No, Alex is a math teacher, teaching 8th graders the ins and outs of mathematic problems.

But when Alex struggled to connect with his students and found they were far more interested in the latest hit song than they were with rote learning, he adapted.

Now, Alex is known as the “Rappin’ Mathematician.” Starting with the “Itty, Bitty Dot” (a lesson in decimals), Alex expanded his rapping to all manner of math problems.

“When I did the itty, bitty dot - after rehearsing all night - the kids laughed at me,” Kajitani said. “But by lunch, the kids were all singing the rap and by the end of the week, their test scores soared.”

With two CDs of “Rappin’ Math” under his belt now, Kajitani continues finding new ways to make math relevant to his eighth grade students - and is having fun doing it!

You can find the “Rappin’ Mathematician” at www.mathraps.com and you can listen to the interview with him by returning to the home page and clicking on listen.

Stay tuned for more focus on excellent teachers and education employees by listening to or downloading programs from Schoolhouse Talk.

Odden talked about his work in the nation’s top urban school districts. The focus of his project is on recruiting talented teachers, providing them the support they need in their first years in the classroom, and then working to retain them with tailored professional development.

“The major factor in student achievement,” Odden said, “is the teacher.” Thus, recruiting good teachers - and administators - will lead to success in the classroom.

Odden noted that when they started the project, most urban districts were still recruiting talented professionals the “old-fashioned way” with paper and pencil applications that could lay untouched until August - well past the time when teachers looking for work would still be looking for a position.

Once those systems change to more modern on-line application systems and responses, the focus then should be on an “intensive induction” period where new teachers could learn effective classroom management techniques.

Odden also noted that in addition to attracting top teaching talent, school districts should focus on recruiting and developing effective principals for challenged schools.

On the touchy subject of how effective teachers should be rewarded, Odden noted that his project - while acknowledging the need to revamp pay systems - is focused primarily on recruitment and induction.

To hear all of Allan Odden’s comments and learn more about his efforts to restructure how schools attract and retain talented people, please return to the home page, enter your e-mail and zip code. and click on the arrow to listen.

Too, please check out the question of the week and enter your thoughts on how we can attract our best talent to work in our nation’s public schools.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 3:00 PM EDT

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See our help page.

This week we will be discussing what we need to do to attract and retain talented workers in our public school system. Allan Odden, co-director of Strategic Management of Human Capital in public education, a project of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, will join us. Please join us for another great interview! If you have a question for Allan Odden, feel free to email it to questions@schoolhousetalk.org or call in during the show to ask him directly!

Allan Odden

Allan Odden is Co-Director of Strategic Management of Human Capital (SMHC) in public education, a project of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). The mission of SMHC is to improve student achievement and reduce achievement gaps by getting more powerful instructional practices into all classrooms through reform and restructuring of state and district human resource management systems, focusing initially on the country’s largest 100 districts, most of which are urban. He also is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Co-Director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). CPRE is a consortium of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Teachers College-Columbia University, and Stanford Universities. He formerly was professor of education policy and administration at the University of Southern California (1984-1993). He is an international expert on the strategic management of human capital in education, teacher compensation, education finance, resource allocation and use, school-based management, and educational policy development and implementation.

Mullen is a special education teacher at the ARCH School, an alternative education branch of Greenwich High School in Greenwich, CT. He became a teacher after a 20+ year career as a police officer in New York City.

He was drawn to the profession of teaching after working many years with teens on “the other side of the law.”

Instead of now only seeing teens from the “wrong side of the bars,” he says he now “has an opportunity to intercede earlier and have an impact” on kids as they grow up.

Working with a particularly challenging group of young people, Mullen says he finds they crave structure and adult relationships. Most come from dysfinctional homes where relationships do not fully develop between children and adults.

Speaking about his approach to teaching, Mullen says he believes in practicing “the three Ps” of passion, professionalism and perseverance.

To hear the interview with the 2009 National Teacher of the Year, Anthony Mullen, return to the home page and follow the arrow to access the broadcast. You can listen on your computer or download the program.

And we invite you to leave comments as well as visit our Question of the Week. Schoolhouse Talk wants to hear from you!

Jim Carlson, president of the Educators Compensation Institute (www.edcomp.org) was the featured guest. Carlson talked about the need to modernize the system of paying teachers to attract and retain the best and the brightest in the classroom.

“The system is not keeping up,” Carlson noted. “With the single salary schedule, it sometimes takes 20 years to get to the top.”

Instead, Carlson suggested, systemic changes need to occur that will both increase the starting salary of teachers, and provide paths for teachers to advance to much higher wages through career development.

The ECI has provided an alternative that Carlson believes should be tested. The system is called A-PATH and is modeled like a career ladder. Teachers could move up a career path by serving as mentors to new teachers, achieving National Board certification, and conducting “action research” about what works in the classroom.

While conceding that change will be difficult, Carlson believes a sustainable systemic change is the best avenue to bring teachers’ salaries up in the long run.

Now is an opportune time to begin this discussion as President Obama plans to expand significantly the federal funds available for performance pay.

Carlson is careful to note that “merit pay” programs under which only a few teachers are rewarded are often doomed to failure. Too, he cautions against using standardized test scores to measure teacher performance.

You can hear more about A-PATH and the lively discussion on alternative compensation for teachers by returning to the home page, entering your e-mail address and zip code, and clicking on the “play” icon for the program. And, please share your thoughts by visiting our “Question of the Week.” SchoolhouseTalk wants to hear from you!

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 3:00 PM EDT

Call 347-884-8557 during the show — Wednesdays at 3:00 pm EDT — to ask a question

Having trouble? See our help page.

This week we will be examining the important and sometimes controversial issue of how to pay teachers and other educators. We will be joined by Jim Carlson, President of the Educator Compensation Institute. We’ll be talking about his organization’s A-PATH plan for changing current teacher compensation systems, as well as how the Obama administration’s support for merit pay might change the landscape of the debate. Please join us for what will surely be an engaging interview! If you have a question for Jim Carlson, feel free to email it to questions@schoolhousetalk.org or call in during the show to ask him directly!

Jim Carlson, President of the Educator Compensation Institute

For the last ten years, Jim has worked as a UniServ Director for the Kettle Moraine UniServ Council, an affiliate of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the National Education Association. Prior to that, Jim was a high school teacher for fifteen years.

During his time as a UniServ Director, Jim has negotiated and implemented several alternative compensation systems for teachers, crafted a legislative proposal called Professional Accreditation for Skill and Knowledge Accountability (PASKA), authored several position papers related to educator compensation, served as the featured speaker on compensation related issues at numerous national forums, and consulted with many school districts on matters related to skill and knowledge compensation systems for education employees. Jim has also served as a compensation consultant for the National Education Association, working with a number of school districts, states, and teacher organizations including Denver, Helena, Montana, Education Minnesota, and Maryland.

Jim has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Northern Illinois University and a Master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

The Educator Compensation Institute’s Mission

The Educator Compensation Institute understands that the skills, knowledge, and methods of education employees are significant factors in determining student success and school district effectiveness, but much more empirical and qualitative research is needed to identify the different variables and dynamics impacting this correlation. The educators, administrators, advocates, researchers, and support professionals who staff the Institute are committed to exploring and analyzing education employee compensation systems, workplace environments, and other pedagogical factors that affect student learning and school effectiveness.

ECI Purpose

This Institute was developed due to a recognition of the paucity of research and limited opportunities for exchanging ideas about alternative compensation for education employees, particularly teacher compensation. Growing interest from teachers, administrators, advocates, school boards, unions, policymakers, researchers and politicians has created a national debate, with a diversity of articulated opinions. Educator Compensation Institute, Inc. serves as the resource for those interested in alternative compensation and other factors impacting positive outcomes for education employees.

To learn more about the Education Compensation Institute, visit www.edcomp.org. You can also view the Accomplished Teaching Pathways, the ECI’s newly released recommendations for creating comprehensive and systemic changes to teacher compensation systems.