The Three R's to the DC Teacher Shortage Problem : Retain, Respect and Resources

From: The Mail - September 21, 2008

The research supports that teacher attrition rates are higher in teaching than other professions. The National Center on Education estimates that one third of all teachers in the US leave education during their first three years of teaching and almost half leave after five years. In poorer communities, it is even worse. For those who choose teaching through alternative certification programs, it isn’t uncommon for as many as 60 percent to exit education. Little wonder that DC Public Schools is facing a teacher shortage citywide. Of course other factors contribute to teacher shortages. For instance when Chancellor Rhee offered the Teacher Transition Award program last school year it encouraged certified teachers from closing and restructuring schools to leave in exchange for monetary awards. Not to mention the 78 probationary DC teachers who were fired in June without regard to their work performance while another 269 teachers were terminated, even though some of them were certified and some had agreed upon action plans. Then there are teachers like Denise Hamilton, the blind teacher (certified) featured on channel 9 news that was fired by DCPS due to a glitch created by the DC Central office. Go figure. Let’s not forget about the teachers who just got up and left for greener pastures.

The media recently reported that there is a teacher shortage at Thurgood Marshall, Ferebee Hope, and Garfield schools in the district. Many other schools complain of teacher shortages, including Ballou, Davis, Hamilton-Moten Academy, and the Shadd Center amongst a host of unreported others. A listserve parent weighs in on the impact of the DC teacher shortage at Thurgood Marshall: “Both Rhee and Fenty would never subject their kids to be placed in a class of forty students. You would think school principals should be the first voices we hear when school conditions are unacceptable. But instead they hide out in their offices, hoping parents will not complain. They are so afraid of drawing attention to their school to even ask for help or assistance from DCPS, for fear of loosing their positions, that they are placing our children in overcrowded classrooms.”

I wish I had a crystal ball, because if I did I would love to predict how our mayor and Chancellor will deliver the hard and quick solutions to our teacher shortage problem. After all, they are revolutionizing education, aren’t they ? Could teacher retention be one of the solutions? Randi Weingarten, now President of American Federation of Teachers, offers her perspective: “If we can’t keep the teachers who are hired, building a cadre of experienced, well-prepared teachers becomes like trying to fill a bucket that has a hole in its bottom. It’s costly and counterproductive to hire thousands of well-qualified people every year, invest millions of dollars in incentives, orientation, and professional development — only to see one of every four leave within a year and more than one of every three by the end of the third year. Worse, it’s bad for kids. Experienced teachers are more confident and more competent than brand-new teachers.” The key to retaining certified teachers depends on the three R’s which, by the way, have been discussed in many UFT publications: “You need to respect your professional staff, you need to retain (not fire) qualified teachers, and you need to provide adequate and appropriate resources.” Written by Candi Peterson.