March 8 Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Statewide Teleconference

The statewide teleconference was held at eight of the intermediate units – IUs 3, 6, 15, 17 (two locations), 21, 23 and 26 – on March 8, 2006 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. The teleconference was designed to solicit input from classroom teachers. A variety of pertinent issues was raised with the Commission, as follows:

• Each college has different course requirements for the same certificate. Where is the consistency? Teachers with the same certificates most likely have not taken the same courses to achieve that certificate.
• Reciprocity with other states would help Pennsylvania districts hire for hard-to-fill positions and would allow experienced and successful teachers who had not met all of our requirements to teach here.
• Working conditions have a large impact on whether or not new teachers remain in the profession (e.g., interruptions within the classroom affect the ability of the teacher to perform his or her job effectively).
• Most districts give very little support to new teachers.
• New teachers need continuing support, not just occasional help from a mentor.
• If new teachers are not supported properly, they are going to leave the profession.
• Induction is different in each school district.
• Some schools have first year mentoring, but more is needed. The problem is that there is no time for it. There are scheduling conflicts between the mentor and mentee.
• At Great Valley School District, substitutes are brought in once a month for mentors to observe mentees. Mentors are also given a stipend. Their program is done over a three year time period.
• There should be a minimum standard for what a program should look like, so that everyone has at least some type of similar experience with induction and mentoring. At the same time, induction should be differentiated to meet the individual needs of new teachers.
• Have university professors been in the classrooms in the past five years? Do the professors teaching the education students really know what is going on in classrooms today?
• New teachers are not hearing about new initiatives in teaching while in college.
• PDE Form 430 is extremely helpful when working with student teachers and for planning induction.
• College students should be entering the classroom in their first year of college. This helps to gain more knowledge in teaching.
• Some schools require 120 hours of observation before a teacher education student can begin his or her student teaching, but others provide very little.
• When students begin student teaching and have not observed in a classroom, they are in a state of shock as to what they see versus what they have learned.
• The gap between practitioners and professors needs to be bridged.
• Students need to learn culture and diversity. By getting them into a variety of classrooms in the first year, they can experience this and also determine if teaching is the right career choice for them.
• More experienced teachers also need inservice workshops and continuing education.
• College professors are doing what they believe is right.
• The Penn State case study model looks at problems in classrooms today.
• Universities should have a class based on contemporary issues in education. Guest speakers should include practicing teachers. There should also be video of real classrooms. This will give students an idea of what teaching will be like.
• Subject matter deepens with time through continued learning.
• In Philadelphia, there was a program called the Literacy Intern Program. The interns were college graduates who did not major in education but had bachelor’s degrees in something else. It was a two-year program that allowed a person to get his or her teaching certification while getting used to being in a classroom. There was a certified teacher in the classroom, along with the intern. The program was cut due to lack of funding. The original funding came from federal class size reduction grants.
• New teachers often get the “luck of the draw” as to what their first assignment will be. They will most likely get the harder classes because seasoned teachers tend to take the better, easier class.
• If teachers are required to complete a fifth year of college, would that mean paying more tuition? Would it be possible for the school districts to help out? Would the salaries of teachers handle it?
• Instead of completing a fifth year in a college setting, all students would complete an internship similar to the Philadelphia program.
• Everything comes back to funding.
• Maybe professional development schools can build bridges between the classroom and the university.
• What about mentoring via email? What about an email group for a pool of teachers to talk about ideas?
• Do first year teachers need more supervision? Could a program such as scaffolding the teachers into the classroom be a solution? Is there a way to identify which teachers need more help than others?
• Principals need to learn how to establish a supportive atmosphere in the schools.
  

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