teachers to reapply for their jobs and hiring replacements for those who didn’t make the cut. Community officials established financial incentives toattract new talent, including free graduate school tuition, mortgage loans, and performance bonuses. The press, policymakers, and education organizations have pointed to these incentives as the source of Benwood’s success...