2001-2002 Policy Paper: Professional Development, Recruitment and Retention
Background:
In August 1999, the National Commission on Teaching & America’s
future issued a report entitled “Solving the Dilemmas of Teacher
Supply, Demand, and Standards.”
The report focused on how we can ensure a competent, caring, and qualified
teacher for every child. The report was authored by Linda-Darling Hammond
a nationally renowned professor at Teachers College, Columbia University.
In Chapter 4 of the report Darling-Hammond examines the difficulty
in filling teaching vacancies. She explains that the most well-reasoned
estimates place the total demand for new entrants to teaching at 2 million
to 2.5 million between 1998 and 2008, averaging over 200,000 annually.
Darling-Hammond also raises concerns over the high attrition rate of
beginning teachers. She points to the fact that nearly 30 percent of
new teachers leave within five years of entry and that there is even
a higher rate of attrition in the most disadvantaged districts.
Legislative History:
After years of development and months of fine-tuning, the Department
of Public Instruction finished work on a new system for licensing educators.
The system will be fully implemented in the year 2004. WEAC promoted
the new administrative rule and played a major role in its successful
review by the Legislature.
WEAC believes the new licensure rule gives teachers the opportunity
to design renewal paths appropriate to their students’ needs and
their own goals for professional development. It includes a new three-tier
system of licensure for initial, professional and master level teachers
as well as comprehensive mentoring programs for initial educators.
WEAC Position:
WEAC believes that high standards in the profession can only be maintained
through recruiting into the profession and retaining the most capable
individuals available in our society.
WEAC will support recruitment and retention efforts during the next
legislative session through bills that:
- Guarantee Preparation Time for Teachers
Require school boards to ensure that each teacher’s daily schedule
includes at least one-half hour of preparation time for each hour
of teaching. In addition, make preparation time in excess of the required
half-hour a mandatory subject of bargaining.
- Provide a Tax Deduction for Non-Reimbursed Classroom Purchases
Create an individual income tax deduction for an amount up to $500
that is paid by a classroom teacher each year for educational materials
or supplies for use in school.
- Repeal of the Alternative Certification Statute
Repeal the state statute that allows the superintendent of public
instruction to grant a teaching permit to any person who has five
years of work experience and a bachelor’s degree but no pedagogical
training.
- Repeal of Residency Requirements
Prohibit cities, villages, towns, counties and school districts from
imposing residency requirements.
- Establish Loan Forgiveness For Teaching Certain Subjects or in
Certain Areas of the State
Establish new loan forgiveness programs for those who choose to teach
math, science and special education in the Milwaukee public schools
or in districts with 50% low-income pupils.
Talking Points:
- Teachers do much of their planning away from school. In successfully
restructured schools, the teaching staff receives ample time for individual
and group instructional planning.
- A recent WEAC membership survey showed that teachers spend an average
of $343 out-of-pocket to provide classroom supplies.
- Well-prepared teachers know how students learn and they know how
to facilitate that learning. This requires an understanding of pedagogical
theory and practice. The alternative certification statute could put
teachers with no pedagogical knowledge in Wisconsin's classrooms.
- Residency requirements should not exist at the expense of children's
learning. It should not matter where an effective teacher lives. There
is no research that concludes that teachers must reside in their students'
community in order to be effective.
- Research consistently shows that inner-city and poor children do
not receive the same level of high-quality teaching available to suburban
and wealthier children. The loan forgiveness program begins to address
this issue by focusing on the crucial need areas of math, science,
and special education.
For Additional Information:
Contact Bob Burke in the WEAC Government Relations Division at 800-362-
8034 ext. 254 or by e-mail at burkeb@weac.org
with any reactions, comments or questions.
Posted June 6, 2000
