Washington State: looking for teacher certification options

We’re seeing a lot of news and chatter coming out of Washington State that all points to the fact that they could really use ABCTE.

This summer, there was the teacher shortage related article in the Tacoma News Tribune, saying that public schools in the state were looking overseas to hire teachers and other staff. We responded with a letter to the editor, explaining that in a time of such high unemployment, school districts could give those jobs to talented experts if there were a more flexible way—like ABCTE—for them to get certified.

Next, we saw residents from Washington state cross over into Idaho for information sessions we held in Coeur d’Alene last month. These are people who want to teach in Idaho now using ABCTE certification and some of them are hoping Washington will eventually accept ABCTE certification in their public schools so that they can use it to teach in their own community, rather than in a neighboring state.

Finally, a writer in Seattle this week included ABCTE in a top ten list of ways to solve the education problem, saying that require candidates to pass our tests would be one way for districts to “stop hiring poorly-educated individuals for teaching positions.” Our tests are not easy—most candidates take 8 to 10 months to prepare and pass our rigorous exams, which cover not only the subject an individual wants to teach but professional teaching knowledge as well. This means that our candidates have proven that they not only know their subject but how to teach it as well, by mastering topics such as pedagogy, assessment and classroom management.

So Washington, what are you waiting for?

School administrators, please let education leaders know that you want ABCTE’s help in filling positions in math, science and other subjects, with experts. We have people with a PhD in physics [ABCTE teacher video] or a degree in chemistry [ABCTE teacher video], for example, who are now teaching these subjects in other states. They are bringing their expertise and real world experience into the classroom—who wouldn’t want their students learning a subject from a talented, tested individual with a degree in that very subject?

Legislators, we’d like to talk with you about proposing a bill that would allow ABCTE certified teachers to teach in your state, so that they don’t have to leave the state or take thousands of dollars in college courses in order to have a classroom of their own. There are talented engineers in your state who are looking for work or who want to shift into a second career—they could be teaching math and science, helping the shape your state’s future.

Parents, students and other residents, please write to your state leaders and let them know that you want ABCTE.

If there’s anything we can do to help, please email us at contact@abcte.org.

Shortage and Surplus

No surprise here. People have the hardest time wrapping their minds around the following two truths:

1. There is a surplus of teachers
2. There is a shortage of teachers

Both statements are true. There is a surplus of elementary teachers. But there are HUGE shortages of math, science and special education teachers.

Broward County, a Broad Foundation finalist, does what is right for students. They are cutting teaching positions in surplus areas and hiring teachers with math and science expertise.

Which brings us to ABCTE – this is exactly what we do. Train career changers to be math and science teachers AND/OR help elementary teachers become great math and science teachers.

Looking at all teachers versus all teaching positions masks the issue. Both statements are true and if states and districts don’t focus on number 2, it will have a significantly adverse affect on the ability of their students to compete in the global market.

The Retention Myth

I think a quick note is in order on the EdWeek Article on the Ingersoll and Perda research suggesting that we are producing plenty of math and science teachers and all we need to do is just retain them and we are set.

The facts are probably correct – though dated – that we produce 2X as many math and science teachers than retire. Thus, retention is the solution. Woohoo - problem solved.

But that ignores the societal reality that we are all job nomads now. We wander from career oasis to career oasis hoping for something better - never settling at one job for more than few years.

I regret to say that I don’t think that education will be the one career that is immune to this current reality. Labor statistics say that 18 to 40 year olds will have 11 job changes of which half will be total career changes.

Now we certainly can do more to retain better teachers through better working conditions, better professional development to help them deal with so many students on so many different levels and career ladders to increase job satisfaction.

But to make the naïve claim that the math and science teacher shortage will magically disappear if everyone sticks around to retirement is to ignore the current reality

A science class saved

We made a tour of Missouri last week to let state leaders know how well we are doing with teacher recruitment. We have been approved there as a route to teacher certification for only 6 months and we have over 900 people enrolled with 450 focused on math and science. This is just an amazing success. Obviously this was very well received in the capital and it is great, as a non-profit, to let people know that we are living up to the expectations set for the ABCTE program

But to bring it down the personal level, we received an email from Keria Morton who has already completed her Biology certification through ABCTE. I urge you to read through her profile because it truly highlights why our program is an essential part of making sure that every child has a great teacher.

The highlights:

1. She is already teaching science and become an integral part of her school but had no way to get certified unless she drove 3 hours to college courses
2. She passed the Praxis without studying but failed her first attempt at our exams – she had to study (thus improving her knowledge) before she could pass
3. In rural schools, having a great person trumps having a certification
4. Taking course work while teaching does not work – there is not enough time in the day for grading papers, lesson plans and your family

Our schools need more people like Keria Morton teaching science. Not only is she teaching but she is totally involved in her school. Without a program like ABCTE, the students in her small school district would be without a great science teacher.

ABCTE Science Teacher in the News

It has to be about the students. When ABCTE was formed, it was because so many students were going without a great teacher because the certification rules were so complex that too many people were ignoring the teaching profession.

When we read about our teachers making a difference, it shows that the founding members of ABCTE were right. Blake Hedden is teaching science in Oconee County in South Carolina. This is an areas where it is difficult to recruit math and science teachers and now Blake is helping fill that need. They have combined their 'grow your own' teacher program with ABCTE to make sure that their students have great teachers.

Please take a moment and read the article – if we had a couple thousand more Blakes in the world, our teacher shortage would be over.

Why we do this job!

This is why the people of ABCTE get up excited to come to work in the morning:

Oconee County School District's First ABCTE-Certified Teacher Making 'Positive Impact' at Alma Mater

This time last year, Blake Hedden was working as an instructional aide in the Oconee County school district. Now, he’s teaching General Science at his old high school, getting rave reviews and inspiring others to pursue a teaching career.

Hedden began pursuing his teaching certification last spring through the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) via the Oconee County school district’s new “Grow Our Own” program. Hedden passed ABCTE’s rigorous program—which takes most candidates 8 to 10 months and includes both a subject area exam and a professional teaching knowledge exam—in just four months, becoming Oconee County’s first ABCTE-certified teacher.

“The ABCTE program has afforded Blake an opportunity to enter the teaching profession. Blake worked diligently throughout the certification process and is now making a positive impact as a physical science teacher at Walhalla High School, his alma mater,” said Rob Rhodes, Coordinator of Teacher Quality for the School District of Oconee County.

At Walhalla, Hedden is finding the adjustment to his new career to be a smooth one. “Most first time teachers have to deal with getting used to the area in which they end up finding a job and taking the time to establish themselves in the community,” explains Hedden. “In my case, I was born and raised right here, walked the halls of this school, sat in the very classroom I now teach in, and have the opportunity to work as contemporaries with some of my own teachers.”

Hedden cites ABCTE’s certification program as one of the things that has helped set him up for success in the classroom. “Even though I have some previous experience in the classroom as an instructional aide, during these last few months I have found myself using different strategies to maintain and control the atmosphere in my classes, often times drawing from the theory and instruction from ABCTE,” said Hedden.

The classroom is not the only place Hedden is putting his skills to work, according to Rhodes. “We are very proud of Blake. He was an ideal candidate for our district's new 'Grow Our Own' program and is already assisting other candidates as they navigate this pathway to certification. Blake recently spoke at one of our District School Board meetings, communicating the merits of this program. He discussed how ABCTE afforded him the chance to give back to his students, school and community and realize his dream of becoming a teacher.”

More than anything else, Hedden is in his new job because he seeks to make a positive impact on the lives of students. “I try to make a point every day to go a little further than simply teaching the material of the day,” he explains. “I try to speak positive words into the lives of my students and give out good advice that will most likely serve them better than knowing the definition of an isotope or ion. These are the things I remember from my favorite teachers coming through and my hope is that I will be able to impact my students in the same way.”

About ABCTE
The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded via a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. ABCTE is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, certifying and supporting dedicated professionals to improve student achievement through quality teaching. For more information on ABCTE, please visit www.abcte.org or call 877-669-2228.

The continued decline of high poverty schools

Out of field teaching ensures the continued decline of high poverty schools. It is shameful that we will put someone in front of a math class who does not know math, but states will not open up teacher certification to high quality routes like ABCTE - - hopefully, parents will become outraged that their students know more algebra than their teacher and demand solutions.

FROM EDTRUST
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CORE PROBLEMS: Out-of-Field Teaching Persists in Key Academic Courses, Especially in America’s High-Poverty and High-Minority Schools

WASHINGTON (November 25, 2008) – In America’s secondary schools, low-income students and students of color are about twice as likely as other students to be enrolled in core academic classes taught by out-of-field teachers, according to a report released today by The Education Trust. Out-of-field teachers are those who possess neither certification in the subject they have been assigned to teach nor an academic major in that subject.In middle and high school mathematics, for example:

· Four in ten in high-poverty schools are taught by an out-of-field teacher, compared with 16.9 percent in schools serving the fewest low-income students.

· In schools with high percentages of African-American and Latino students, nearly one-third of classes are taught by out-of-field teachers, compared with 15.5 percent in schools with relatively few minority students.

While out-of-field teaching is particularly acute in mathematics and in high-poverty and high-minority schools, the problem is pervasive. Nationwide, more than 17 percent of all core academic courses (English, math, social studies, and science) in grades 7-12 are taught by an out-of-field teacher. In the middle grades alone, the rate jumps to 40 percent.

To read the full release and report, "Core Problems," click here.

Math and Science Focus

Always nice to get the word out about ways to solve the math and science teacher shortage in the Fairmont Sentinel.