More than half of Texas’ nearly 900,000 schoolteachers have alternative certification, so news that the state’s largest teacher preparation program could lose its own certification is concerning, especially when we consider the already critical shortage of teachers — a shortage that could get worse before it improves.
The Texas Education Agency, after a Dec. 9 hearing before the State Board for Educator Certification, announced its intention to decertify Texas Teachers for Tomorrow, also known as A+ Texas Teachers. The TEA said the company had not met the conditions of corrective measures that were agreed upon during an April 21 performance review. Texas Teachers disputes the findings, and a hearing is planned before the State Office of Administrative Hearings; that hearing likely will occur late this year or in early 2024.
Other teacher programs operate in the state, but they don’t provide nearly enough to address a chronic teacher shortage that is so severe that Gov. Greg Abbott has made it one of the priorities he wants the legislature to address. Abbott created a special task force, filled with teachers and school administrators, to study the issue and advise lawmakers regarding any changes to state law that could help recruit and retain more teachers.
Our teacher shortage is severe, and could get worse. For more than a decade more than 10% of Texas teachers have quit or retired each year; since the COVID-19 pandemic hit that attrition rate has grown to more than 12%. Moreover, in separate surveys conducted last year, the Texas American Federation of Teachers and the Charles Butt Foundation both reported that more than two-thirds of teachers they surveyed reported they had seriously considered leaving the profession in the past year. Primary reasons given were related to job quality, such as over-packed classrooms.
In studying our teacher shortage, lawmakers and the panel should begin by addressing the glaring question of why the primary structure for providing teachers doesn’t even produce half of the educators. Obviously, addressing teachers’ needs shouldn’t overshadow the students’ needs and the communities’ needs for educated citizens and well-trained workers.
Under state law, primary teacher certification is given only to people who have a degree in education. For example, a trained scientist can’t teach in Texas schools without the extra time and expense required to receive alternative certification through an agency such as Texas Teachers. While it’s important that teachers know how to deal with the group dynamics involved in controlling a room full of children. the structure doesn’t pair students with the most qualified teachers for their respective subjects.
Obviously, we need to improve the conditions that cause so many educators to leave the profession. But we also must revise our primary method of preparing teachers in order to reduce our need for alternative certification.
Addressing our teacher shortage must go beyond simply getting more bodies into the classroom. We need to make every effort possible to provide the best teachers possible — with as much attention to quality as to quantity.
