|
THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
|
|
Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education - P-16 for the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education and Office of Higher Education
|
| To: |
Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee |
| From: |
Johanna Duncan-Poitier |
| Date: |
March 9, 2007 |
| Subject: |
P-16 Implementation and Evaluation of the
Regents Teaching Policy: Second Annual Report on Teacher Supply and
Demand |
| Strategic Goal: |
Goal 3 |
| Authorization(s): |
/s/ |
SUMMARY
Issue for Discussion
What does the data on teacher supply and demand reveal about teacher shortages? What
strategies should be used to eliminate those shortages and ensure that all
students have certified and highly qualified teachers?
Reason(s) for Consideration
Review of policy.
Proposed Handling
This item will come before the Higher Education and Professional Practice
Committee for discussion at its March 2007 meeting.
Procedural History
In May 2006, the Regents
discussed the first annual report on teacher supply and demand that was based
on data from 2004-2005 and preliminary data from 2005-2006 from the New York
City Department of Education. This report is based on complete, final
2005-2006 data.
Background Information
In 1996, the Regents Task Force on Teaching was convened to recommend policies
that would ensure that all teachers had the knowledge and skills they needed
to help all students meet State Learning Standards. The Task Force’s
recommendations were adopted as the Regents 1998 teaching policy, Teaching
to Higher Standards: New York’s Commitment.
Teaching to Higher Standards called for ongoing evaluations of the
1998 policy changes, including evaluations to “assure that New York
has enough qualified teachers statewide.” As part of ongoing evaluations,
several reports on teacher quality have been issued recently.
- The May 2006 first-of-its-kind annual report on teacher supply and demand
detailed data on shortages of certified teachers by subject area, region
and Big Five City.
- The revised teacher quality plan submitted to the U.S. Department of
Education in September 2006 pursuant to federal law detailed data on the
percent of core classes not taught by highly qualified teachers in school
year 2004-2005.
- A January 2007 report provided data on the percent of core classes not
taught by highly qualified teachers in school year 2005-2006.
- A February 2007 report presented data on the projected shortages of teachers
for students with disabilities in grades 10 through 12.
The attached Second
Annual Report on Teacher Supply and Demand in New York State in 2005-2006 includes
multiple indicators of teacher shortages. Compared to the first annual
report, this report has some new definitions suggested by teacher educators
that yield more accurate estimates of teacher supply and more regional data
to support planning by regional partnerships of P-12 schools and institutions
of higher education. It also has new indicators of future demand for
new teachers based on the needs of the field and feedback from the Board
of Regents.
The attached report
does not contain the comprehensive list of all the approaches underway to
address teacher shortages since those approaches have been described in earlier
reports and in three aligned plans that are being implemented by the Regents
and the Department with partners in the P-16 education community and others. The
three plans are:
- Statewide Plan for Higher Education (July 2005);
- New York State’s Plan to Enhance Teacher Quality (September
2006);
- P-16 Education: A Plan for Action (November 2006)
Each plan has both
short-term and long-term approaches to meeting the need for certified and highly
qualified teachers. Short-term approaches include, but are not limited
to:
- a retirement bill to bring retired teachers back to the classroom in
shortage areas for a limited time;
- financial incentives for teacher recruitment and retention in shortage
areas, through Teachers of Tomorrow, the Teacher Opportunity Corps, federal
loan forgiveness and other funding sources;
- increased opportunities for alternative teacher preparation in shortage
areas with transitional, internship and supplementary certificates and
with innovative teacher recruitment, such as the IBM initiative with
industry partners;
- technical assistance for teacher recruitment and retention in high-need,
low-performing districts; and
- review of teacher certification requirements to find opportunities
to add flexibility without compromising quality and to increase the supply
of teachers in shortage areas.
Long-term approaches include, but are not limited to:
- reports, interactive data tools and technical assistance to support
teacher workforce planning by regional partnerships of P-12 districts
and higher education;
- external research on the effectiveness of teacher preparation and teacher
certification as part of the ongoing evaluation of the Regents 1998 policy,
and use of research findings to inform policy change;
- new teacher preparation programs and teacher certification pathways
for teaching assistants and paraprofessionals in high-need communities
with teacher shortages; and
- Planting the Seed, a multimedia approach to recruit teachers
and licensed professionals from high-need, underserved communities.
The data in this report supports statewide, regional and local planning to
ensure that all students have certified and highly qualified teachers. In
addition to the steps described in these plans, the Regents and the Department
will implement new teacher quality initiatives that become law in response
to proposals from the Governor and others.
Recommendation
NA
Timetable for Implementation
NA
Attachment: Second Annual
Report on Teacher Supply and Demand 2005-2006
(March 2007) (PDF) |
