Teacher recruitment, induction likely to become major priorities

1/14/03 - If the nation is going to meet the mandate in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requiring every teacher to be "highly qualified" by 2005-06, local school boards will have to focus more attention on teacher recruitment and induction efforts, the Alliance for Excellent Education warns.

A new report by the alliance, New-Teacher Excellence: Retaining Our Best, calls for school districts to support induction strategies, such as mentoring, to ensure new teachers stay in the profession.

Recruiters have trouble "filling a bucket that's leaking," says Scott Joftus, policy director for the alliance and author of the report. The problem is even worse in high-needs schools.

Incentives needed

Joftus spoke at a forum of experts convened in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12 by the alliance and the American Association of School Administrators to raise awareness about the need for incentives to help school districts hire and retain high-quality teachers.

Induction programs offer many benefits, according to Joftus. They help teachers be more effective in the classroom. They encourage teachers to stay in their jobs longer, and they help veteran teachers be happier in their jobs.

Also, Joftus notes, it costs much less to provide induction programs than to continuously hire and train new teachers.

While most states have some kind of incentive program to attract or retain teachers, most aren't targeted to where the needs are, says Brenda Welburn, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).

While 27 states have shortages in certain geographic reagions, only four states (Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, and New York) offer geography-based incentives, reports a recent study by NASBE.

And while NASBE reports that 35 states have a moderate or great need for special education teachers, only Florida, Oklahoma, Vermont, and the District of Columbia offer incentives that specifically target special education teachers.

Elements of a good teacher

Tom Carroll, executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, says teacher training and induction programs should focus on what the research tells about what makes a good teacher.

According to Carroll, a good teacher must have:

• content knowledge;

• understanding of how children learn;

• ability to provide a high-quality learning environment;

• knowledge of modern learning technologies;

• ability to engage in reflective practice;

• willingness to engage in continuous professional development;

• ability to create passion for learning;

• clinical skills; and

• ability to engage families.

"Teachers who are successful know how to challenge all kinds of learners," adds Francine Lawrence, president of the Toledo Federation of Teachers. "They have a clear idea of what to teach. They know how to survive the silliness of school management. They need to be strong leaders and competent writers."

Eight to 10 percent of teachers in Toledo are dismissed each year for poor performance, Lawrence says. The major reasons why teachers fail, she says, is because they are afraid of their students, they are reactive to students instead of being proactive, and they have trouble getting their classrooms organized.

Teacher preparation needs to be more rigorous, Lawrence adds. "We need to promote teachers as instructional leaders."

"Don't expect new teachers to know as much as veterans," says Segun Eubanks, director of the Teacher Quality Department at the National Education Association (NEA).

Too many teachers conduct their practice teaching in suburban schools and are not prepared when they are hired for urban or rural schools, Eubanks says. "If their cultural backgrounds don't match their students, they need to learn how to make the connection."

Wendy Kopp, the founder and president of Teach For America, says some of the people her organization placed were "absolutely superstars," some were solid, and some were weaker. Teach For America provides limited training to recent college graduates and assigns them to two-year teaching positions in some of the nation's poorest rural and urban schools.

"What differentiates the top performers? The real superstars operate as effective leaders in any situation," Kopp says. "They are absolutely purposeful. You walk into their classroom and you can sense it. They are on a mission."

The most successful teachers in this program are willing to fight any obstacle in their path, Kopp says. They find the resources for their children, access additional services for them, and keep them after school. "They have a tremendous level of personal responsibility." In many cases, these teachers had accomplished a lot in their own lives, despite obstacles.

Teaching undervalued

One of the biggest obstacles to improving teacher quality is low pay, poor working conditions, and lack of respect for the profession, Lawrence says.

"The teacher compensation system should value the profession," Eubanks urges, noting that the average teacher makes less than the average guard at a federal prison.

The NEA in the past has been "guarded about differential pay," Eubanks says, but now "supports incentives for teachers in needy areas" as long as the salary systems are "fair and equitable."

"Pay is huge," Kopp agrees. Teach For America recruits young people right out of college by asking them to solve a problem and take on the biggest challenge of their lives, she says. Those who stay in rural or urban communities after finishing their two-year commitment say it's very hard to raise a family on their salaries.

"These schools have to be places where we create miracles," she says.

In addition to "comprehensive, well-financed induction programs for new teachers," the alliance report also recommends:

• a $4,000 annual federal income tax credit to encourage teachers and principals to work in high-poverty schools;

• up to $20,000 in scholarships to college juniors with grade point averages of 3.4 or higher in their major to help them complete their degrees and become certified; and

• up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness to highly qualified teachers who commit to teaching in high-needs schools for at least four years.

"We need to change the way we talk about teaching. It should be a mark of high regard to work in high-needs schools," says Sharon Robinson, president of Educational Policy Leadership Institute at the Educational Testing Service. Teachers "shouldn't be doomed or relegated to these schools. It should be presented as a challenge."