The Coventry schools plan to use Board-certified teachers in various highly responsible roles to improve teaching and learning in the district. These teachers will serve as mentors, lead teachers who will replace department chairs and provide curriculum development and team leadership within schools, teacher facilitators who serve as unofficial vice-principals in the elementary schools, and staff for the planned professional development center. Such leadership, says the superintendent, will extend the influence of the Board's standards to all teachers in the system. Five teachers have completed the Board's certification process, and an additional six are in the pipeline. Promising teacher preparation and certification efforts exist along the continuum of a teaching career to eliminate incompetent teaching and to assure proper assignment and support of teachers.
Teachers initiate and play major roles in the design and implementation of peer review systems.
Intervention occurs early and quickly to deal with burned out or incompetent teachers and provides mentoring and resources for improvement to occur. Accountability policies emphasize that responsibility for a quality teaching force must be shared and must include recognition for accomplishments. If you understand how the world is going to work tomorrow and you have any concern about the integrity and the richness of the human spirit in every child, then all of us must join hands to help educators succeed in giving all those children the tomorrows they deserve.