Provide financial incentives to alleviate teacher shortage
Kevin McCarty
California schools are in the midst of a quiet crisis.
An estimated one-third of the state’s teaching work force is nearing retirement age, and school districts increasingly are having a hard time replacing them.
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Fran Pavley
Enrollments in teacher-preparation programs have been free-falling for a dozen years: down from 77,700 in 2001 to 19,933 in 2013, a drop of 74 percent.
New teaching credential totals declined by a quarter for the five fiscal years preceding 2013-14. It’s time for the governor and lawmakers to stem the looming shortage by giving potential teachers modest financial incentives to offset some of the costs of five-plus years of training.
Parents across California are well aware that the shortage is already affecting their children’s classrooms. A Field Poll conducted for EdSource in November shows 64 percent of registered voters believe the shortage is a “very serious” problem, and 85 percent support financial incentives to attract new teachers.
Experts point to a number of reasons why teaching is losing its allure: high college tuition costs, low starting salaries and elimination of financial incentives to enter the profession.
The shortage is severe in math, science and special education, and is starting to impact English, history, social sciences and computer education.
“It’s a five-alarm fire,” warns Linda Darling Hammond, chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
The Legislature and state government need to do something and soon because California’s 1,000-plus school districts already can’t find enough professionally trained teachers to staff every kindergarten-through-12th-grade classroom.
Consequently, district administrators have been forced to waive legal credential requirements and hire interns and other less-prepared teachers. Los Angeles County schools issued 1,188 intern credentials, permits and waivers in 2013-14, according to a credentialing commission report.
The problem is no less acute in other areas of the state. Alameda County schools granted 402 exceptions; Sacramento County 379; Riverside County 255; and Fresno County 225.
Fixing the problem isn’t easy. Recognizing the potential shortage, in this year’s budget the state invested $490 million in teacher professional development programs such as theProvide financial incentives to alleviate teacher shortage | The Sacramento Bee:
