 | Reports Main Page |
|
| Reports Archive Page |
|
| WFLA-TV Home |
Assignment Education: Who's Teaching Your Kids?
Produced by Jessica Greene
While the special session of the state legislature focuses attention on overcrowded schools, Florida faces another challenge in education: improving the quality of our public school teachers. A recent national study by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future rated teacher preparation in 50 states on a scale of one to 10; Florida scored a one. Among the statewide findings, 17 percent of new hires were unlicensed and 39 percent of math teachers had not even minored in math.
Teachers who are teaching in a subject they are not trained for are "out of field" teachers. Wes King of Dowdell Middle School, is one of 826 educators in four counties teaching out of his field. He presides over math class, but he is not certified to teach the subject; his temporary teaching certificate is for social studies. King is part of the Alternate Teacher Preparation program at USF. He is teaching while he is completing his certification for a teacher certification. A significant number of the 826 total number of out of field teachers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk Counties are in Exceptional Student Education (ESE) classification.
In all, there are 297 teachers in Hillsborough County teaching out of their field, 100 in Pinellas, 168 in Pasco, and 261 in Polk. That's about three percent of all Bay Area teachers who don't meet the state requirements to teach the subject they are teaching. Teacher certification in Florida is a three step process including testing.
Some students feel like they are getting the short end of the ruler. Hannah Palmer, a student at Clearwater High School, complained that one of her teachers didn't give her and her classmates adequate information to pass a recent advanced placement exam. School officials are looking into the issue now.
Not all teachers are under-qualified for the subject they are teaching. Michael Percifield, a trigonometry teacher at Clearwater High School, holds a Masters degree in education and a teaching certificate in math. But he wasn't always a math teacher; he covered a science class early in his career. He looks back and admits that, "There were probably a lot of times when kids asked me questions that I didn't know the answer to."
School officials say they sometimes settle for out of field teachers because there are so few people willing to teach at all. They say having teachers trained in other subjects help to bring other qualities into the classroom. Marilyn Wittner is the Personnel Director for Hillsborough County Schools. She says all teachers, no matter what their specialty, have the ability to, "…manage student conduct and deliver a quality lesson," since they are certified in some other field and have already taken teacher certification courses.
While these out of field teachers are helping Florida's critical teacher shortage, the question still remains: is it happening at the expense of your child's education?
Teacher shortage is a problem some fear will only worsen in the future. The problem, says William Katzenmeyer, former Dean of USF's College of Education, is that, "…more than half of the teachers who are teaching today will not be teaching in the year 2003 or so." Marilyn Wittner says the problem down the road will make today's shortage seem small. The cause is a lot easier to pinpoint than the solution--teachers are retiring, just as student populations are exploding. The numbers predict a national demand for two million new teachers in the next 10 years.
It is a widely known fact that teachers are not the highest paid professionals. Florida ranks 23rd in the country in average teachers' salary, and 19th in starting salary, at just over $23,000/year. With a Bachelor's degree, a teacher in Pasco County earns just under $27,000, a Doctorate degree adds barely $6,000 more per year. The highest paid teachers in Florida? Palm Beach County's at $36,204 with a Bachelor's.
Hillsborough County School's Personnel Director Marilyn Wittener says that more open doors for women in other professional fields have closed their minds to teaching, "The vast majority of teachers used to be women…but now women have so many other job opportunities other than teaching."
The scarcity has Polk County taking their issue online. Their Web site clearly reveals their dilemma of 33 full time teaching vacancies open right now; their personnel page has a sign that says "We want you". The county's substitute teacher supply is so low, the district reduced requirements for substitutes.
Nationwide, enrollment numbers will climb to 55.9 million by 2002. Florida student enrollment is expected to grow by approximately three percent each year until 1999. To meet the demand, Florida will be hiring more teachers, but with decreased interest in teaching, recruitment is difficult.
In order to help attract more teachers in Florida, the state has adopted a wide variety of recruitment initiatives. The Great American Teach-In, Future Educators of America, and the Teacher of the Year Award are some of the incentive programs aimed at drawing in more educators.
The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Florida Department of Education Teacher Supply and Demand
Florida Department of Education
Official website of the School Board of Polk County
Hillsborough County Public Schools
School Board of Manatee County
Pasco County Schools
Pinellas County Schools