They have launched a website and social media push to let potential teachers know about incentives that local philanthropies are providing to teachers who want to move to Detroit and make sure every child has a great teacher.

Incentives include incentives provided by executives from General Motors and Quicken Loans:

• A discount on a new GM vehicle, which Detroit teachers can add to any other discount. They’re also eligible for a free two-year subscription to GM’s OnStar, a service that can connect cars to a call center in an emergency.
• A discount of $1,500 on a home loan or home refinancing from Quicken Loans.

Add those to the 50 percent discount Detroit teachers get on homes auctioned off by the city landbank.

There is more to come – and if you want to get started and be ready to teach ASAP – you can start at Michigan Teachers of Tomorrow

The post Detroit – is it the best for Teaching jobs? appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

But they are and there is a lot of data that now proves our teachers are exactly what school districts need now.

But how do you determine teacher quality from an educator preparation program?

1. Every child has a great teacher – you cannot have vacant teaching positions – if you are using a long term substitute or have a vacant position increasing class sizes, you cannot have teacher quality.
2. Teacher retention – teachers must stay in the classroom or you are constantly spending valuable resources recruiting new teachers and our most vulnerable students end up with the most junior teachers.
3. Student Achievement – obviously students must learn in order to succeed.
4. Diversity – our teachers should more closely match the diversity of our student population.

So – does Teachers of Tomorrow meet these standards for teacher quality?

1. Teacher of Tomorrow has recruited, trained, placed and supported over 45,000 teachers so far. We have over 1,000 teachers ready in our new states for this school year.  We are the largest educator preparation program in the country.
2. Teachers of Tomorrow (in Texas as A+ Texas Teachers) has a 72% fiver year retention rate. 72% of our teachers are still teaching after 5 years – far better than the 50% 5 year retention rate average in the country.
3. An independent study by the University of Texas and others of 300,000 student reading scores and 200,000 math scores showed no difference between our program and college of education programs.  Further study showed no student of student achievement by educator preparation program.
4. Teachers of Tomorrow is number two in the nation in recruiting diverse teachers.

It is difficult to battle those who can only see one route to the classroom who choose to ignore data that shows that programs like ours are a solution to critical teacher shortages.

We know that ultimately school districts continue to hire more and more of our Teachers of Tomorrow teachers and that will not end.  We will continue to deliver teacher quality so that every child has a quality teacher.

The post Teachers of Tomorrow Teacher Quality appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

• NASDTEC – National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification
• ECS -Education Commission of the States
• CCSSO – Council of Chief State School Officers
• NCSL -National Council of State Legislators
• ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council

These are especially interesting times in education and I hope to engage in lengthy discussions on:

• How the teacher shortage continues to impact schools and students
• How the Supreme Court ruling on Janus has a significant impact on teacher unions – $50M budget cuts and the possible loss of over 300,000 members announced already
• The Gates Foundation very expensive foray into Teacher evaluation research “finds scant evidence that those changes accomplished what they were meant to: improve teacher quality or boost student learning.”
• The lack of diversity in teaching
• Teacher testing  – is it working?

Unfortunately – most of these topics are not discussed as I scan the agendas – so I guess we will just have to keep pushing since teaching does have the greatest impact on student success.

However I am very encouraged to be a part of the CCSSO working group on diversity in teaching with a very distinguished and focused group.  And I will continue to push on the teacher shortage at every event with a laser focus on the teacher licensing issues that impact shortages and diversity!

If you are at any of these conferences, hit me up on twitter and let’s solve the worlds education problems over a beverage or two!

The post Education Leaders – it’s conference season! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

LANSING, MI (April 5, 2018) – Governor Snyder signed Senate Bill 727 today that will help increase the number of qualified teachers that could interview for teaching positions this year. The bill, authored by state Senator Phil Pavlov, will eliminate an unnecessary barrier in the teacher licensing process and increase flexibility for educator preparation programs. The legislature moved quickly to pass this bill knowing it could have an impact on the teacher shortage this fall.

“Great schools start with great teachers,” stated Senator Pavlov Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “To have great teachers we have to streamline the licensing process to facilitate recruitment of the best and brightest into our classrooms. Our students deserve the best and this new law will ensure more of Michigan’s most talented professionals are there to inspire the next generation.”

The bill ensures that people who apply to become a teacher through the Michigan Alternate Route to Interim Teaching (MARITC) will no longer have to take the new SAT at a local high school to qualify for a program. Since prospective teachers earning certification through MARITC must have a bachelor’s degree or higher, passing the SAT was an unnecessary step in the process that lengthened the time and increased the cost for certification. The bill also allows programs more flexibility with respect to the grade point average of prospective teachers who are offered admission.

“We want bright and knowledgeable teachers in Michigan classrooms and many schools have an immediate need to fill shortages in their districts,” said State Superintendent Brian Whiston. “This new law will remove a current barrier to help those wanting to become inspired teachers, share their first-hand expertise with students, and help Michigan become a Top 10 education state in 10 years.”

Michigan Teachers of Tomorrow was one of the MARITC programs helping drive the change. The program had more than 1,000 applicants who wanted to teach in Michigan schools in the first six months of operations. Most of those applicants were significantly slowed or stopped by the cost and time to take the SAT. The removal of the requirement means that many more potential teachers will be ready to staff Michigan schools this summer through the program. Most MARITC teachers are career changers, with an average age of 30+, who have now found the calling to teach.

Heidi Turchan, a reading instructor in Michigan stated, “My 20 years of experience and my level of expertise to teach reading to at-risk students is needed in our schools and it’s needed NOW! With the passing of SB 727, I can finally begin the Michigan Teachers of Tomorrow program to earn my teacher certificate and start teaching our lowest performing students to read!”

Senate Bill 727 was introduced on December 13, 2017 and passed out of legislature on March 22, 2018.  Companion legislation has been introduced to eliminate similar barriers in other programs besides the MARITC programs.

“We are proud to work with great leaders who see a problem like this barrier to the classroom and immediately work to resolve it,” stated Vernon Reaser, CEO of Teachers of Tomorrow. “In the end it means that many more classrooms will have a great teacher this fall which is always our goal.”

“The impact of the passage of SB 727 is immediate so that teachers can complete their program before the Fall,” said Erica House, another Michigan teacher impacted by the previous rule. “The passage of SB 727 is a huge victory towards ending Michigan’s teacher shortage. All schools, and especially urban schools, will directly benefit from having more qualified teachers available to them. Now let’s get to work filling those vacancies!”

About Teachers of Tomorrow (www.teachersoftomorrow.org)

Teachers of Tomorrow is the largest, fastest growing Teacher Certification Program in the nation, delivering online training to individuals who want to pursue a career in teaching. Teachers of Tomorrow attracts career changers with an average age of 32 into teaching so they can bring their real-world experiences into the classroom. Teachers of Tomorrow is the second most diverse certification program in the country with 46% non-white enrollment. In Addition, 70% of Teachers of Tomorrow teachers remain in the profession after five years, significantly higher than the national average of only 50%. Over the last 11 years, Teachers of Tomorrow has certified more than 42,000 new teachers, and in 2016 the Company trained and certified more than 7,000 teachers. An independent study revealed that Teachers of Tomorrow graduates see student achievement results equal to teachers coming through university programs. Teachers of Tomorrow is an approved teacher certification provider in Texas, Florida, Nevada, Indiana, South Carolina, Michigan and Arizona.

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I have been in teacher recruitment and certification for the better part of 15 years and I have never heard of a city mayor making the rounds to find teachers.  It tells these teachers you understand that in order to improve the city, to improve life for the residents of that city and improve economic outcomes – you have to improve education.

I went to Richmond to meet with Mayor Stoney’s team and actually got to say hi to him as well.  He is dynamic and energetic and seemed puzzled why every major isn’t making sure their schools have great teachers.

We will be working on our Virginia application and we will be working with Richmond Virginia and Mayor Stoney to get Richmond the teachers they need.

Who wouldn’t want to be a part of education change being driven right from the very top?

The post Richmond Mayor focused on Teacher Recruitment! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

So we are asking for your help – if you know of anyone who has a desire to get into the classroom, we can get them in the program now and get them into teaching very quickly.

Spread the word – Texas and Florida students desperately need bilingual teachers.

The post Texas Desperate for Bilingual Teachers appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

And the results are pretty impressive – last year at this time there were over 800 teacher openings and this year there are only about 330.  That is HUGE!

They went from $34K starting salary to over $40K and if you teach in a high needs school or high needs subject you can get a bonus of $5K.  But that’s not all – they are stealing experienced teachers from other states by pledging to pay what you are making in your current role.

So if you have one year experience in San Jose, CA and making $70K there, you can earn $70K here in Las Vegas, pay no state tax, have a much better cost of living and go from there on the salary band.  HUGE.

So they are filling positions but still have a gap which is why we are working so hard to understand what Teachers of Tomorrow can do here. But it does appear that a significant jump in pay can work.

The post Teacher Salary Increases Part II appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

Tuscon still has 160 openings but the money is helping. Teachers recruitment is getting better – but they still have shortages.

One of the issues is that the entire US system for producing educators is way down – so salary changes in one state end up pulling teachers from other states.

Things don’t actually change until we get more people actually interested in teaching again.  And that takes a lot of work  – work that we do every day.

The post Teacher Salary Increases – how soon will it help? appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

Texas Teachers has become the “go-to” team for solving school district recruitment challenges.  And we provide 95% of the teachers for this school. Amazing.

Enjoy and please share the link:

Dear Stephanie:

As always, I would like to personally thank you for the ongoing help that you have provided to our charter school district.  As of today, 95% of our new K-5th grade campus (Texas Serenity Academy-GANO) has been staffed with teachers from your program.  You took the time and provided a tailored candidate list to me and you were patient in working with our Human Resources Department.  The reason I included Mr. Reaser in this email distribution is because I am not sure that he has been made aware of how important you have been to the success and growth of our charter school district.  Because of Texas Teachers and with your networking support here is what we have recently accomplished with the help of the teachers that you referred to us:

• TEA awarded us with our 10-year renewal
• 98% of our 8th graders passed their STAAR Math Test and 100% of our 8th graders passed their STAAR Reading Test and this is without retakes
• 97% of our 5th graders passed their STAAR Math and Reading tests
• TEA approved for our school district to open our second campus in August 2016 which is a K-5th Grade campus
• We have consistently made FIRST RATING and MET THE STATE STANDARD

In short,  your teachers teach!  You guys are awesome.  I just felt Mr. Reaser as the President of your company should be made aware of how good of job that you do.  You take the time and go far and above whatever your job description states.

Thank you.

Larry Jenkins

Asst. Superintendent/Human Resources Director

Texas Serenity Academy Charter Schools

The post Our “Teachers Teach” appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that I chose Texas Teachers in order to obtain my certification. Texas Teachers prepared me well not only for the classroom but also for the required testing. I passed everything on the first try and my first year teaching went smoothly!

Thank you so much!

Christina Howard

The post Texas Teachers! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.