Excelling Educators With iTeachAZ, Arizona Ready-For-Rigor Project, and iLeadAZ

As recipients of the ASBA Golden Bell Award, educational leaders from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at ASU and Osborn Elementary School District shared insights and success from their 16-year year partnership during an afternoon breakout session at the ASBA-ASA 57^th Annual conference on Thursday, December 11, 2014 at the Arizona Biltmore.

The Osborn School District has five elementary schools supporting 183 educators working with 2,900 students. A significant portion of the Osborn student population (90 percent) qualifies for free-and-reduced lunches and there is a high mobility of students moving in and out of the district resulting in a 40 percent annual student turnover rate. However, those hurdles don’t prevent the Osborn leadership from their commitment to the children attending their schools, said Osborn Superintendent Patty Tate.  

By working together over the years with the ASU Teachers College to improve teacher and administrator  quality through local and federal programs and grants, Osborn earned the distinction as the only urban Phoenix district to have all of its schools earn an “A” or “B” rating through the state’s A-F Letter Grade System for 2013-14.

Three of the current ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College programs that Osborn is implementing in its district schools include:

iTeachAZ: The nationally recognized teacher preparation program at ASU conducted its first cohort in the Osborn District in 1998. iTeachAZ Program Specialist Angie Linder, who graduated in this first group, spoke about how the program has evolved over the years and helped schools develop and maintain effective teachers in the classroom. Since 1999, Osborn has hired 114 iTeachAZ graduates, who now make up 38 percent of its classroom teachers, and are helping the district to a 72 percent three-year retention rate for teachers.

Arizona Ready-for-Rigor (AZRfR) Project: The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) has been working with nearly 60 schools around the state, including all five in Osborn, to support the advancement of teacher leaders, known as master and mentor teachers, enhance school-embedded professional development for all educators, and create a performance-based compensation system, explained ASU’s AZ TAP Director Ann Nielsen. During the course of the ASU TIF grant implementation in Osborn the past four years, school letter grades based on reading and math student scores have consistently increased. The development of systems and support structures through the AZRfR Project funding has directly impacted teacher effectiveness in Osborn: 48 percent of Osborn teachers were rated as highly proficient or exemplary teachers in 2013-14, compared to just 33 percent the previous year.

iLeadAZ: The 15-month principal preparation program involves intensive leadership training in partnership with the educator’s district to prepare the participants for administrative positions while earning their Master in Educational Leadership and Principal Certification, said Kay Coleman, iLeadAZ project director. The past four cohorts through the Teachers College have graduated 58 administrators, with 97 percent of them currently in leadership positions, including two of the five Osborn principals.

Overall, the collaboration between Osborn and the ASU Teachers College has resulted in students achieving more and an increase in the number of teachers staying within the Osborn district. This was achieved through Osborn’s partnership with ASU and their strategic use of grant funds to develop resources and support for the educators. As one Osborn classroom teacher said, “I love Encanto (School). It feels like a true family experience. Leadership is very committed. Principal, master teachers and mentor teachers are doing their best so we can do our best—Yippee!”