More than money needed to retain, attract quality teachers
More than money needed to retain, attract quality teachers
By Todd Dvorak, Associated Press Writer | July 17, 2005
DES MOINES, Iowa --Higher salaries and other financial incentives are key in recruiting good teachers, but the nation's governors were told Sunday that more can be done to prevent teachers from leaving the classroom.
Mentoring, professional development, finding ways to boost confidence and school-day schedule changes to provide more contact with colleagues are just as critical.
"Money is a piece of the puzzle," said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, who led the session recruiting, rewarding and retaining teachers.
"But I think over and over again today, we heard the idea, and problems with, the feeling of isolation come up that so many teachers feel," Sebelius said.
For more than a decade, lawmakers and educators in many states have searched for ways to keep their most talented teachers, recruit replacements for retiring teachers and to fill vacancies in rural and urban districts, especially in science and math.
As many as 20 percent of new teachers quit after their first year, and nearly twice that many change professions within three years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Some states, such as Texas and California, have responded with signing bonuses, forgiving student loans or offering discounted housing to teachers willing to work in troubled inner-city districts or remote, rural schools.
Lawmakers in states such as Iowa and North Dakota have set aside money in recent years specifically to boost salaries.
And other states are experimenting with elaborate advertising campaigns to boost hiring or programs to draw non-teachers into the classroom. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, said a town in his state hit by job losses is taking part in a pilot program to speed certification, an effort to make teaching more appealing to people changing careers.
"It appears to be very successful," Douglas said. "I think it's important to consider alternative routes to licensure."
But it's also important to adopt strategies that keep teachers challenged and enhance confidence and respect, educators said.
Job satisfaction is linked to the level of support teachers get from colleagues and administrators and opportunities for professional development and appropriate compensation for pursuing it, they said.
Brent Potts, a high school science teacher and the 2005 Kansas Teacher of the Year, told the governors that mentoring from skilled, veteran teachers early in his career was the single biggest factor in his own success.
"The problem is not everyone has those support mechanisms in place," Potts said.
Tom Keating, the Minnesota Teacher of the Year, said lawmakers and administrators should give teachers time during the day to connect with students and fellow teachers outside the classroom.
"Relationships among the adults in the building is critical to overall success and job satisfaction," he said.
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Education - Issue for 2006 Governor's Race
The goal and agenda of the Republicans from the Governor and the people he works with in the legislature is the privitization of public schools with our tax dollars -it is not about improving education or equalizing education for all of the students in Texas, or providing for "No Child Left Behind." which has been inadequately underfunded and thus insures that public schools will fail. Rather it is about greed and corruption in high places. Jim Hightower succinctly wrote a book called,
Thieves in High Places which aptly fits what is going on with Texas education.
The penalty for failure under 'No Child Left Behind' is to ask parents to move their students to another 'better' school, remove the principal then staff and ultimately 'privatize' the public school into a 'private' charter school.
Charter schools are notorious for not operating within the same rules and accountability as public schools are held to. This needs to change. Further, there are financial abuses in charter schools since they are operated on a for profit motive for their shareholders - not what is best for children or public interest. I know of Charter schools in Texas where students did not have a text book in subjects such as Chemistry, Biology, Social Studies, Language arts, etc. until half a year passed.
The Governor and Republicans in the legislature have consistantly ignored studies that they commissioned from the Texas Education Agency, the Comptrollers office, . Texas is faced with a shortage of teachers which is being aggravated by their draconian solutions - offer inadequate and low pay raises, cutting teacher pension benefits, allowing unqualified people to enter the profession, etc. The study I am referring to states the best way to provide for a quality education for students and attract teachers is to pay teachers a wage that will attract them and insure they want to remain in the profession - well duh!
See The "High" Cost of UnderPaying Teachers
http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/teachersalary04/See Average Teacher's Salaries in the US
http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/averagesalaries.jpgSee TEXAS STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS THE TEACHER SHORTAGE October 2002.
http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/pdf/0510.pdfInstead of providing for the public good and what is best for education and the future of our state, Governor Perry and the Republican dominated legislature have not done a good job for the state and all need to be replaced with people who will be conscientious about being wise stewards for the children and people of Texas. They have placed the Texas Education system at risk to becoming one ot the worst in the nation. I count the Democrats who have turned on their party and ideals as among those who should be replaced.
Any Democratic Governor elected who has to face the legisature we currently have in place would find getting any meaningful legislation passed impossible. This is why it is vital to expose and fight the republicans to remove as many of them as possible to obtain a majority he can work with.
This is a daunting task but not impossible. A person running for Governor needs to really attack the Republicans on their poor education record and make an issue of this by hammering just how badly these people have hurt the people and children of Texas.
© South Austin Democratic Activists 355 2005
"Crisis" in Social Security
Bush talks about a "crisis" in Social Security with some accuracy. But he doesn't dare tell us what the real "crisis" is, or how Reagan and Greenspan set it up, because when it becomes widely known that the real crisis is that Reagan set the course to steal Boomers' Social Security savings, it will destroy the reputation of both supply-side economics and the Republican Party for generations to come.
© South Austin Democratic Activists 355 2005
Lawmakers Get Failing Grade on Public Schools
Lawmakers Get Failing Grade on Public SchoolsTFN Report Card Tracks School Votes in Regular Session
June 23, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUSTIN – Four out of every ten House members earned the lowest rating – “academically unacceptable” – on a Texas Freedom Network report card that tracked votes on public education issues during the recently ended regular session.
“Parents would be up in arms if 40 percent of our schools were rated academically unacceptable,” TFN President Kathy Miller said. “Texans shouldn’t put up with a substandard performance from their lawmakers either.”
TFN’s “Legislative Report Card” should help Texans judge which legislators are most and least supportive of the state’s public schools as lawmakers once again try to fix school finance in a special session, Miller said.
“We all agree that our public schools should be held accountable,” Miller said. “Lawmakers should also be held accountable when they support radical agendas that actually make it harder for our kids to succeed in those schools.”
For six critical votes that would have undermined the state’s public schools, 63 legislators received “academically unacceptable” ratings on the TFN report card. All of those lawmakers are Republicans. On the other hand, 86 lawmakers from both parties earned either “exemplary” or “recognized” ratings by voting for public schools. Three Republicans and 60 Democrats received an “exemplary” rating for their perfect scores on the six votes. Two Democrats and 21 Republicans received a “recognized” rating by standing with public schools on at least some of the votes.
“The governor and legislative leaders pushed hard to pass what was a truly radical agenda that would have undermined public education in Texas,” Miller said. “We recognize that it took no small amount of courage for two dozen Republicans and all Democrats to oppose at least some of the most reckless measures in that agenda.”
“Exemplary” House members earned their rating for six votes on the House floor:
* against a provision in House Bill 2 that could lead to the privatization of hundreds of public schools,
* against a provision in the same bill that would allow exemplary schools to ignore quality education standards that helped their students succeed in the first place,
* against a private school voucher provision in the Texas Education Agency reauthorization bill,
* for removing Fort Worth and Dallas schools from that proposed voucher program,
* for replacing private school vouchers with a public school choice program in the TEA bill, and
* a final vote against H.B. 2 because of the many anti-public education measures included in that legislation. H.B. 2 narrowly passed the House but later died in a House-Senate conference committee.
Name Needed for South Austin Democratic Activists - Precinct 355
We need a name for this blog. I set it up as South Austin Democratic Activists - Precinct 355 and would like input for a better name. Your comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Perry's Plan Unveiled
The first special session of the 79th Texas Legislature was called to order Tuesday.
Lawmakers have just one goal: pass a funding plan for Texas public school.
"Here's the plan. Pass it. Pass it!" Gov. Rick Perry said. "It addresses the issues this legislature left unfinished."
Perry used the line-item veto to stop funding for Texas schools, leaving some to worry there would not be enough money to start the school year without an education bill. State leaders clarified Tuesday there will be money to start the school year even if the special session fails to produce a finance plan.
The plan would cut the local property tax rate to $1.20 for every $100 appraisal on apiece of property, currently many school districts' rates are $1.50 or higher.
"Increasing the state share of education funding will alleviate the burden on local property tax payers," Perry said.
Perry's plan makes up for lost property tax revenue with increased sales and cigarette taxes: cigarettes would cost an extra $1 and the state sales tax would increase from 6.25 percent to nearly 7 percent.
"It expands that tax to elective cosmetic surgery as well as car maintenance and repairs," Perry said.
While Perry talks taxes, Democratic House leaders say the focus should be elsewhere.
"One of the biggest problems remains and that is that is improving education is not the governor's priority," Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco said.
Perry's proposed sales and business taxes only pay for the property tax cut.
"In fact, it looks like it doesn't make up for the cuts in the last session," Dunnam said.
The governor says he does plan on adding about $5 billion to schools part of that money goes towards an average teacher pay raise of $1,500 though it's unclear how that pay raise would be allocated.
Earlier in the day, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst expressed concerns about the governor's proposed sales tax hike.
House Speaker Tom Craddick said he's not crazy about the Perry's planned homestead exemption which would give homeowners extra property tax relief.
"The homestead exemption doesn't help across the board. It helps in residential areas only," Craddick said.
Lawmakers have the next 30 days to come up with a school finance solution they can all agree on.
