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Column: How to train and retain the best teachers for Florida's public schools

 
Published Sept. 29, 2016

It's a troubling fact: Fewer and fewer young people want to become teachers, which has created a chronic shortage of qualified applicants for teaching jobs in our schools.

In a survey of 2015 high school graduates who had taken the ACT college-readiness assessment test, only 4 percent intended to become a teacher, counselor or administrator. The figure was down from 7 percent six years ago.

And as Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano recently pointed out, many of the newer teachers in Florida have little interest in staying in the profession long-term.

Certainly, public schools' focus on mandated tests can make a teaching job frustrating, since teachers can't spend enough time on wide-ranging learning because they are busy preparing kids for specific tests.

But no matter where you stand on mandated testing, there are steps we can take to recruit and retain more talented teachers. My fellow educators and I need your help, and we need it now.

So how can you help?

A good start would be to support the Florida Board of Education's proposal for the Legislature to stop providing bonuses to teachers based on college entrance exam scores, and to instead put $43 million toward initiatives designed to help teacher recruitment and retention.

Among the quality ideas included in the board's proposal: Create a bonus program to reward both newer, promising teachers and veteran teachers who have helped their students grow academically. This type of support is what's needed to attract and keep quality professionals in the profession.

As we move toward another session of the Legislature and area school districts consider budgets for next year, here are three things citizens should ask their legislators and political leaders to support:

1. Find funding for significant increases in teacher salaries and bonuses. According to estimates by the National Education Association, Florida ranked just 36th in the nation last year in average teacher salaries, at $49,199.

Our state needs to attract more businesses to increase the quality of our jobs. And to attract those companies, the quality of our public schools has to improve. One way to make an impact is to pay teachers more, which will attract more of the best students into teaching, and then will keep them in the profession.

2. Support incentives for teachers to obtain advanced degrees. An advanced degree is one way that teachers can stay current in their fields while overcoming areas of weakness in their instruction or classroom management skills.

And the financial support in this area needs to be significant. Pinellas County teachers get a supplement of slightly more than $2,000 for a degree that could cost them $40,000 or more. Basically, they have to teach a lifetime to recoup the cost of their advanced degree.

3. Support extended-year contracts for teachers. Public school teachers receive an annual contract that is not guaranteed for renewal, and renewal depends heavily on the performance of their students on state-mandated tests.

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For newer teachers, the lack of a multiyear contract is a real issue, because they need time to gain experience, and they need some basic level of job security.

We need to take action now to attract more young people to the teaching profession and to keep them in the classroom. This will positively, dramatically impact the quality of our schools, which in turn will help our economy and quality of life.

Bill Heller is dean and professor in the College of Education at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.