March 28, 2012
New Tools for Strong Schools

Across the country, pioneering schools are getting great results despite incredible challenges. Yet we too rarely take the opportunity to learn from their success.

TNTP is pleased to release new research and resources that illuminate what these schools do differently, and provide district and school leaders with the tools they need to do the same.

Greenhouse Schools: How Schools Can Build Cultures Where Teachers and Students Thrive

What would you do if you knew that schools with higher student achievement and teacher retention rates give teachers three times as much feedback as other schools?

TNTP’s new report, Greenhouse Schools, explains how feedback and other components of instructional culture create schools where great teachers want to work. We surveyed thousands of teachers in 250 schools nationwide to identify high-performing “greenhouse schools”—those that keep more top teachers and get better results for students compared to schools that serve the same student populations. Then we took a close look at what leaders at these schools were doing differently.

The short answer: greenhouse schools prioritize great teaching above all else. They do it by hiring selectively, setting high expectations, giving teachers regular opportunities to collaborate, and making smart decisions when teachers perform well or poorly. It’s a roadmap any committed school leader can follow and any committed district leader can support.

Read Greenhouse Schools»

Teacher Talent Toolbox: Open Source Tools for Innovative Schools

The Teacher Talent Toolbox is a comprehensive library of proven tools and resources for building a thriving teaching team. The newly-expanded Toolbox includes more than 250 free resources—from job postings to teacher growth plans to trainings for principals—from three-dozen innovative schools, charter networks, districts and states.

Tailored to the needs of schools serving high-poverty communities, these tools address six critical areas of teacher talent management: recruitment, evaluation, teacher development, retention, accountability and building a professional culture. Recommendations from TNTP in each area – informed by more than 1,000 teachers and school leaders – are paired with tools for immediate download. There’s no other resource like it.

Browse the Toolbox»

###

About TNTP

TNTP strives to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom. A national nonprofit organization founded by teachers, TNTP is driven by the knowledge that effective teachers have a greater impact on student achievement than any other school factor. In response, TNTP develops customized programs and policy interventions that enable education leaders to find, develop and keep great teachers. Since its inception in 1997, TNTP has recruited or trained approximately 48,000 teachers—mainly through its highly selective Teaching Fellows programs—benefiting an estimated 8 million students. TNTP has also released a series of acclaimed studies of the policies and practices that affect the quality of the nation’s teacher workforce, most recently including The Widget Effect (2009) and Teacher Evaluation 2.0 (2010). Today TNTP is active in more than 25 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, and Oakland, among others.