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THE
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF |
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TO: |
The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents |
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FROM:
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Johanna Duncan-Poitier James A. Kadamus |
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SUBJECT: |
Mathematics Teachers in
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DATE: |
January
6, 2006 |
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STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
Goal 1 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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SUMMARY
Issue for
Discussion
National shortages in teaching areas such as
mathematics and sciences have put a significant strain on hard-to-staff school
districts’ ability to employ certified teachers in these subjects. Having
eliminated the use of temporary licenses in
Preliminary data for the
Both short-term and long-term solutions to the teaching shortages are needed, as well as the active involvement of the higher education community, the business community, the Governor and Legislature, and the K-12 community.
Reason(s) for Consideration
For
information
Proposed
Handling
This issue will again come before the Regents EMSC-VESID and Higher Education and Professional Practice Committees for further discussion.
Procedural
History
Since 2000, the Board of Regents has taken aggressive steps to ensure that all students have access to qualified teachers to assist them in meeting the Regents Learning Standards. Highlights include:
Ÿ
The use of temporarily licensed teachers has
been eliminated.
Ÿ
The Regents have created multiple pathways of
teacher preparation to ensure that all highly qualified individuals can enter
the teaching profession in an expeditious way.
Ÿ
Significant resources, including IDEA funds
and Teachers of Tomorrow grants, have been targeted toward helping school
districts recruit, prepare, and retain teachers in subjects with
shortages.
Ÿ
The Department
was awarded two federal grants totaling
$3.4 million to support the graduate study of 800 new Teaching Fellows at six
independent colleges. The funds helped preparing Teaching Fellows in subjects with
shortages.
Ÿ
The Regents and the Department have helped
school districts with recruitment efforts through Call to Teaching forums, Web
resources, brochures, career fairs, and through other
communications.
Ÿ All 114 colleges and universities with teacher education programs modified their programs to meet the new Regents standards. All college programs are now working to achieve accreditation.
Ÿ The first teachers prepared according to the new Regents standards graduated in May 2004. An independent evaluation of the impact of the Regents teaching policy on student learning is now underway. The report of baseline findings will be presented to the Board of Regents this month.
Background
Information
Initiatives to ensure all students have
access to qualified teachers have had an impact - especially in
Recommendation
To help address the lack of certified teachers in certain shortage area subjects, short-term, Chancellor Klein has identified specific initiatives designed to ensure that all math classes will be taught by teachers certified in mathematics by the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. These initiatives include the reassignment of teachers certified in mathematics, massive recruitment efforts including the recruitment of certified teachers from other states, possible signing bonuses or housing allowances, expand the math immersion program, expand linkages with the business community and continue a major publicity campaign to encourage certified teachers to convert to a certificate area that is deemed to be a shortage area-using the new supplementary certificate created by the Regents. Many of these initiatives can be accomplished by the NYCDOE independently, some will require Regents action and others legislative action.
Possible steps the Board of Regents and the
State Education Department can take:
1) To increase the pool of teachers from neighboring states who enter the teaching profession in NYS, consider modification of the teaching policy on reciprocity for certified shortage area subject teachers.
2) Advocate with the Governor and Legislature on a legislative proposal to enable a limited number of retired teachers certified in acute shortage subject areas, to re-enter the workforce without a pension penalty. This would provide an immediate supply of qualified teachers.
3) Assess the supplementary certification requirements to determine if there are ways in which more certified teachers would be interested in second certification in a shortage subject area.
4) Continue to work with all sectors of
the higher education community to increase the number of math and science
candidates interested in pursuing the teaching profession. This will include
advocating for increased scholarships and fellowships to support the
undergraduate and graduate education for math and science teachers in
5) The Department will work with leaders of the New York City Department of Education, higher education, and the business community to maximize the collective resources of all partners to develop both long-term and short-term solutions to shortages of teachers in critical areas.
6) Work with the NYCDOE to place greater emphasis on addressing teacher retention issues in NYC schools (i.e. workplace environment, staff development, mentoring, etc). This could significantly reduce the need for new teachers.
7) The Department will continue to work with the business community on various projects such as IBM’s transition to Teaching for its employees interested in teaching in the fields of mathematics and sciences.
8) After reviewing relevant data and engaging with local educators, the Regents could set a date certain by which, statewide, all teachers who are teaching math must be certified in the subject. The same process could be used in other vital subjects, such as science. Through its earlier reforms, the Regents used this same process in deciding on the elimination of uncertified teachers statewide.
Timetable for
Implementation
The remainder of the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.