High quality teachers for every classroom

Teaching Pre K-8, Jan 1999 by Riley, Richard W

A new plan for the millennium proposes to lower class size and recruit new teachers.

As we head into the 21st century, our nation and our schools face a critical challenge of focusing on recruiting, preparing and strengthening the next generation of teachers. Over the next 10 years, we will need to recruit 22 million teachers. One-half to twothirds of these teachers will be firsttime teachers.

More than a million veteran teachers are on the verge of retiring. We already face a shortage of high quality teachers, particularly in specific fields of expertise such as math, science, special education and bilingual education.

High standards. This coming change has enormous implications in our continuing effort to raise standards, develop successful recruitment strategies, help prepare new teachers and provide professional development opportunities to current teachers.

One clear part of achieving high standards is lowering class size. That's why I'm delighted to note that even as I write this column, Congress has agreed to support President Clinton's plan to reduce class size by helping pay for 100,000 new high quality teachers in classrooms across the country.

We also need to recognize that the teaching profession is changing and we need to support teachers as they adapt to these changes. The use of computers, teaching in teams, increased diversity in the classroom and the recognition that children learn in many different ways are just some of the many factors reshaping this demanding profession.

Unfortunately, there are many holes in the way we are addressing these issues. Too many teacher education programs, for instance, are focused on theory and not enough on clinical experience.

The current teacher certification process is a cumbersome obstacle course that has little to do with excellence and more to do with paperwork. Once a new teacher enters the classroom, we allow a perverse sink-orswim approach to define the first years in teaching.

We need to address the issues comprehensively, by forging a nationwide partnership among K-12 leaders, the higher education community and political leaders at all levels.

It means developing induction or mentoring programs to help new teachers and put an end to the practice of teachers teaching out of field. It means more legislative efforts such as the Higher Education Act that President Clinton recently signed into law, which creates partnerships between teacher education institutions and the local school districts they serve, support for state efforts to improve teacher quality through federal grants and improved accountability in teacher education.

It also means giving veteran teachers the opportunity to keep on learning. There is increasing evidence that school districts that invest in quality professional development for their teachers see positive results in the classroom.

Results We need other incentives as well, including a demanding but more flexible certification process and encouragement and incentives for teachers to gain more knowledge or improve specific skills for their classrooms.

Only 14 states currently provide salary supplements to those teachers who set out to become master teachers through the National Board Certification process. As a result, many of the best teachers leave the classroom to get bigger paychecks.

States and local school districts need to take a good look at a concept called "knowledge and skill-based pay," in which teachers are paid extra for new skills and knowledge they acquire, in addition to experience, all of which in turn helps a school reach its own established goals.

Teachers are the heart and soul of American education. That's why we need to recruit talented and commit ted individuals to become teachers and give them the support they deserve while teaching in our schools.