Too Little, Too Late

NEA Today, Feb 2004 by Shoucri, Amir

Poky urban school districts may be causing their own teacher shortages, according to a report by the New Teacher Project.

The report, Missed Opportunities. How We Keep High-Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms, blames sluggish hiring schedules for the loss of qualified teachers to other schools or districts. The districts have no problems recruiting teachers, according to the study. In fact, they typically attract large numbers of highly qualified applicants who are committed to teaching in urban settings. (One school received 4,000 applications for 200 openings!) But, in all of the cases featured in the report, the schools did not offer any jobs until late summer, long after the more qualified candidates had accepted other offers. Nearly half of those candidates said they would have taken jobs in the urban district if those offers had come earlier. That's a clear message to urban schools: Hire your teachers early!

-AMIR SHOUCRI