New teachers scarce after state funding cuts
Published: Friday, Mar. 7, 2014 - 12:00 am
Young teachers have become far more scarce in California classrooms after school districts slashed their budgets to survive the recession.
From 2008 to 2013, California saw a 40 percent drop in teachers with less than six years’ experience, according to a Sacramento Bee review of state data.
As the state cut funding, districts laid off teachers with the least seniority and stopped hiring new applicants. Those employment practices, in turn, discouraged college students from pursuing the profession in California, as enrollment in teaching programs fell by 41 percent between 2008 and 2012.
Students are learning from more experienced teachers, but the hiring changes have disrupted the natural flow of classroom talent that districts typically rely upon. First-time teachers bring “freshness and energy” and ensure schools have a steady pipeline ready to replace veteran instructors who retire, said Jon Snyder, executive director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.
The traditional balance may take years to restore as schools slowly rebuild their teaching ranks and college students begin to see education as a viable profession again.
With the state budget on the mend, districts hired about 13,000 K-12 teachers statewide and about