Teacher shortage and support
California has over a 1,000 school districts and many have been experiencing teacher shortages the last few years. A survey of 25 districts conducted recently by Learning Policy Institute, a research group out of Palo Alto, showed that 80 percent of the districts reported that the shortages continue this year.
The hardest teachers to find are math, science, special ed, bilingual and CTE (Career Technical Education). When districts are unable to fill all their vacant positions with fully credentialed teachers, they have to hire teachers on emergency credentials who may not have completed courses for teacher preparation or student teaching.
These replacements require a lot of support and can struggle to meet student needs because there is so much they need to know that hasn’t been covered yet. Support programs for new teachers make a significant difference in increasing teacher retention rates.
About 90 percent of teacher vacancies nationwide are created by teachers leaving the profession. Approximately one-third of those are retiring, but the other two-thirds leave the profession for other reasons. In an online Edsource article entitled, “Don’t slam the desk on the way out. If fewer teachers quit, the shortage would end,” stated that retention of teachers would solve the crisis.
The number one complaint of teachers leaving is dissatisfaction with working conditions. Teaching is a challenging profession and new teachers report being buried in paperwork to clear their credentials. New teachers have to attend classes and do homework on top of learning curriculum, planning lessons, grading work, managing behavior and contacting parents.
They are required to complete tasks and projects for their TPES (Teacher Performance Expectations) including videotaping their lessons. The CTC (Commission on Teacher Credentialing) expects candidates to demonstrate proficiency in six TPES with a half a dozen sub standards in each category.
Teachers are the most influential aspect of student achievement. When school districts hire emergency teachers, it’s important for administrators, instructional coaches and mentor teachers to check in frequently to ask what they need. New teachers report being more likely to stay if they feel supported and know where to go to get help.
Some need basic lesson plan format assistance. The lesson should start with something intriguing that grabs student’s attention such as a joke, quote, cartoon or short video in the warm up. Stating the objective of the lesson helps focus learners on the goal for the day.
Deciding how much content to cover and how to deliver it takes practice. They often review several sources such as a textbook passage, an article, or video to determine which might be better to help students learn.
Student attention spans average about 7-10 minutes and then it’s helpful to insert a processing activity. Engaging students in an academic conversation with a shoulder partner or conducting a brief quick write helps them process the new material.
Continuing with more input can then be followed with another CFU or Check For Understanding before releasing them to practice individually. At the end, it’s important to review content covered perhaps by having students summarize the learning in some sort of quick wrap up activity so that the new material is more likely to stick.
Reflecting on the lesson with a mentor who has observed it helps adjust pacing and pedagogy. Feedback about how to manage the more challenging learner’s needs helps set the tone for the rest of the class. Advice about efficient grading techniques can prevent part of the potential overwhelm.
According to the CTA, enrollment in teacher preparation programs in California has dropped by 75 percent over the past decade. Alternative credentialing programs require less coursework and fewer student teaching hours, but teachers prepared in this way are 25 percent more likely to leave their school than those credentialed through regular university programs.
With the teacher shortage worsening, it puts more underprepared teachers in classrooms. Supporting them as they do the course-work to become fully qualified includes observations, feedback and help to plan and revise lessons to meet the needs of the diverse student populations.