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MONTEZUMA CREEK, San Juan County — One of the most remote schools in Utah has seen remarkable success thanks to a pilot program aimed at stemming teacher turnover and putting more experienced educators in the classroom.
Now, San Juan School District is launching a program to expand that success to more schools by paying veteran teachers top dollar.
Montezuma Creek Elementary is located on the Navajo Nation near Four Corners. The area is plagued by intergenerational poverty. “These kids qualify for the highest poverty rate, anywhere probably in the United States,” said Ron Neilson, elementary supervisor for San Juan School District.
Finding and keeping experienced teachers has been a challenge. Most have less than three years on the job.
“Teachers who come to us are great,” said Ed Lyman, superintendent of San Juan School District. “We love them fresh out of college, but they don’t have the experience base that we really need.”
After the school saw consistent failing grades on state rankings, the district leaders knew they needed to think outside the box. Three years ago, they used grant money to entice four veteran educators to Montezuma Creek Elementary with the promise of a significantly higher salary and more responsibility.
In addition to their own classroom duties, the lead teachers use their experience to review data, mentor younger teachers and compile 90-day action plans to spur classroom achievement.
“We’ve all just raised the bar for what we’re looking for together as a school,” said Amanda Bouchard, lead teacher for kindergarten and first grade.
It appears to be working. In the first year, the school went from a failing grade to a C in state rankings.
“We saw a dramatic improvement from everything from behavior to attendance to student learning,” Neilson said. “Just the fact (Montezuma Creek Elementary) does not qualify for any state turnaround resources is a tremendous success.”
The district is now ready to expand its experiment to more schools. “Hopefully we can duplicate, replicate what we have here in those other schools,” Neilson said.
They call it the Quality Teacher Incentive Program, or Q-TIP for short. And the pay is attractive. “You’re going to receive a $12,000 incentive in addition to any place that you land on the salary schedule. So if you come into our district with 28 years experience, you’ll be credited where a 28-year teacher would be placed on our schedule, plus $12,000,” Nielson said.
That could equal a yearly compensation of $80,000 or more.
The district plans to recruit several top educators for each of the six southern schools, as open positions are reclassified as Q-TIP positions. That’s something Christy Fitzgerald, an elementary principal at Tse'bii'nidzisgai Elementary in Monument Valley, is thrilled about. “For our school, the impact is going to be significant,” she said.
Fitzgerald said her staff of 17 teachers includes 12 who are brand new. Current mentoring is difficult. “They’re driving 1 to 1 1/2 hours in order to be mentored by another teacher, so being able to embed that right in our school on a daily basis is going to have a significant impact,” she said.
Of the four lead teachers initially hired at Montezuma Creek Elementary, only one has left, bucking the trend of 60 to 70 percent turnover. The teachers say the higher salary has been part of that decision.
“For me, it meant staying in education,” Bouchard said. “I love my job and I love the kids, but it does matter. It’s nice to see that we’re trying to raise the bar, that we’re putting our money where our mouth is as far as what’s important and what we value.”
As district leaders make their sales pitch to find the teachers they hope to attract, they know the remote area isn't for everyone. But they hope a few veteran teachers will see what Teri Lindsay saw when she relocated to San Juan County from St. George.
“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived,” said Lindsay, a second-grade lead teacher at Montezuma Creek Elementary. “The culture is beautiful, the children are beautiful. I love it. I don’t think that I could leave. You fall in love with everything here.”
Everyone agrees, the biggest selling point is the students. “Every child deserves an excellent education,” Lyman said. “And if you really want to make a difference in the life of children, this is the place to be.”
It’s what motivates Jenny Atcitti to tackle the extra hours and responsibility as the lead teacher over fifth and sixth grade. “My heart always pulled me home because I’m so invested in this community. I live here and I just want to build the community,” she said.
Improving student learning is at the heart of the Q-TIP initiative.
“We’ve always known we’d have six schools on about any list that came out for turnaround resources,” Neilson said. “All of a sudden, we have a school that is not on the list. Our goal is to work completely off those lists with all of our schools.”
