Teachers often complain that just as they are really getting to know their students, the school year ends and--presto!--it's time to pass the little dears to another instructor, who will then have to spend a month or more tuning in to varying attitudes and learning styles.
But what if a teacher had the chance to stay with the same children for two, three or even more years? Would there be any benefits?
Plenty, say advocates of "looping," the practice of advancing a teacher from one grade level to the next along with his or her class.
Though as old as the one-room schoolhouse, the concept is used rarely enough these days that it is considered innovative.
Looping is a key component of the Waldorf schools, which include a campus in Costa Mesa, and is common in Germany and Japan.
And now it is popping up in a smattering of public schools in Sacramento, Long Beach and Pasadena as well as Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts and other states. The concept is sometimes used by schools that also offer multi-age classrooms that group children for two or three years.
"The whole idea behind looping is that teachers start the second year already knowing the student's [standardized test] profile, family background, home situation and behavior," said Frank J. Lawler Jr., principal of Lisbon Elementary School in Sacramento, where several teachers loop. "It probably saves 1 1/2 to two months."
Bonuses Suggested
Aware of such benefits, Howard Miller, chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District, floated the idea of asking teachers to volunteer as loopers in schools scoring at the bottom of the state's Academic Performance Index. In a commentary piece earlier this year, Miller suggested that if a teacher stayed with the same students for four years, starting in kindergarten, and taught 80% of them to read at a third-grade level, the teacher should get a $50,000 bonus.
Teachers have discounted the idea as unworkable, citing, among other obstacles, the district's high student-transiency rates. But Miller, who found only a few examples of looping in the district's schools, said he hopes the idea will eventually find favor as a way to hold teachers accountable for children's learning and to reward them if appropriate.
"There appear to be real educational advantages," he said. "It's certainly something to have further discussions about."
