There are various ways to become a teacher in most states these days. Many school districts offer alternative certification programs for those who cannot participate in traditional university certification. This has resulted in access to classrooms for a larger number of people. For instance, professionals who feel a deeper calling to teach yet had previously lacked the time and/or resources to enter a traditional certification program can now take night classes and engage in a short stint of substitute teaching in order to prepare themselves for their career as a teacher. But who are these people and what is to say that they will make a good teacher?
Chapter 2 of Susan Moore-Johnson's book "Finders and Keepers" (2004) details research done by Heather G. Peske on the careers of 50 new teachers in Massachusetts. The results of the research read:
Two academic years after this study began, eleven of the fifty teachers had left public education altogether. There were eleven participants who had changed schools. Eight of them moved voluntarily; three moved involuntarily due to budget cuts or termination. Of the fifty teachers in the study, twenty-eight were still teaching in their original schools after the second year of the study (2000-2001).
If we assume that this is a representative sample, this leaves us with a 56% retention rate (those that stayed in the same school, who we assume enjoy and may be good at teaching). This, to me, indicates that we are not doing enough to: (a) recruit; and (b) retain top-quality teachers.
If you were the leader of a school that is free of any restrictions, what would you do to address this issue? How would you find/recruit/retain the best possible teachers for your school?
Some of the best related readings (from the sidebar):
-Feiman-Nemser (2001)
-Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (1999)
-Berry, B., Montgomery, D., Curtis, R., Hernandez, M., Wurtzel, J. & Snyder, J. (2008)
-Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas David H. Monk
-MetLife, Inc. (2006)
If we assume that this is a representative sample, this leaves us with a 56% retention rate (those that stayed in the same school, who we assume enjoy and may be good at teaching). This, to me, indicates that we are not doing enough to: (a) recruit; and (b) retain top-quality teachers.
If you were the leader of a school that is free of any restrictions, what would you do to address this issue? How would you find/recruit/retain the best possible teachers for your school?
Some of the best related readings (from the sidebar):
-Feiman-Nemser (2001)
-Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (1999)
-Berry, B., Montgomery, D., Curtis, R., Hernandez, M., Wurtzel, J. & Snyder, J. (2008)
-Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas David H. Monk
-MetLife, Inc. (2006)
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