Teachers need opportunities to grow

Iwill never forget when, during the first year at my school, my students asked, “If I come back to visit next year, will you be gone?”

There was huge turnover in my district and teachers did not stay long. My students knew this. Teachers left for districts with higher test scores, new opportunities and better pay in other states or professions. Last school year, my current students’ teacher left midyear for a position out of state, leaving them to build a relationship with the new teacher after the holiday break. This year, one of the students, Katie, asked me if I would be back after the break. I had to work hard to convince her that I wasn’t going anywhere.

Our students deserve, and families should demand, highly effective teachers who have the ability to accelerate the academic growth of their students. But we must provide such teachers with reasons to stay beyond commitment to their students. In New Mexico, salary increases and professional incentives are virtually nonexistent for many educators who have “topped out” at the Level 3 licensure. Our students are losing the teachers they value and their academic outcomes are suffering as a result.

Low socioeconomic areas like Bernalillo, Belen, Grants and Kirtland, where I teach, find it even more challenging to keep highly effective teachers. The students in these districts desperately need consistency and high quality, but they often see teachers leave after one or two years.

Teachers in every district make a difference, but in areas like mine, students look forward to having the teachers that their brothers and sisters had. My students’ siblings tell me often that they can’t wait to have me in sixth grade. James is the brother of a student I had last year. He struggles in many subjects,but has an A in my class.

My team often tells me it is because of the relationship I have with him. I agree. We developed that relationship last year when his brother was in my classroom. If I leave, my students will miss out on the connections their siblings and family members have made over the years. Such bonds result in mutual respect that can only be developed over time. Teachers who stay in their community have years of experience and knowledge that is invaluable in teaching.

In every career, professionals need to be able to grow. When it comes to teachers, our state’s current system only allows for growth up to a point. The system is not set up to keep great teachers where they are most needed. But we can change this.

First, a Level Four license should exist for the educators who have attained master’s degrees and certification and who also participate in leadership roles while staying in the classroom. At Level Four, educators will remain in the classroom working directly with students to help them achieve at a high level while providing other teachers the support they need to improve their teaching.

Second, New Mexico should provide a certain level of financial reward as teachers gain experience and increase their professional growth, especially when that teacher is making a difference in closing the achievement gap for students.

As educators, we measure student learning in a variety of ways. We offer lessons that are differentiated to meet students’ needs and support their development through a variety of pathways. New Mexico’s teachers should be given the same opportunities to grow in the greatest career field, education.