BUILDING THE TEACHER WORK FORCE: FINDING AND KEEPING QUALIFIED TEACHERS

As insufficient numbers of students enter teacher preparation programs, as more veteran teachers retire and as requirements for entry into the profession become more rigorous, this nation is facing a serious shortage of qualified teachers. The number of aspiring teachers in the top half of college graduating classes is not nearly enough to meet demand. Salaries are not generally sufficient to attract talented college graduates into teaching--particularly academically successful minorities and women with other career options. Currently 80 percent of the states report teacher shortages in various subject areas.

In addition to the traditional teacher shortages in mathematics, science, special and bilingual education, there is also a need for new teachers to meet a growing student population. Within the next five years, K-12 enrollment will grow by 6 percent, primarily in the elementary grades. Projections indicate that schools in the United States will need to hire 1.8 million new teachers by 1997. To replace those expected to leave teaching, we would need to attract the equivalent of 23 percent of each college graduating class into teaching for the next several years. Yet, recent rates for all college students indicating an interest in teaching were 4.7 percent in 1982, 6 percent in 1985, and 8.8 percent in 1988.

Shortages also mean that this nation's increasingly diverse student body will miss the enrichment a correspondingly diverse teaching staff could bring. Some researchers estimate that the percentage of minority elementary and secondary high school students will increase from the present level of 30 percent of the student population to 38 percent by the year 2000. In the 32 largest school districts, 75 percent of the 5 million students are from minority groups. Yet, while minority student population is increasing, the percentage of minority teachers is declining. According to some statistics, black teachers once represented 18 percent of the teaching force; that percentage has dropped to 6.9 percent, and is estimated to fall to below 5 percent by 1995. Hispanic teachers represent a mere 1.9 percent of the total teaching force.

These trends are unlikely to change if current enrollment practices in teacher education are not altered.  Although enrollment in these programs is increasing slightly, among minority students it is decreasing. Current minority enrollment figures in teacher preparation programs are 4.3 percent black, 2 percent Hispanic and 1.8 percent Asian. The prognosis is that the typical American child's K-12 experience will include only two minority teachers.

Recruitment

School districts, states and the federal government must pool resources immediately if these critical shortages are be alleviated. They must find new paths into the teaching profession for those qualified candidates who, for one reason or another, have not and will not follow the traditional route. They must start new loan and scholarship programs to woo those who would otherwise go elsewhere. They must support those of talent who lack the necessary means.

RESOLVED, that the AFT welcome the developments in Congress that indicate a renewal of the "federal role in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers." We urge the passage of federal legislation that will:

• offer scholarships, sabbaticals or loans in return for years of service.

• support the recruitment of highly qualified individuals for subject and geographic shortage areas (math, science, bilingual education, early childhood education, special education and inner-city schools, for example).

• support new teachers through induction programs that allow them to collaborate with and learn from experienced master teachers.

• establish professional practices schools in conjunction with institutions of higher education. The schools would train new teachers, develop model programs, further school restructuring, and disseminate information on promising practices for teacher preparation.

• increase the number of minority teachers by providing academic support to prospective high school candidates; strengthening teacher education programs at colleges with high minority enrollments; and making targeted scholarships and support services available:

RESOLVED, that we urge states and localities to supplement such federal efforts. They should also create programs that would:

• make beginning teacher salaries competitive with other first jobs available to college graduates.

• attract talented people into the profession where shortages exist through alternative certification mechanisms that guarantee quality. These programs must ensure that those certified are knowledgeable in appropriate pedagogical methods and subject matter and meet recognized performance standards guaranteeing their ability to teach. They should not provide a second-class entry track for those who are really not qualified.  To ensure this, such programs must incorporate internships that are more rigorous in time requirements, supplemental work and pedagogy and make more extensive use of experienced teacher supervision than internships required of other teaching candidates.

• recruit prospective math and science teacher candidates from the military who might follow the above-named specifications for alternative certifi­cation entry into the profession.

• recruit candidates from paraprofessionals and school-related personnel staff through career ladder and other programs that support their efforts to advance into teaching. Such individuals start with an edge in experience and have a significantly higher retention rate than those who are new school employees. They should be provided tuition reimbursement, along with a reduced work-load (at full pay) that will enable them to attend classes, participate in inservice training to improve skills, take sabbaticals, etc.

Retention

Compounding the teacher recruitment crisis is the problem of retaining those teachers we already have.  While research shows that attrition among teachers is highest in the initial years, the profession is losing talented experienced teachers. The current reward system encourages teachers to leave the classroom for administrative positions. While some move into administration, others leave for new careers that offer more promise. Studies indicate that 41 percent of minority teachers plan to exit teaching within the next five years along with 25 percent of non-minority teachers:

RESOLVED, that states, localities and the federal government must work together to hold onto the many good, but disappointed, teachers who will soon go elsewhere. Together they must reverse this trend and reduce these losses. Their efforts must:

• raise salaries. This is one of the most effective means of retaining high-quality teaching professionals.

• provide for portability in pension and salary credit.

• improve the work environment and conditions of teaching.

• provide enrichment and renewal through continual professional growth programs.

• design support programs and incentive plans that will generate fundamental institutional reform. Teachers want to teach students in ways now prohibited by conventional school structure and outmoded notions about how students learn best. Changing these, using new school-based manage­ment and shared decision-making processes, can improve student commitment and performance even as they facilitate more rewarding and productive roles for teachers.