New Teacher License Rules Enhance Quality
Proposed changes to teacher licensing rules signify "that the
state is committed to enhancing teacher quality and improving student
learning," WEAC Vice President Stan Johnson said Wednesday (November
17, 1999) while testifying in favor of the rules.
 "This new commitment
to restructuring is based upon what experience and research tell
us: More highly skilled teachers create better learning for students,
which is our ultimate goal." - Stan Johnson - |
"WEAC's support for the proposed rule is centered on the fact
that it creates the opportunity for teachers to assume responsibility
for the quality of the profession," Johnson said in remarks prepared
for a Senate Education Committee hearing. "It also provides unprecedented
opportunities and choices for teachers to direct their own professional
development and strengthen the teaching profession through increased
accountability."
The Senate Education Committee conducted the first of several legislative
hearings on the rules, which were written by the Department of Public
Instruction after lengthy hearings and input from educators. Because
these are rules, and not laws, they do not need to pass the full Legislature
or be signed by the governor. However, the Legislature's education committees
have authority to block their implementation.
At Wednesday's hearing, the committee also heard from representatives
of the Department of Public Instruction, and panels of school board
members, school administrators and teachers, all of whom favor the rules.
Four members of Madison Teachers Inc. expressed concerns with the rule
changes.
Bill Hartje, chair of the Professional Standards Council for teachers,
explained the group's vote against the rules at a recent meeting. Hartje
said the council supports 98% of the proposal, but is very concerned
about alternative licensure provisions that were added to rules near
the end of the process. Those provisions — which allow alternative
certification by institutions other than colleges or universities —
would make it too easy for some people to obtain a teaching license,
said Hartje, an Evansville teacher. He said all they would have to do
is meet "some vague standard." The council, however, supports
other major provisions of the rules, he said.
The proposed rules move certification of new teachers away from the
current evaluation of college courses and credits to a system in which
prospective teachers demonstrate their knowledge and skills through
testing and a portfolio of their work.
The testing and portfolio are based on the state’s Standards for
Teacher Development and Licensure. In addition to changing the way new
teachers enter the field, the proposed rules create three career stages
— initial, professional, and master educator — in which planned
professional development is central to re-licensure.
Johnson said the new rules will strengthen the teaching profession
through a focus on demonstrated skills and increased accountability.
"In the new system, teachers will demonstrate knowledge and teaching
competencies," he said. "Each teacher will become actively
involved in improving the profession and his or her own skills and career
options, creating more public confidence in the teaching profession."
Johnson said teachers will be given broader opportunities to assume
responsibility for the quality of their profession through such activities
as recruiting and training mentor teachers, selecting and training local
professional development councils, and bargaining the financial recognition
of licensure and the time needed for professional improvement.
"The new system will create a clear and objective picture of what
teachers know, understand and can demonstrate," he said.
"This new commitment to restructuring is based upon what experience
and research tell us: More highly skilled teachers create better learning
for students, which is our ultimate goal."
The Senate Education Committee also has scheduled a second hearing
at 3 p.m. Monday, November 29, at the State Fair Park Youth Center in
West Allis.
The Assembly Education Committee has tentatively scheduled these hearings:
- 3 p.m. Tuesday, November 30, Plymouth High School.
- 3 p.m. Tuesday, December 7, Waupaca High School.
- 3 p.m. Tuesday, December 14, River Falls High School.
Posted November 17, 1999; Updated November 18, 1999