1 / 24

The Challenge of Addressing Teacher Quality in Rural Areas

The Challenge of Addressing Teacher Quality in Rural Areas. Providing the Best Teachers for the Children Who Need Them Most. Solutions to Poverty Summit Monroe, LA December 6-7, 2004. Rural America: 80% of the land and 1/5 of the nation’s people. Poor Persons in Nonmetro Counties, 1999.

gzifa
Download Presentation

The Challenge of Addressing Teacher Quality in Rural Areas

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Challenge of Addressing Teacher Quality in Rural Areas Providing the Best Teachers for the Children Who Need Them Most Solutions to Poverty Summit Monroe, LA December 6-7, 2004

  2. Rural America: 80% of the land and 1/5 of the nation’s people

  3. Poor Persons in Nonmetro Counties, 1999

  4. Poverty in the Rural Context • In 2001, 7.5 million people were poor (14.2% of the nonmetro population) • Nonmetro poverty is more than 5 percentage points higher than metro poverty in the South, where more than 40% of the nonmetro population lives • More than one in six persons in the nonmetro South are poor • In 2001, nonmetro child poverty rates were 20.2%

  5. Selected Economic and Social Indicators

  6. The Impact of Poverty on Educational Achievement • According to NAEP, the performance gap for reading achievement in 4th grade high vs. low poverty students was 29 points and 21 points for 8th graders; only 11% of poor 4th graders were proficient/advanced compared to 36% of other 4th graders and 14% of poor 8th graders compared to 33% • In addition, the performance gap for math achievement in 4th grade high vs. low poverty students was 23 points and 28 points for 8th graders • Third grade students with one or more family risk factors experienced smaller gains math and reading achievement from K through 3rd grade • Poverty rates in rural areas are as high as in urban areas, particularly in the Southwest, Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the Southeast, and the Great Plains, with poverty being a significant risk factor in attempts to obtain a quality education • Low educational attainment increases the risk of remaining poor as adults

  7. No Child Left BehindTeacher Quality Requirements • All teachers of core academic areas must be ‘highly qualified’ in these areas by 2005-06 • Each state defines ‘highly qualified’ based on NCLB minimum requirements • Minimum requirements: • Bachelor’s degree • Full state certification • Content knowledge for core academic subjects they teach • Those with emergency, temporary or provisional certificates are not highly qualified

  8. Teacher Quality at the National Level • In 2002-03, the percentage of classroom teachers on a waiver across all districts was 5.6% • In high-poverty districts, 7.8% of all teachers had waivers of qualifications; the poorest children have, on average, a higher percentage of underprepared teachers

  9. Teacher Quality Data in the Southeast

  10. Teacher Quality Data in the Southeast

  11. Teacher Quality Data in the Southeast

  12. Teacher Quality Data in the Southeast

  13. Teacher Quality in the Rural Context • 43% of public schools, attended by 31% of the school-age population, are located in rural communities • In Louisiana, 27.3% of all public elementary and secondary students live in a rural area • In 2002-03, 18.7% of teachers on waivers taught in high-poverty districts • Difficult to attract and retain highly qualified teachers for rural schools due to low salaries, social, professional and geographic isolation, inadequate housing, poor economic health of the community, and the expectation that individuals teach multiple subjects

  14. Teacher Quality in the Rural Context • A number of rural states with larger numbers of small and rural schools petitioned for additional flexibility in NCLB • Difficult to fulfill the teacher quality provision by 2005-06 in a majority of these schools because teachers teach multiple courses and grades • Also difficult to meet AYP because only a few ELL or students with disabilities did not meet academic standards

  15. NCLB Flexibility Provisions for Teacher Quality in Rural Areas • Newly hired teachers who are highly qualified in at least one subject, have three years from hiring date to become highly qualified in the other subjects they teach; current eligible teachers have until the end of 2006-07 school year • Districts must provide professional development, supervision/ mentoring to assist teachers to become highly qualified in the other subjects they teach • Streamlined HOUSSE process for current teachers to demonstrate content knowledge in multiple subjects without having to earn multiple majors/certifications or take multiple tests • School districts are still required to inform parents of the percentage of classes not taught by highly qualified Ts

  16. Addressing Challenges to Recruitment and Retention of Highly Qualified Rural Teachers • Targeted marketing of advantages • Better teacher preparation individualized to the characteristics of specific rural communities • School-based support and teacher induction • Financial incentives and flexible definitions of “full-time” to facilitate federal financial aid with loan forgiveness • Grow-your-own programs and alternative routes to teaching • Flexible state certification requirements encouraging innovative models for teacher preparation addressing the need to be certified in multiple content areas

  17. What Is Alternative Certification? • A method for career changers and other committed individuals to earn certification while teaching in a classroom • A method for school districts to address key shortage areas by filling vacancies with committed individuals • A method for school districts to fill vacancies with individuals who are considered “highly qualified”

  18. Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification • NCLB permits a teacher to comply with the “full State certification” component of the “highly qualified” definition through alternate routes to certification, as long as the following criteria are met: • Teachers receive high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction before and while teaching.

  19. Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification • Assume functions as a teacher only for a specified period of time not to exceed three years. • Demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification as prescribed by the state. • Participate in a program of intensive supervision that consists of structured guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers or a teacher mentoring program.

  20. Best Practices in Alternative Certification Programs • Minimum entrance requirements (e.g. academic majors, passing teacher test scores, disposition assessment) • Field-based, earn while you learn model • Apprenticeship model • Each candidate is paired in an apprentice relationship with a Mentor • Aligned with state and teacher standards • Performance-based curriculum with a strong academic emphasis • Portfolio assessments • Assessor observations of teaching practices • Applicability to the classroom • All work is directly applied to the classroom to improve teaching practices

  21. Best Practices in Alternative Certification Programs • Cohort model • Distance learning (online portfolio and discussions) • Professional reflection • Programs emphasize pedagogical teaching ability, while still addressing NCLB’s content knowledge requirements • Collaborative partnerships

  22. Retention Statistics of a Model Alternative Certification Program

  23. Addressing the Challenge of Multiple Subjects Certification for Rural Teachers • Alternative certification programs should offer interdisciplinary certification to allow teaching of multiple subjects for Grades 4-8 and 6-12 in rural areas through the Practitioner Teacher Program model • Admission content assessment requirements should be for one subject area • Rigorous multidisciplinary academic coursework, tailored to the internship placement, offered in the alternative certification programs could be designated by the state to be equivalent to an academic major in math/science and/or reading/language arts/social studies, allowing for the content requirement in multiple subjects to be met • Performance-based portfolio assessments demonstrating content knowledge proficiency in multiple subjects (Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program) • Sample assessments – integrated interdisciplinary units of instruction addressing student learning standards in multiple content areas; professional reflection on videotaped lessons highlighting the alignment of instruction to multiple content standards; administrator interviews of students requiring articulation of learning of content standards for multiple content areas

  24. Contact Information Elizabeth R. Drame, Ph.D. DREC Group, L.L.C. drecgroup@sbcglobal.net (414) 342-1515

More Related