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Ellen Greaves, Ed.D., J.D.,
Executive Director,
Professional Educators of North Carolina |
Teacher
Recruitment and
Retention in North Carolina, Part 2
In the October 2005
NC Journal for Women issue, the factors impacting the
teacher shortage were discussed:
-
approximately
40% of our current teachers are nearing retirement;
-
our
salary schedule discourages
teachers from teaching
beyond 29 years of service (often at the age
of 52);
-
student
growth and classroom size reduction increases
the number of teachers needed;
-
teacher
salaries fail to attract candidates
to the profession;
-
we
lose approximately
half our teachers within their first five
years of teaching for a variety
of reasons;
-
and
the requirements
of the No Child Left Behind act will
no longer allow NC schools to hire adults
who are not fully certified to teach the core
subjects after July 1, 2006.
A State
Board of Education task force developed several recommendations
for rectifying the teacher shortage in their February
2005 report.
•
Every child in every classroom in North Carolina must
have a highly qualified, competent, and caring teacher.
About a year ago, North Carolina schools employed
over 9,000 teachers on temporary, emergency, or provisional
licenses. These people will no longer be eligible
for any kind of license as of July 2006. Additionally,
1,000 long-term substitutes were being utilized. Long-term
substitutes are only required to have a high school diploma.
Approximately 225,000
students in North Carolina were being taught by these
long-term substitutes.
• Improving
teacher recruitment and retention efforts by only increasing
salary will not resolve state and local school districts’
teacher shortages. A combination of factors must be considered
and implemented. When teachers are asked why they
leave the profession, salary is not always at the top
of their lists, although it is a very important factor.
•
Teachers must
have working conditions that allow them to do their
jobs.
Teachers
must have adequate time for planning, collaborating
with colleagues and parents, and professional development.
Teachers should
be involved in school-level instructional design decisions,
planning the school day schedule, and school-level budget
decisions. Non-instructional duties must be
assigned in a manner that does not detract from teachers’
instructional responsibilities. Disruptive
students should be handled in a timely, efficient, and
consistent manner.
 Teachers
must have the instructional resources and supplies,
including technology hardware and software, they need.
Right now it is
estimated that, on average, teachers
spend $500 of their own money to provide supplies for
their classrooms. This is a significant
expenditure when a starting teacher’s salary (local
supplements not included) is less than $25,000.
• Beginning
teachers must have an effective induction program that
includes quality mentors, and quality time for the beginning
teachers and mentors to work together.
•
Teachers must be appropriately
compensated for their knowledge, skills, and performance.
The task force recommended that a standing
committee charged with researching and providing data
with which to assess the competitiveness of beginning
teacher salaries and to identify what is needed to remain
competitive salary-wise in recruiting and retaining highly
qualified teachers. This
salary study would not only look at the states with which
we compete for teachers, but also the professions competing
with education for quality entry-level candidates
(versus the national average, which is constantly changing
and not really relevant to recruiting a teacher into specific
areas here in North Carolina). The Task Force
suggested that our goal should be reaching a starting
salary of $36,000 by 2009. How many jobs pay
everyone the same, regardless of their performance? Teachers
in North Carolina at the same level of experience make
the same, regardless of whether they are outstanding or
average (local supplements notwithstanding).
• Administrative
support of teachers and for the teaching/learning process
is essential. Administrators
should be held accountable for ensuring teachers have
the working conditions that allow them to do their jobs.
Principals need proper preparation in
creating a supportive, professional environment. Administrators
at all levels need to have a stake in ensuring the learning
environment in each school is at a high level.
•
The image of teaching as a profession must be
enhanced. Teachers must be valued
for their knowledge and skills. They must have the respect
of students and the support of parents. They must be positive
voices for the profession.
 •
Facilities must be designed,
well-maintained, and utilized to support instruction.
They must be conducive to teacher work and student learning.
Teachers do not have ready access to telephones,
for example. Many rely on their personal cell
phones (paid from their own pockets) to call parents for
conferences. Many classrooms do
not have sufficient computers for both the teacher and
the students, so the computer the teacher is supposed
to use for her/his work is not secure.
Teachers should have input into building planning.
In future articles,
the progress made in the
2005 legislative session toward accomplishing these recommendations
will be assessed (including HB 706, the bill the Governor
vetoed), along with facts and figures regarding the funding
of public school education.
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 Dr.
Ellen
Greaves
became
Executive
Director
of
Professional
Educators
of
North
Carolina
in
December
2003.
Dr.
Greaves
is
an
educator,
an
attorney,
and
a
professional
association
manager
with
years
of
experience
representing
state
employees
and
managing
non-profit
organizations.
She
served
on
the
Illinois
State
Treasurer’s
Advisory
Board
on
Women’s
Issues.
She
served
as
senior
staff
attorney
and
corporate
counsel
to
the
Illinois
State
Employees
Association,
representing
approximately
1,000
management-level
state
employees
in
civil
and
administrative
matters
concerning
their
employment.
She
was
a
faculty
member
and
Director
of
Campus
Recreation
at
the
University
of
North
Carolina
at
Greensboro
for
twelve
years,
where
she
built
a
large
and
diverse
campus
recreation
program
culminating
in
the
design
of
an
$8
million
facility
devoted
to
student
recreation
on
that
campus.
Dr.
Greaves
holds
a
law
degree
from
the
University
of
Illinois,
a
Doctorate
of
Education
from
the
University
of
North
Carolina
at
Greensboro,
a
Master
of
Science
degree
in
sports
management
from
the
University
of
Massachusetts,
and
a
Bachelor
of
Science
degree
in
Physical
Education
from
the
University
of
Illinois,
receiving
certification
to
teach
physical
education
in
K-14.
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In
the
last
year,
Dr.
Greaves
has
served
on
the
NC
State
Board
of
Education’s
Task
Force
on
Teacher
Recruitment
and
Retention,
Teacher
Quality
Committee,
Task
Force
on
Physical
Education,
and
the
Special
Committee
on
Graduate
Pay
Approval
and
Non-Teaching
Work
Experience
Policies.
She
is
also
serving
on
the
Board
of
Directors
of
the
Public
School
Forum
of
NC.
Her
responsibilities
at
PENC
include
serving
as
its
CEO
and
influencing
education
policy
on
a
statewide
level.
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| Dr.
Ellen C. Greaves
Executive Director
Professional Educators of North Carolina
309 W. Millbrook Road, Suite 111
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-788-9299 800-542-8844
ellen@pencweb.org |
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