Grants funds effective teaching tool for APS ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - It would be easier to determine if an Atlanta Public School teacher should stay or go under a program funded by a major grant announced Monday.

WABE's Charles Edwards reports.

The Atlanta Public Schools has a program designed to make teachers more effective. That initiative got a 10 million dollar boost from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Foundation's grant will complete APS's "Teacher Effectiveness Dashboard" or TED. So far, Atlanta and Denver are the only school systems nationwide to get these grants. However, other school systems use dashboards. They're like websites for principals, parents and others interested in school transparency.

APS Superintendent Beverly Hall says their TED will show school principals how their teachers are progressing.

HALL: "Which teachers are highly effective? Which teachers are average and can use some professional development and what type of professional development? It would also help us determine those teachers who are not doing well and perhaps are in the wrong profession."

However, Hall argues TED will not be an anti-teacher tool.

HALL: "They will know this is not meant to be something punitive but something in the end will be of assistance to them as they themselves strive to become highly effective in the classroom."

While she says TED will is a helping tool, Dr. Hall does admit the dashboards could be the beginning of implementing a merit based pay system for teachers.

The grants are part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's long effort to discover the signs of effective teaching.

The grant will also fund a residency program for APS. The system is trying to place math and science teachers in its schools.
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