2005-06 WEAC Legislative Agenda


2005-06 WEAC Legislative Agenda - Staff recruitment, mentoring and retention Background To ensure a great school staff for years to come, we need to be realistic about the challenges confronting the education profession and implement an aggressive strategy to recruit and retain the best and brightest to the profession. 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 ensuring 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, Darling-Hammond examined the difficulty in filling teaching vacancies. She explained 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 more than 200,000 annually. Darling-Hammond also raised concerns over the high attrition rate of beginning teachers. She pointed 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 has finished work on a new system for licensing educators. The system will begin implementation during the 2004-05 school year. 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 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 and retaining the most capable individuals available in our society. To enhance recruitment and retention efforts in Wisconsin, WEAC supports establishing a new loan forgiveness program for those who choose to teach math, science and special education in the Milwaukee public schools or in districts with 50% low-income pupils. WEAC also supports establishing new categorical aid for school districts to fund the mentoring and professional development provisions required under the PI 34 teacher licensure law. Finally, residency requirements for educators in the Milwaukee Public Schools should be repealed. Talking points Research consistently shows that urban 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. One of the best ways to keep new teachers in the profession is to have mentors or more experienced teachers who encourage and support the new teachers as they confront the many challenges of working in schools. The state should provide funds to pay for these mentoring services. It is a well-established principle in education circles that mentoring works. But with state imposed revenue caps, schools do not have the funding or the flexibility to implement effective mentoring programs. The state should provide schools with the funds needed for these kinds of programs. WEAC believes that all education employees must be free to reside in the communities of their choice. Local affiliates should actively resist any attempt to limit this freedom. WEAC believes that open occupancy in housing must be enforced. Additional information Contact Bob Burke at WEAC at 800-362-8034 ext. 254 or by e-mail at burkeb@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions. Posted March 30, 2004

2005-06 WEAC Legislative Agenda - Staff recruitment, mentoring and retention

Background
To ensure a great school staff for years to come, we need to be realistic about the challenges confronting the education profession and implement an aggressive strategy to recruit and retain the best and brightest to the profession.

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 ensuring 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, Darling-Hammond examined the difficulty in filling teaching vacancies. She explained 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 more than 200,000 annually.

Darling-Hammond also raised concerns over the high attrition rate of beginning teachers. She pointed 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 has finished work on a new system for licensing educators. The system will begin implementation during the 2004-05 school year. 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 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 and retaining the most capable individuals available in our society.

To enhance recruitment and retention efforts in Wisconsin, WEAC supports establishing a new loan forgiveness program for those who choose to teach math, science and special education in the Milwaukee public schools or in districts with 50% low-income pupils. WEAC also supports establishing new categorical aid for school districts to fund the mentoring and professional development provisions required under the PI 34 teacher licensure law. Finally, residency requirements for educators in the Milwaukee Public Schools should be repealed.

Talking points

Research consistently shows that urban 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.
One of the best ways to keep new teachers in the profession is to have mentors or more experienced teachers who encourage and support the new teachers as they confront the many challenges of working in schools. The state should provide funds to pay for these mentoring services.
It is a well-established principle in education circles that mentoring works. But with state imposed revenue caps, schools do not have the funding or the flexibility to implement effective mentoring programs. The state should provide schools with the funds needed for these kinds of programs.
WEAC believes that all education employees must be free to reside in the communities of their choice. Local affiliates should actively resist any attempt to limit this freedom. WEAC believes that open occupancy in housing must be enforced.

Additional information
Contact Bob Burke at WEAC at 800-362-8034 ext. 254 or by e-mail at burkeb@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.

Posted March 30, 2004