L.A. school board races head to runoffs as charter backers' clout shows - LA Times

L.A. school board races head to runoffs as charter backers' clout shows - LA Times:



L.A. school board races head to runoffs as charter backers' clout shows

A push by backers of charter schools to have a bigger voice on the Los Angeles Board of Education appears to have paid off, according to early election returns in three contested races.

The campaign was marked by the emergence of a charter group as the major funder. In one pivotal race — which it was winning — the group went head to head with the teachers' union, a traditional powerhouse in board elections. If charter supporters capture that seat, they would have significantly more influence in board policy.

In the most expensive race, the charter-backed candidate, Ref Rodriguez, was narrowly leading incumbent Bennett Kayser, setting the stage for a May 19 runoff.

"Clearly, the people in the district are looking for change and are ready for a new voice on the school board," said Michael Soneff, Rodriguez's campaign manager.

The two other incumbents, Tamar Galatzan and Richard Vladovic, led in their races. Both also were supported by the charter advocates.

Although final votes were still being tallied Tuesday evening, the impact of the campaign will be felt in the coming months. The seven-member board will select a new superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District, deal with a highly troubled technology effort that is under investigation by the FBI and potentially resolve contentious contract negotiations with the teachers' union.

Also at stake is the direction of reforms, including whether charter schools will play an ever-increasing role, and the effect that would have on the rest of the school system.

"One side is trying to bring charters in and the other is trying to keep charters out — so it's important for them," said Gil Hurtado, a councilman in South Gate, which is part of L.A. Unified. "But what's important for me is the best education for the children of this community."

The race with the heaviest campaign spending — and the harshest attacks — unfolded in the contest between one-term incumbent Kayser and Rodriguez. Parent-group leader Andrew Thomas was in third place, according to the returns.

Kayser was supported by the teachers' union; Rodriguez by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates. Kayser is the board's most relentless opponent of charter schools; Rodriguez co-founded one of the region's largest charter organizations.L.A. school board races head to runoffs as charter backers' clout shows - LA Times:

An Open Letter to My Students: I Am Sorry For What I Am About To Do To You - Crawling Out of the Classroom

Crawling Out of the Classroom | As I begin a year of transformation as a teacher, I am attempting to break down the four walls of my classroom to reach out to others and connect about the incredible world of education.:

An Open Letter to My Students: I Am Sorry For What I Am About To Do To You

47

To all of my precious students,

I am sorry for what I am about to do to you.

This week, I am going to have to give you a new test. It’s called PARCC. There will be five separate tests, on four separate days, and my guess is that most of you will hate them.  My guess is that one or two of you will be brought to tears because they will make you feel like you are not smart enough.  My guess is that several of you will give up part way through the test and just start clicking around on the screen. My guess is that some of you will look around at the students sitting next to you to try and figure out if they are also as confused as you are in the hopes of knowing that you are not the only way feeling this way.  My guess is that more than a handful of you will, at some time during the test, ask me to come over and help you with something and I will not be able to. My guess is that almost all of you will wonder what these tests have to do with the learning and growing that we are doing every day in our classroom because you know that our learning has meaning and purpose in this world and you cannot figure out how these tests could possibly do that.  My guess is that all of you will wonder why I am making you take these tests.

And the answer is simple.  I have to.  Our state and federal government say that I have to give these tests to you. That you must take them. And I need you to know how very sorry I am about that.

I have no control over this. I have no control over whether or not I give you this test. But, like I always tell you, I do have complete control over my own thoughts and my own words. So here is what I need to say to you.

I do not agree that these tests will tell me what I really need to know about you as a learner or as a human being.  I do not agree that these tests will make me a better teacher.  I do not agree that these tests will improve our schools. I do not agree that you need to sit in front of a computer for over five hours in order for the government to find out what you know and what you can do. I do not agree that you should not have a choice in how you are able to show all of the things that you are capable of doing. I do not agree that in order for the state to know that I am doing my job that you have to suffer through tests that could quite possibly ruin much of the hard work that we have done together in building your confidence this year and in helping you to see yourselves as readers and writers.  I do not agree with these tests.

And even more than I want you to know all of that, I want you to know that these tests will never tell you who you are.  They will never be able to show all of your various, beautiful and wondrous strengths.  They will never be able to show all of the things that you have learned this year.  They will never be able to show some of the most important things about who you all are.  Because these tests will not show your humanity.

They will not show how you have learned to see this world through empathetic eyes.  They will not show how you have learned to choose ways to present your knowledge so that you can use your individual strengths. They will not show how you have learned to collaborate with your classmates and with students around the world. They will not show how you have learned to listen first and then speak.  They will not show how you have learned to do good things for this world. They will not show how you have grown as people. These tests will never be able to show those things and please believe me when I tell you that those are the things that truly matter in this world.

So if, and when, you struggle with these tests. If, and when, you start to think that these tests are telling you that you are not smart. If, and when, you start to believe that maybe you aren’t really good enough. If, and Crawling Out of the Classroom | As I begin a year of transformation as a teacher, I am attempting to break down the four walls of my classroom to reach out to others and connect about the incredible world of education.:

The Top-10 Most Unwanted List—the Enemies of Public Education | Crazy Normal - the Classroom Exposé

The Top-10 Most Unwanted List—the Enemies of Public Education | Crazy Normal - the Classroom Exposé:

The Top-10 Most Unwanted List—the Enemies of Public Education

24JAN

This list reveals the most dangerous enemies of public education and how they earned their spot in infamy. To discover why they landed on this list, click the links included with each name below the brick wall. This list is subject to change at any time.

#1
#BillGatesSpending billions to destroy Public Schools
with testing agenda to rank & fire teachersLiving in Dialogue

#2
The #Waltons
Why are #Walmart Billionaires Bankrolling Phony School Reform
Bill Moyers.com

#3
Who is #EliBroad and why is he trying to destroy public education?
Defend Public Education.net

#4
#KochBrotherscherry-picks Constitution
Rewriting History
To brainwash children with libertarian ideas
Diane Ravtich.net

#5
#ArneDuncan
False apologies of Arne Duncan
Who contributed to significant crises in urban school districts
Yohuru Williams at The Huffington Post.com

#6
Who is #DavidColeman
Architect of Common Core and War on Pub-Ed
who ignores professionalism of teachers
Diane Ravtich.com

#7
#JebBush
Horrible record on Education
His friends and allies are getting rich from his reform agenda
The New Yorker Reviews Jeb’s Record on Education

#8
#AndrewCuomo is backstabbing governor,
who wants to kill traditional public education in New York State
Punishing Teachers: Cuomo in 2015 Was Jindal in 2012

#9
#EveMoskowitzAlleged Liar & Deceiver
who pays herself 500K+ annually from tax payers
#SuccessAcademyNYC Expert Debunks Eva Moskowitz’s Extravagant and Misleading Claims

#10
Did #MichelleRhee achieve most of her broken promises in D.C.
NO!
She failed with 98.5% of boasted goals
Did ANY of Michelle Rhee’s promises actually work in DC?

EXTENDID LIST

If you want to suggest someone who deserved to be added to the extended list—beyond the Top Ten—please leave a comment with a name and provide a link to evidence that shows why they deserve a spot on the extended list of public education’s worst enemies.The Top-10 Most Unwanted List—the Enemies of Public Education | Crazy Normal - the Classroom Exposé:

A Whopping 81% Of Teachers Say Kids Come To School Hungry. Here's What's Being Done:

A Whopping 81% Of Teachers Say Kids Come To School Hungry. Here's What's Being Done

After years of teaching elementary school, there’s one struggling student in particular that Robbie Butler cannot shake from her mind.

“Ms. Butler, I’m hungry,” the boy would tell her every day. “I don’t have any food at home.”

Butler is hardly alone in feeling concern for students who don’t have enough to eat and see their grades and prospects decline as a result.

A recent survey released by No Kid Hungry found that 81 percent of public school teachers reported students coming to school hungry at least once a week. While the study concluded that hunger is on the rise among children in the U.S. and that its consequences are immeasurable, the staff members polled agreed that a solution is already in sight.

The advocacy group surveyed more than 1,000 school employees nationwide to uncover the scope of the issue from those who are at the front lines.

For the first time ever, more than half of public school kids are from low-income families. Without proper nutrition, the students' attendance, participation and social interactions precipitously suffer, the study concluded.

“Hunger is causing the demise of an entire generation that has so much potential,” Wintor McNeel, a guidance counselor, told No Kid Hungry. “These children are fighting for their lives daily.”

While these kids may not have stocked fridges at home, most public schools actually provide free breakfast. But because the programs often fail to cater to students’ logistical and emotional needs, many students don’t take advantage of the critical nourishment they need to thrive.

Nearly 10 million kids who qualify for free lunch, don't eat free breakfast at school, according to a report released last month by the Food Research and Action Center. Many miss out either because the meal is served before school starts and kids can't get there in time or because students are too ashamed to admit in front of their peers that their families can’t afford the basics.

But schools that have explored making minor tweaks -- such as simply serving breakfast in the classroom so it feels less shameful -- have reported increased participation in the program, which has led to rave results in their students' studies.

When kids eat breakfast, 73 percent of teachers said students pay better attention in A Whopping 81% Of Teachers Say Kids Come To School Hungry. Here's What's Being Done:

What Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal means for charter schools, your district | lehighvalleylive.com

What Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal means for charter schools, your district | lehighvalleylive.com:

What Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal means for charter schools, your district

Gov. Tom Wolf's 2015-16 budget proposal revamps charter and cyber school funding, a move one charter school advocacy group said would shut down Pennsylvania's charter schools.

Charter schools are privately operated public schools, funded by taxpayer dollars funneled from a student's home school district. 

Wolf's proposed $400 million increase in the state's basic education subsidy restores a roughly 10 percent charter school tuition payment reimbursement for school districts. The practice of reimbursing districts ended under the tenure of Wolf's predecessor Gov. Tom Corbett.

The loss of charter school tuition reimbursement has exacerbated Lehigh Valley school districts' budget woes. For instance, the Bethlehem Area School District lost $15.4 million in charter school reimbursements in recent years.

The Keystone Alliance for Public Charter Schools said Wolf's budget severely limits a charter school's ability to provide a high quality education to students and removes school choice as an option for families.

"What the governor proposed today is a budget that would effectively shut down charter schools across Pennsylvania," alliance Executive Director Tim Eller said Tuesday.

Wolf is proposing that charter schools be audited annually and forced to return money they don't spent on students to their chartering school district.

"Although the governor targets charter school fund balances, he fails to point out that traditional public school districts have amassed fund balances totaling more than $1.7 billion -- more than 10 times the amount held by charter schools," Eller said. "If the governor is going to require charter schools to return excess funds to school districts, he should also require school districts to return their excess funds to taxpayers.

Charter schools receive about 20 percent less in per-pupil funding than traditional schools to account for district's transportation and other costs that don't disappear when a child attends a new school. 

"Fund balances help charter schools balance their budgets by financing unforeseen costs, year-to-year revenue shortfalls and emergency expenses," Eller said.

Wolf is also wants to make permanent the ban on the charter school pension "double dip" payment. "Double dip" refers to the practice of charter schools receiving at least a 50 percent state reimbursement for their employee pension costs in addition to having it completely paid for by school district tuition payments.

Wolf is proposing a new cyber charter school funding plan that he says reflects the difference in operating costs for cyber and brick-and-mortar schools. The administration estimates based on 2013-14 school year data, Pennsylvania's 500 districts would save about $162 million.

The reform plan sets the regular education student tuition rate at $5,950 and annually What Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal means for charter schools, your district | lehighvalleylive.com:

GOV. WOLF'S 2015-16 BUDGET

• What Gov. Tom Wolf's budget proposal means for charter schools, your district
• What does Gov. Tom Wolf's budget mean for your school district?
• How would Gov. Wolf's property tax reform plan cut your school tax bill?
• EDITORIAL: Wolf's budget vision for Pennsylvania is bold, with plenty of tax tradeoffs
• Gov. Tom Wolf unveils bold budget plan that hikes taxes, school funding

A stunning reversal on charter schools - The Washington Post

A stunning reversal on charter schools - The Washington Post:

A stunning reversal on charter schools

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan delivers his State of the State address Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 in Annapolis, Md. Hogan outlined plans for tax relief, charter schools and reforms to the state’s legislative redistricting process. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

David Hornbeck was the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools from 1976 to 1988 and the superintendent of the Philadelphia school district from 1994 to 2000. For years he was a supporter of charter schools, seeing them as an important tool in the school reform arsenal, and as Philadelphia’s superintendent, he recommended that more than 30 charter schools be allowed to open. Now, in a reversal that is rare in education, he said this:  “The last 20 years make it clear I was wrong.”

Hornbeck wrote an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun in opposition to a legislative proposal legislation championed by new Gov. Larry Hogan to make it easier for charter schools to obtain more public funding than they now get, exempt charter school employees from Maryland’s teacher certification requirements, and allow charters to seek a waiver that would relieve them of adhering to all of the laws and regulations that govern traditional public schools.

Hogan would like to see the number of charter schools in Maryland significantly increase; now there are 47 that were founded since the state began allowing them in 2003, with another five traditional public schools having converted to charter.

Hornbeck wrote in the op-ed that charter schools across the country have not broadly improved student performance, saying “it’s mixed at best.” He also wrote:

*Charter school funding is harming traditional public schools:

According to Moody’s Investors Service, charter schools pose the greatest credit challenge to school districts in economically weak urban areas and may even affect their credit ratings.

*States that have passed charter school laws considered to be “strong” are not really doing better than other states:

 Advocates say we need a “stronger” charter law, noting that Maryland ranks near the bottom. Pennsylvania’s law is ranked much higher, yet its charter growth is contributing significantly to a funding crisis that includes draconian cuts to teachers, nurses, arts, music and counselors in Philadelphia.

*Charter schools by and large do  not enroll the most challenged students because children with parents who have the wherewithal to apply for a charter create “a select pool of students and a corollary depletion of those students in non-charter schools.”

He made some other interesting points, which you can read  in full here. Ultimately, Hornbeck said that school reform works when practices known A stunning reversal on charter schools - The Washington Post:

Good K-12 School Governance Requires Clarity - Education Week

Good K-12 School Governance Requires Clarity - Education Week:

Good K-12 School Governance Requires Clarity

By Paul T. Hill & Ashley Jochim

Charter schools were created to provide a space for school leaders to innovate and adapt to the needs and strengths of the children they serve. It is clear now, more than two decades after the first charter school opened its doors, that chartering is a great first step, but not enough.

Charter laws, which differ from state to state, leave undefined gray areas about school freedoms and the role of authorizers. Some laws offer school leaders few freedoms. For instance, Maryland's law forces charters to abide by the provisions of the local collective bargaining agreement for teachers. But none makes it entirely clear what charters and their authorizers may, must, or can't do.

The ambiguities have their downsides. Charter leaders complain that authorizers, especially school districts, change the rules and impose new requirements in response to a problem in only one school, or whenever it suits them. And negligent authorizers indulge schools that should, under any serious performance-accountability scheme, be closed.

School districts inevitably face a conflict of interest, tempted to favor the schools they run directly (and the teachers they employ) over schools run by independent parties. Yet giving chartering power to other agencies means that no one agency is responsible for all of a city's students.

These factors and others crowd out people with good ideas and promising approaches to educating children, and make it hard for parents and students to navigate their choices. The only way to eliminate these problems is to clarify the government's role in public education and limit its powers. We argue that a more bounded set of responsibilities would enable local school boards to focus their attention on what matters most: ensuring that all children benefit from public education.

A more permanent approach is needed to ensure that schools have the freedom of action to adapt to the needs of diverse learners and to focus public oversight on performance, not compliance. Our new book, A Democratic Constitution for Public Education, shows how this can be done. We propose that a local school board should have only two powers: to approve an annual slate of schools to operate in its locality, and to employ a CEO who will track school performance, identify children and neighborhoods whose needs are not being met by the current schools, and find school providers to meet unmet needs and replace nonperforming schools. Schools, not government, would employ teachers. All schools would also rent or buy facilities and technology and decide how to deliver instruction. Families would choose schools based on their children's particular learning needs, and money would follow those children to the schools they attend. There would be no big district bureaucracy to consume resources that would be better utilized at the school level.

“A more bounded set of responsibilities would enable local school boards to focus their attention on what matters most: ensuring that all children benefit from public education.”

States could maintain independent charter authorizers, but these would be similarly limited in what they could require of schools. School boards or authorizers that shirked their duties (for instance, did nothing for neglected groups or let low-performing schools persist indefinitely) would be decertified and replaced.

We call this new system constitutional because of its emphasis on limited powers for government and checks and balances. It eliminates the idea that school freedom is a privilege to be revoked whenever public officials deem it convenient. Government must be clear about what it will provide schools. For example, government needs to address exactly how pupil-weighted funding schemes will work, what facilities Good K-12 School Governance Requires Clarity - Education Week:

Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder - Education Week

Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder - Education Week:

Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder

2008: Standing with graduating student Aleatha Williams, right, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., center, watches the graduating class of Pelham Preparatory Academy in New York City march to their seats during their commencement ceremony.

—Tina Findeberg/AP-File

Decades of Policy Work Leave Trail for Rivals to Sift, Critique

By Alyson Klein

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As the first lady of Arkansas back in the 1980s, Hillary Rodham Clinton spearheaded an effort to bring rigorous public school courses to all corners of that state. As a U.S. senator from New York, she pushed for prekindergarten expansion nationally, before the issue caught political fire. And, as a presidential candidate in 2008, she clashed with her chief rival, then-Sen. Barack Obama, on tying teacher pay partly to students' test scores.

Ms. Clinton hasn't yet declared her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, much less provided a point-by-point plan on how she might look to shape education policy as president. But almost a year before the first primary, she is widely seen as the presumptive favorite for her party's nomination should she choose to run, even as potential alternatives such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley stand in the wings.

That dominance contrasts with a wide-open prospective Republican field that includes at least one prominent likely contender, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is closely identified with education issues.

Although Ms. Clinton's most recent public office, U.S. secretary of state, kept her away from the domestic-policy fray, her outsize stature in the political landscape makes her record on education as on other issues, such as health, the inevitable focus of early attention—and speculation.

Education Policy Résumé

From her days as first lady of Arkansas—and in the White House—to her tenure as a U.S. senator and as Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton has a long record on education and children’s issues that could offer clues to what she might emphasize should she decide to run for president in 2016.

Early-Childhood Education

• As first lady of Arkansas in the 1980s, spearheaded an effort to bring an Israeli program known as the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youth to the state. The American version of the HIPPY program, still headquartered in Arkansas, now has a national presence.
• As first lady of the United States in the early 1990s, helped champion the creation of Early Head Start, which expanded the early-childhood education program for low-income families to children from birth to age 3.
• As a presidential candidate in 2008 campaign, pitched a $10 billion-a-year proposal to help states expand their early-childhood offerings, with the goal of giving all 4-year-olds access to prekindergarten programs.
• As a U.S. senator from New York in 2007, introduced the “Ready to Learn Act,” which would have added competitive grants for prekindergarten and other early-childhood programs to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was up for renewal that year.
• Also introduced legislation to create a demonstration program that would offer home-visiting services to improve health and educational outcomes for low-income families.

No Child Left Behind Act

• Voted in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act as a U.S. senator in 2001.
• Introduced a bill in 2007 to increase access to free tutoring services required for students from low-performing schools and to improve the quality of tutoring providers.
• As a presidential candidate in 2008, expressed qualms about the No Child Left Behind Act and wanted to see more emphasis on measuring student growth. Favored incorporating measures beyond testing into state accountability systems, including Advanced Placement scores, graduation rates, and the results of formative assessments.

Academic Standards

• As first lady of Arkansas in 1983, chaired a committee charged with recommending new standards for the state’s schools. The committee ultimately decided to raise graduation standards and broaden course offerings.
• As a U.S. senator in 2007, introduced legislation to create a voluntary national curriculum and standards for math and science education, as well as a bill to develop demonstration programs aimed at preparing rural students for college and the workforce.

Teachers

• As first lady of Arkansas, helped push for a basic skills test for educators. The policy earned her and Gov. Bill Clinton the ire of the Arkansas Education Association.
• As a U.S. senator, introduced bills to improve principal recruitment and development, including in struggling schools, and to authorize federal appropriations for the Teach For America program.
• As a presidential candidate in 2008, called for a significant new investment in teacher professional development, but clashed with her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, then-Sen. Barack Obama, on whether it made sense to offer individual bonuses to teachers based in part on student test scores. Instead, Ms. Clinton called for extra pay for entire schools that are able to improve student outcomes.
• As a presidential candidate, was endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers. (The National Education Association chose not to endorse either Ms. Clinton her rival Mr. Obama.)

Other Areas of Interest

• As first lady of Arkansas, served on the state’s Rural Health Advisory Committee and on the board of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and helped found Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a group that lobbied for increased funding of child-welfare programs.
• As a U.S. senator, introduced bills aimed at improving outcomes for children in foster care, promoting community service opportunities for high school students, boosting mentoring programs for at-risk children, combating eating disorders in adolescents, and improving the energy efficiency of school facilities, among other topics related to children and schools.

SOURCES: Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hillary for President 2008, U.S. Congress, Education Week

Ms. Clinton's history of involvement in children's issues—going back to her work in the 1970s for an anti-poverty organization that later became the Children's Defense Fund—offers clues to where she might want to go on academic standards, teacher quality, and early learning, among other matters, and the approach she'd take to get there.

"She doesn't care about education just because everyone is supposed to care about education," said Mildred Otero, a former aide to Ms. Clinton when she was a senator and a presidential candidate. "Children's issues have really just been her issues for a really long time, before she ever entered public life."

When it comes to crafting policy, Ms. Clinton wants to know what the latest research is, and what people who have a stake in a particular issue think, Ms. Otero added.

"She has been around long enough and trying to do major change long enough to understand that you're never going to impose policy on people. You need them to get there with you."

But Chester E. Finn Jr., who served in the U.S. Department of Education under President Ronald Reagan and has been closely watching federal policy for decades, said he doesn't think of Ms. Clinton as a "significant figure" on education issues. From what he's seen, he said in an email, she has oscillated "between gutsy change agent and defender of the conventional wisdom."

"I've no idea which version would prevail were she president, and I'll bet she doesn't either," said Mr. Finn, who is now a distinguished fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank.

Youngest Learners

Ms. Clinton's office declined a request for an interview for this article. But ask anyone who has ever worked with her what piece of precollegiate policy is closest to her heart, and they'll answer: early-childhood education.

It's an area that many politicians, including President Obama, have embraced in recent years.

One of Ms. Clinton's earliest experiences with policy work came in researching health and educational conditions for the children of migrant workers as a summer employee for what became the Children's Defense Fund.

In the 1980s, when future President Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, Ms. Clinton was a driving force in bringing the Home Instruction Program for Parents of Preschool Youngsters to the state. Started in Israel, HIPPY offers home-visiting services to low-income parents.

Later, in the White House, Ms. Clinton helped push for the creation of Early Head Start, which expanded the preschool program for disadvantaged youngsters to children from birth to age 3. More recently, Ms. Clinton helped launch "Too Small to Fail," an initiative aimed at promoting research into early brain development and other issues key to children in the birth-to-age 5 range.

In 2007, then-Sen. Clinton sought to add a new program to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would have offered competitive grants to states to expand and beef up the quality of their early-childhood-education programs.

She pitched a similar proposal, with a $10 billion annual price tag, as a 2008 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination—an idea that the eventual nominee, Mr. Obama, also picked up on. President Obama has since made expanding early-childhood education a centerpiece of his second-term agenda.

But if Ms. Clinton, as a 2016 candidate, were to float a similar program, she'd likely get hit with big questions about its cost, said Frederick M. Hess, the director of education Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder - Education Week:

Where Have All The Teachers Gone? : NPR Ed : NPR

Where Have All The Teachers Gone? : NPR Ed : NPR:



Where Have All The Teachers Gone?

This is the canary in the coal mine.

Several big states have seen alarming drops in enrollment at teacher training programs. The numbers are grim among some of the nation's largest producers of new teachers: In California, enrollment is down 53 percent over the past five years. It's down sharply in New York and Texas as well.

In North Carolina, enrollment is down nearly 20 percent in three years.

"The erosion is steady. That's a steady downward line on a graph. And there's no sign that it's being turned around," says Bill McDiarmid, the dean of the University of North Carolina School of Education.

Why have the numbers fallen so far, so fast?

McDiarmid points to the strengthening U.S. economy and the erosion of teaching's image as a stable career. There's a growing sense, he says, that K-12 teachers simply have less control over their professional lives in an increasingly bitter, politicized environment.

The list of potential headaches for new teachers is long, starting with the ongoing, ideological fisticuffs over the Common Core State Standards, high-stakes testing and efforts to link test results to teacher evaluations. Throw in the erosion of tenure protections and a variety of recession-induced budget cuts, and you've got the makings of a crisis.

The job also has a PR problem, McDiarmid says, with teachers too often turned into scapegoats by politicians, policymakers, foundations and the media.

"It tears me up sometimes to see the way in which people talk about teachers because they are giving blood, sweat and tears for their students every day in this country. There is a sense now that, 'If I went into this job and it doesn't pay a lot and it's a lot of hard work, it may be that I'd lose it.' And students are hearing this. And it deters them from entering the profession."

While few dispute the shortage itself, Benjamin Riley, head of the group Deans for Impact, a new consortium of 18 reform-minded deans of colleges of education, thinks it's not yet clear why potential teachers are turning away.

"The honest answer is: We don't know. There is nothing that has been done rigorously, in a way that's empirically defensible saying, 'We know this is why the number has dropped,' " Riley says.

Isabel Gray is a senior art history major at Millsaps College in Mississippi. She is passionate about exploring a career in K-12 teaching. But, as graduation nears, she's Where Have All The Teachers Gone? : NPR Ed : NPR: