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A member of the Massachusetts General Assembly has introduced a measure that would allow for the state’s neediest school districts to draft the most talented new teachers using a format similar to the NFL Draft.
Statistics and data from student teaching might also be considered. A student English teacher’s average essay grading time or an elementary school teacher’s bulletin board changeover time might be the difference between a first round or third round selection.
Anne Romano, Superintendent of the Pinewood school district, is cautious about the proposal, but also believes that it has some merit. “If we could somehow determine that a teacher has a strong enough bladder to make it through four class periods in a row, it would give us a clue that they’d one day be able to reach at least partially effective status on student growth objectives,” she said.
What might the potential draft day look and be like? Some speculated that the State Education Chancelor might be booed by attending parents when they come onto the stage to announce the first pick in the draft. Expect school board members and administrators from each represented district in a “war room” like setting, reacting to previous picks and pouring over their selection criteria.
“If this goes into effect, we’ll certainly be in a high stakes environment,” said school trustee Len Giordano. “We had better take every opportunity to find the best and brightest.” Giordano also wondered if school districts would be able to use current staff to “trade up” for multiple picks in the draft.
As school officials consider the potential impact, young teachers who heard of the announcement also expressed some concerns. Brandon Wallace, a junior practicum student at Alexander State College, pondered the impact of the potential draft on his social media. He asked, “I’ll have to be extra conscious about what I tweet so I don’t negatively affect my pre-draft ranking.”
