Gilbert Teachers Seek Important Answers

This is happening in too many articles I am reading. This time it was in Gilbert, where a crowd of teachers pressed their governing board for information regarding RTTT.

The [Gilbert] teachers questioned how Race to the Top will help them improve their teaching, instead of being a hindrance.

They had questions about how the money will be used, how struggling students will affect their evaluations and how professional development works into the plan. They wondered what happens after the four-year plan and after money runs out, and if it would force teachers to teach to the tests.

Teachers questioned how students and teachers will be held accountable.

Jo Bell, a Mesquite English teacher and president of the Gilbert Education Association, said she has held out signing the Race to the Top memorandum of understanding because "teachers are nervous and scared."

Board President Thad Stump said he has many of the same questions the teachers asked, and said the answers to those questions don't exist.

No one knows the answers, but few will risk being left out of the money chase.