Four Subcommittees: A Case Study

Fifty percent of new teachers quit with in the first five years of teaching (NEA, 2015), with this number being so alarmingly high it begs the questions: Why do so many teachers leave after going through years of college for this profession? Were teachers not prepared for the job, through college training, what should colleges teach in order to better prepare teachers?

These students are typically going to school at institutions with less resources than middle-class areas. As a result these schools typically employee less qualified teachers and more disciplinary measures. “Children in the highest-poverty schools are assigned to novice teachers almost twice as often as children in low-poverty schools. Similarly, students in high-minority schools are assigned to novice teachers at twice the rate as students in schools without many minority students.”

The district beefed up the professional development for new teachers, especially those in the ARL program. Doing so has helped expand teachers capabilities which in turn increases their capacity in the school. In order for a school to be successful in reaching their mission,

This paper explores the Professional Development System of the Volusia County School Districts and how they are implemented. It addresses the unique contributions of Charlotte Danielson and how her Framework for Teachers influenced and aided the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPs). This paper also addresses Assessment, Volusia Proficiency Model (VPM) and Problem solving techniques currently used in Volusia County Schools. It concludes with the author’s thoughts on how he would implement the knowledge and skills in each of these areas of Professional Development in the teaching and learning process.

Like leadership turnover in other professions, turnover rates at more challenging schools are on the higher end of that spectrum (Beteille, Kalogrides and Loeb 2011, Boyd, et al. 2008, Clark, Martorell and Rockoff 2009). For instance, large, urban districts have similar turnover rates: Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) is 22%, Milwaukee is 20%, San Francisco 26%, and New York City is 24% (Beteille, Kalogrides and Loeb 2011, Boyd, et al. 2008, Clark, Martorell and Rockoff 2009). However, within MDCPS, the turnover rate is higher for the district’s highest-poverty schools (28%), versus lowest-poverty schools (18%) (Beteille, Kalogrides and Loeb 2011). New York City school findings were similar (Clark, Martorell and Rockoff 2009). Low-performing, low-SES schools that lose an effective principal, often struggle due to having a replacement that is less-experienced and less-effective (Beteille, Kalogrides and Loeb 2011, Branch, Hanushek and Rivkin 2012).

To help with this concern, I would make room in the school’s budget for professional development. The goal would be for teachers to learn and grow so that they feel confident in leadership roles and have the skills needed to educate students. I would incorporate different forms of professional development such as peer observations, workshops, and a peer mentoring program. The hope would be that the new teachers would begin to collaborate and learn from other teachers.

There are many contributing factors to low teacher turnover, however, the main issue is a lack of support and respect for our teachers. Instead of working on maintaining and providing support for our current educators, the conversation usually surrounds expensive and often ineffective recruitment programs. The harsh fact is that it is very expensive to live in our valley and the current teacher salary/benefits are not enough to attract top talent. We need to have a serious conversation with our teachers in order to learn what incentives they need to be successful in their roles as well as to maintain a comfortable living. Teachers are the one profession that truly molds the future of our

“The Teacher Retention Program is committed to supporting the development and retention of Arizona top teachers increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of Arizona’s school, and improving educational opportunities for all students” ("Teacher Retention Project," n.d., para. 1) . By retaining exciting dedicated educators who achieve in their field of expertise, the residents of Arizona will bring stability into the classroom which will result in higher academic test scores, increase graduation rates, and a positive school experience for our future citizen of the state of Arizona. This initiative will address the disastrous deterioration within the Arizona school district due to increasing numbers of teachers either relocating or vacating the teaching profession all together by providing a mentor program between effective teacher in high achieving schools with those in lower academic settings. As teachers leave the profession a void between seasoned experienced teacher and those beginning their career becomes noticeable, particularly in the low income school districts. By putting forward this initiative the residents of Arizona will comply with Brown vs. Board of Education ruling which address the issue of segregation in tangible

Many have voiced their concerns over the many issues within the teaching profession. Heather Voke of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum responds to one issue, the teacher shortage, by researching the nature of the shortage, its probable causes, problems resulting from the shortage, and frequently recommended policy changes. According to Voke (2003), 42 percent of all teachers leaving depart for lack of job satisfaction, to pursue another career, or better career opportunities. Low salaries and lack of public respect also impacts teacher retention. Policy recommendations to retain teachers include: salary increases, high quality induction programs, prohibit out-of-field teaching, include teachers in decision making, developing current teachers, collaboration with universities to attract and train teachers, and reduce class size. Voke suggests that policy makers and educational leaders do not understand the nature of the teacher shortage. Moreover, developing programs to attract candidates and not properly train them risks wasting valuable resources.

There is a consensus among the concerned stakeholders that the quality of teachers is the leading factor in determination of student performance. In the case of United States, the student performance can only be given an impetus by the efforts which the state can make, under all costs, to develop and retain high quality teachers. The measures undertaken determine the level of turnover of the school teachers. Lazear (2009) similarly argues the length of employment is a critical factor in averse risks of employment a trend contrary to teachers treatment. The turnover of public school teachers will refer to the rate at which the state, which is the teacher’s

One of the largest problems with education in the United States is teacher retention (McLaurin, Smith, & Smillie, 2009). Some remaining challenges in education is the loss of new teachers during their first years in the profession (Nelson, Duke, Hutchens, & Machell, 2014). Teacher preparation programs have been found to be significantly related to teacher quality (Katitia, 2015). Teacher quality is known as the primary force in student learning outcomes (Ring & West , 2015).

Oftentimes, new teachers are provided with little to no professional guidance, and because of that, nearly fifty percent of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years. This turnover rate not only has an impact on kids, since they lose the person they were connected with, but it also costs the nation roughly 7.4 billion dollars a year. This video, which focuses on the Hillsborough County Public School System, in Tampa, Florida, brings to light the importance of mentor teachers for first and second year teachers. Through the gathering of evidence and classroom observations, these mentor teachers provide the passion for new teachers and help to unlock their potential. Since the implementation of the mentor program their retention of new teachers has gone from 72% to 94%.

To further help the veteran teachers and the new teachers coming in, professional development will require an ongoing commitment from all levels of the school organization. There will need to be resources available to help guide the teachers’ professional development. The adoption of professional learning communities (PLC’s) within the school and district supporting them is paramount. The continued development will help the teachers implement PBL (Rosenblatt, 2012)

In the first year of teaching, four out of ten teachers quit. An educators job is not a walk in the park. In Kansas, we are facing a shortage of teachers. The most areas that are facing these shortages are Special Education, Adaptive and Functional Special Education, Early Childhood Handicapped, and hearing and visual impaired. It has been reported that Fewer students have chosen to major in education. There are many reasons that are causing the shortages, lack of

The authors’ collaborative research began by exploring the future of education and the teaching profession. Through their research, they swiftly concluded a vast majority of people shared the notion that the most important factor that effects student learning is the quality of the teacher. Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan continued to take a closer look at how one can maximize the cumulative effect of many quality teachers over time, and the favorable lasting impact this would have on the education of students for many years to come. The ultimate goal of Professional Capital is to increase human capital or the individual teacher’s talents, skills, and capabilities. However, this human capital needs to be distributed and