And it’s not just enrollment.  There were 28% fewer graduates from educator preparation program over that same time frame.  The only bright spot is alternative certification programs which showed a significant increase in enrollment in a few key states – like Texas.

Here are the problems as highlighted by the paper –

• There are 1/3 fewer students enrolling in teacher preparation programs in 2018 than in 2010
• If you take out alternative certification – the enrollment declined by 43%
• There are 28% fewer students completing teacher preparation program sin 2018 than in 2010
• 80% of educator enrollment identify as white
• 77% of teachers are female
• Declines in enrollment hit every race

Here is the bright spot

• Alternative preparation programs that are not based in higher education experience a 42% increase in enrollment – which drove a slight uptick in the national enrollment in preparation programs
• Of the 19,158 completers from alternative certification, 12,243 were from Texas. Of that, 6,022 were from Texas Teachers of Tomorrow. We account for 49% of the Texas total and 31% of the National total of teachers certified through alternative certification.
• Men and African American enrollment increased in Texas
• Most states saw an increase in enrollment of Latinx Teachers

The author then profiles two states – Texas and California.  She points out, correctly, that our enrollment has rapidly increased while our completion has not. This is because we have rolling enrollment that only expires after three years. Because we attract career changers into teaching the convenience of completing the program on their own time is critical in recruitment.

She is also the first to point out that there is a study that our teachers performed as well as traditionally trained teachers as it relates to student achievement.  She left out one of the more impressive stats – 72% of our teachers are still teaching after 5 years – an incredible retention rate.

She is also correct – many people enroll and do not complete. They find teaching is not right for them and never apply for a job.  This is a good thing.  The low cost to entry means we attract more people – but some realize this is not the career for them.

The negative she points out is there are some other studies and the union is not fond of alt cert.

So Texas has all these programs – mainly Texas Teachers – and we have rapidly increasing enrollment and very few teacher shortages. Then she highlights California which she seems to support which is doing the usual – scholarships, residency programs, STEM recruiting etc – but she doesn’t point out any impact from these programs. And when you look at the graph, California has had a 48% decline in enrollment in educator preparation programs.

We are very proud of the impact we have had.  We have placed over 7,000 teachers so far this year in 8 states.

And we are just getting started.

The post Rapidly Declining Enrollment in Teacher Preparation – Except Texas! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” -Alexandra K.Trenfor 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela 

“A good education can change anyone, a good teacher can change everything.” 

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” -Margaret Mead 

“Having hope will give you courage.” 

The post Why I Became a Teacher (Inspirational Quotes) appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

There is still some time to help us push the bill – so please contact your Michigan House Representative about the bill and urge them to vote YES!

The discussion on GPA was interesting since it was the Michigan Colleges of Education that pushed back even though they have a cohort GPA.  Cohort GPA means that you just have to have an average GPA of 3.0 for all the people going through your program.  This allows you some flexibility – if someone is a physics major with a 2.75 and wants to teach physics, you can let him into your program as long as you have others who will raise the GPA for the entire program. This works incredibly well and makes sure we don’t lose a physics teacher based on an arbitrary standard.

Getting close to the finish line on SB 727 – a few more steps!!!

The post Quick update for Michigan Teachers appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

In it he highlights us (the billboard people) and a Texas study that basically showed that there is no statistical difference in student achievement by teacher preparation program.

Essentially – when it comes to helping students, our teachers are as good as teachers coming through standard routes.

Question answered.

The post Student Achievement! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

So it is great to read the recent study Peering Around the Corner by Chad Aldeman and Ashley LiBetti Mitchel

At this point, the single best predictor of who will be a great teacher next year is who was a great teacher this year. But that’s it. Admission criteria, number of content courses, hours of student teaching, Praxis exam scores — these inputs have no bearing on a teacher’s future effectiveness. Yet states continue to closely regulate them, and even add new requirements, year after year. This results in a set of requirements that amount to little more than barriers — new ways to keep potential teachers out of schools and discourage programs from innovating.

WOW – so very true. Yet everywhere we go, states are trying to put in more barriers to teaching thinking that it will improve teacher quality.

The authors have a series of recommendations that sound very much like an outline of the Teachers of Tomorrow program  – – note that they also recommend alternative teacher certification!

1. Make it less risky to try teaching  – – our teachers don’t pay until they get a job significantly reducing the risk
2. Give schools and districts, not preparation programs, responsibility for recommending a candidate for licensure and require that recommendation to be based on a track record of effectiveness
3. Measure and publicize results
4. Unpack the box of good teaching – – (full admission I really hate the “unpack” trend in ed policy)

They end with asking states to stop following trends like GPA, more clinical hours,  and better assessments that don’t have solid research behind them and “should invest strategically in research on what makes a good teacher, and only then use that research to make policy.”

We absolutely love this paper!!

The post Teacher Preparation – stop chasing fads! appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.

• “As a result, the number of teacher retirements has similarly changed, from 35,000 in 1988-89, to 87,000 in 2004-05, to 85,000 in 2008-09.”

With data from Title II reports from 2010 to 2014

• Enrollment in traditional education school programs fell by 30%
• Enrollment in higher ed based alternative certification programs fell by 41%
• Enrollment in other alternative certification programs fell by 29%

The thing I find fascinating here is that our Teachers of Tomorrow continues to rapidly expand. We have increased the number of teachers who come into the program and who are placed by double digits every year.

It’s about having a great program that people can understand. It’s about having a team of advisors help people understand how to become a teacher and it’s about really knowing how to recruit career-changers into the classroom.

While the rest of teacher preparation struggles – we continue succeed.

The post Trends in Teacher Shortage appeared first on Teachers of Tomorrow.