Education
which are so critical” to retention. While the K-12 stu-
Pianta
dent population increases, fewer college students are enrolling in teacher-prep programs nationally. Among those who do
enroll, nearly half leave the profession within the first five years, Pianta says. “Teachers are being asked to be
parents and social workers, mental health counselors and sex educators, and to teach advanced mathematics and calcu- lus,” he says. Teachers are expected to be “the entire safety net” without adequate resources to back them up, he says.
Student debt The state has begun several
initiatives to boost the number of teachers. During its most recent ses- sion, the General Assembly approved legislation streamlining requirements for provisional licensing and reciprocity for out-of-state teachers, a move that the chamber supported. Before leaving office in January,
then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe also told the state Board of Education to implement regulations to facilitate four-year educa- tion majors as a faster — and less costly — route to teacher licensure. Undergraduate options for teacher
certification already exist in Virginia. However, many five-year education pro- grams, which involved college students earning master’s degrees, emerged in the 1980s. That trend was the result of growing concerns that students were being trained in the mechanics of teach- ing but lacked sufficient content knowl- edge. Under current regulations, students must major in a subject-matter discipline while also completing a teacher-training program. The additional debt incurred in
earning master’s degrees, combined with low starting salaries, has created an addi- tional obstacle in recruiting new teachers. Pianta says teachers can be trained
efficiently in a four-year program with- out sacrificing content knowledge. When McAuliffe sent letters to
retired teachers in fall 2016, public schools had 1,080 teacher vacancies
statewide. Last fall, the shortfall declined to 935. Despite McAuliffe’s urging, only
a handful of retirees returned to the classroom and others helped with tutor- ing. The number was “not as many as we would have hoped,” says Kelly Tobe, director of teaching and learning for Petersburg City Public Schools. Tobe believes that its residency
program not only will help fill vacancies in the school system but also will provide new teachers with insights about the community. That added dimension is something Jenny Castro, a student in the residency program, appreciates. “It helps me understand where the students are coming from,” she says. Castro describes the residency pro-
gram as “sort of like a dream come true.” “I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I
was 10,” she says. A Colombian immigrant whose
family settled in Chesterfield, Castro says she is well aware of the hardships her students face. “I feel like I am needed here,” she says. “I feel like I need to help this community.”
70 AUGUST 2018
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