Providence Facing Teacher Shortage According to Local, National Experts
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Providence was named as a school district "featuring a teaching shortage" in a August 10 New York Times article entitled "Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble" -- and local stakeholders are weighing in on the significance of the distinction.
"Louisville, Ky.; Nashville; Oklahoma City; and Providence, R.I., are among the large urban school districts having trouble finding teachers, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents large urban districts," wrote Mokoto Rich for the New York Times, in a piece that focused predominantly on the teacher shortage facing California.
As for local leaders, there was little surprise that Providence was pinpointed on the national stage.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"We have shortages in hard to fill areas that have been historical hard to fill. For example, ELL/ESL; Special Education, the sciences and math. Those areas have always been difficult," said Maribeth Calabro, President of the Providence Teachers Union.
"There are many contributing factors to the lack of teachers in these areas. Providence has not had a concerted effort by its HR department, prior to the new Director, to actively promote and recruit at the colleges," Calabro continued. "I also believe that Providence teachers continually maintaining the bottom position in terms of salary also contributes significantly to the problem. I personally believe that with an active, consistent recruitment process and competitive salary the city could fill those positions with teachers."
The Providence Public School department website currently lists over forty open positions for external candidates including six admininstration jobs, four open substitute positions, 26 certified positions, and four support/classified positions.
Not reflected in those numbers are the listings for internal candidates, which are only accessible online to teachers currently in the school system.
Data provided by the Rhode Island Department of Education show for the 2013-2014 school year, there were 2003 teachers in the Providence public school system for nearly 24,000 students.
Ranking Providence
The Council of Great City Schools spoke Monday about how it came its assessment of highlight Providence nationally as a school district of note facing a shortage.
"We surveyed human resources from our urban school districts a few weeks ago. The questions we asked the districts [were]: Are declining applications at Colleges of Education affecting school district recruiting and hiring of teachers? Are you seeing shortages? The New York Times reporter then called districts with follow-up questions after that," said CGCS communications manager Tonya Harris, noting that since the survey was completed several weeks ago, "it’s possible that the district has secured all the teachers it needs at this point."
Rhode Island College spoke to its efforts to meet the changing teaching needs of the the state.
"Because Rhode Island College has strong connections to the state's education community and is attuned to the workforce needs of Rhode Island, the college has been aware of increased demand for educators specializing in the STEM fields -- in Providence and a number of other Rhode Island cities and towns," said Laura Hart, Director of Communications. "In response, RIC has taken proactive steps to address this need, including collaborating with the Governor's Office and RIDE on a National Governor's Association grant to recruit and retain teachers in hard-to-staff fields such as science, math and computer technology."
While Providence is just one of several cities that was mentioned specifically, Chad Aldeman wrote for EducationNext what he believes is behind the overall shortage trend nationally.
"What’s causing teacher shortages across the country? Although it might be fun to blame your least favorite thing in education–the Common Core, say, or teacher evaluations or millennials–new research suggests the economy is the primary driver in the supply of new teachers (h/t InsideHigherEd)," wrote Aldeman on August 10. "The paper looks at the college majors of students who turned age 20 between 1960 and 2011. Then, it linked the students’ decisions with data on macroeconomic trends to examine how business cycles affect student choices. Of the 38 majors included in the study, education was the biggest loser."
In Rhode Island, Teach for America has been part of the education landscape since 2010, placing recent college graduates to teach in low-income communities for a two-year committment.
"The unfortunate reality is fewer people today are choosing to enter the education field and lead our classrooms," said Rhode Island Teach for America Director Heather Tow-Yick. "There are a number of factors contributing to this: we’re seeing an increasingly polarized public conversation around education; the broader economy is improving and people who experienced the national recession during their college careers are showing more interest in what they see as financially sustainable professions; teacher satisfaction has dipped steeply in recent years; and education has been deprioritized by most Americans when they rank major issues facing our country."
"But my team and I work with teachers and schools across Providence every day and I see a different story. Teaching remains a critically important profession and leaders are teaching in classrooms around Providence with incredible commitment and love; they aren’t backing down from challenges and they continue to bring more opportunities to Rhode Island’s kids. This is what drives us at Teach For America to work in partnership with districts, local colleges, and other organizations, to recruit and train diverse and talented leaders to make a long term commitment to education, and to teach in Providence’s highest need classrooms," continued Tow-Yick.
"As we think about the challenges students, particularly those growing up in poverty, are facing as they enter the new school year, I hope more people will choose to fight for educational equity and help create the change we need for children across our city and country. We can’t expect teachers to do it alone, but we also can’t underestimate their impact," said Tow-Yick. "Our highest impact teachers come from all backgrounds and experiences, but are united in this difficult and deeply inspiring work by their belief in the potential of every student. I hope readers who hold this same belief will consider choosing to do more; I hope they’ll choose to teach."
Related Slideshow: 21 Priority Schools in RI
Priority Schools have the lowest Composite Index Scores in the state. Schools previously identified as Persistently Lowest Achieving are also Priority Schools.
On identification as a Priority School, the school and RIDE begin a three- to five-year intervention process
Diagnosis and planning: The school will undergo a diagnostic screening and develop a plan for improvement that includes a comprehensive package of interventions, including at least nine strategies that respond to the diagnosis findings and are subject to the Commissioner’s approval; the district may also opt to close the school or to reopen the school under new education management.
Implementation and monitoring: The district and school will put the improvement plan into action. District leadership will oversee this process, through quarterly performance reviews with RIDE.
School performance is measured by Proficiency, Distinction, Participation, Gap-Closing, Progress, Growth (K-8), Improvement (High Schools), and Graduation Rate (high schools).
The 21 Priority schools are below, with the scoring data used by RIDE included.
Related Articles
- It’s All About Education: Re-Imagining Our Educational System
- It’s All About Education: How Poverty Impacts Brain Development and Learning
- It’s All About Education: Can Education Drive Social Change?
- It’s All About Education: High-Quality Early Learning: Necessary For All
- It’s All About Education: The Arts, Education, and Transformation
- NEW: Two RI Schools Given Green Ribbon Awards by U.S. Dept. of Education
- It’s All About Education: Making a Commitment to Rhode Island’s Children
- It’s All About Education: After School Programs Make a Difference
- Senator Ruggerio Introduces Bill Requiring Defibrillators in all Middle & High Schools
- NEW: Providence Schools Closed on Monday, February 9
- It’s All About Education: How Vaccination Affects Schools – and Society
- ACLU Report: RI Elementary Schools Promote Gender Stereotypes
- Snow Closes Many Schools on Monday
- Update: Raimondo Lifts Travel Ban Starting 8 PM, Providence Schools Closed Tomorrow
- NEW: RI Schools Get C+ on National Report Card
- State Report: Racial Profiling, Teacher Evaluations + Food Labels
- Rhode Island Charter School Teacher Put on Leave After Whistleblowing
- It’s All About Education: Do You Trust Your Child’s Teacher?
- It’s All About Education: What is an “Excellent” Teacher, Anyway?
- TRENDER: Artist and Teacher Leslie Hirst of RISD
- NEW: Solomon Calls on Lusi to Revisit Providence Teacher Hiring
- Blackstone Valley Prep Teacher Honored With National Award
- LISTEN: Critics Call Teacher Layoff Policy As Stupid As The Sequester
- Critics Call Teacher Layoff Policy ‘As Stupid As The Sequester’
- Ponaganset’s Moscarelli Named RI Teacher of the Year
- Hollywood Acting Teacher Howard Fine to Lead Master Class at RIC
- It’s All About Education: Schools that Harness the Power of Nature
- NEW: Dr. Frances Gallo, Superintendent of Central Falls Schools, To Retire
- It’s All About Education: Learning Life Skills at Hope High
- NEW: Raimondo Names McConaghy, Foulkes Education Council Chairs
- Dispute Arises in Providence Schools Over Staffing Report
- NEW: RI League of Charter Schools’ Nardelli to Retire, Groves Named Successor
- NEW: Providence Interim Schools Superintendent Named
- Public or Private: Are RI Charter Schools Trying to Have it Both Ways?
- See the Matchups: New England Schools in NCAA March Madness
- Pawtucket Schools to Partner With Summit Public Schools in 2015-16
- RI School Districts Lose Millions to Charter Schools
- GoLocalTV: Charter Schools Rally at RI State House for Public School Choice
- Students With Disabilities Made up 32.90% of Suspensions in RI Schools
- NEW: Providence Schools Superintendent Lusi to Resign
- It’s All About Education: An Urban Preschool Grounded in Nature
- It’s All About Education: Divine Providence: Engaging Community
- It’s All About Education: Why Summer Vacation Should Be Just That
- It’s All About Education: Learning about Business and Connecting with Community
- It’s All About Education: Failure to Launch - It’s Not Just a Movie
- It’s All About Education: School Choice - Vouchers and Tax-Credit Scholarships Don’t Pay
- It’s All About Education: A Broader Definition of Education
- It’s All About Education: Reading for Pleasure Predicts Academic Success
- NEW: Senate Passes Bill to Train AP Teachers
- RI Taxpayers Urges Labor Comm to Reject Binding Arbitration for Teachers
- Aaron Regunberg: Corporate ‘Reform’ Alienating Teachers/Principals
- John Perilli: Teachers Win Big in Session’s Final Days
- Lisa Blais: The Struggle To Retain Seniority For Teachers
- Former Teachers Union Head Blasts Raimondo’s Pension Investments
- Anna Kuperman: SLOs are Unfair to Teachers and Students
- Skywatching: Sunspot Count Project Challenge for RI Teachers
- Providence Firefighters’ Raise Could Trigger Millions in Raises for Teachers
- It’s All About Education: How Can We Ensure that Kids Have Great Teachers?
- Russell Moore: Enact a Statewide Teachers Contract
- Rhode Island Has the Highest Salaries for Elementary School Teachers in US
- NEW: Providence Teachers to Get Raises Under New Contract with City
- RIDE Releases 2nd Annual Teacher Evaluations: West Warwick Tops for Highly Effective Teachers
- It’s All About Education: Why So Many Choose Progressive Education
- Aaron Regunberg: Providence Can Learn from Chicago Teachers Strike
- NEW: Chariho Teachers File Unfair Labor Practice Complaint
- 1-in-5 Providence Teachers Missed At Least 20 Days of School Last Year
- Aaron Regunberg: Rhode Island Teachers, Stand Up!
- Stage Set for Battle over Binding Arbitration for Teachers
- Travis Rowley: Fire Radical Teachers
- NEW: Smith Will Remain Head of Providence Teachers Union
- Lawmakers Push to Make Teachers Unions Optional
- Guest MINDSETTER™ Dan Wall: Stop Trying to Silence Teachers
- Dr. Harold G. Devine: Teachers Should Be Held to Standard of Excellence
- It’s All About Education: What Kids Learn from Sports
- It’s All About Education: The Benefits of Intergenerational Programs
- RI Education’s Biggest Battle is Playing Out at One School
- Russell Moore: Attack of the Anti-Education-Reformers
- GoLocalTV: Raimondo Picks NY’s Wagner for New RI Education Commissioner
- It’s All About Education: Transforming Children’s Lives and our Nation’s Future
