Yesterday I attended the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) meeting in Olympia. Their agenda was jam-packed with topics, but one that I found particularly interesting was the debate about out-of-state teaching programs and in-state field placements. In case that's a bit too much educationese for you, basically the board was deciding whether or not to set a new state policy that would require teachers in out-of-state programs to apply for student teaching opportunities in Washington (as opposed to just knocking on district doors, which apparently is common).
The rationale behind a more stringent process seemed to make sense. Create a way to filter out under-qualified (I don't want to say "bad" and get a surge of irate e-mails) teachers and also make sure they understand our policies and standards. You know, all those acronyms -- GLEs, EALRs, WASL, etc.
Before voting on a formal motion, the topic was open to public comment. Lee Goeke, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources for the Vancouver School District gave what I thought to be an incredibly compelling statement.
Goeke's job is to recruit teachers to Vancouver, WA. There are good teachers and bad teachers everywhere, he said. But the reality is Washington State needs teachers trained out-of-state. Areas like special ed, math & science, art & music, need teachers with expertise. And the fact of the matter is there are schools out there with specialized, high-quality programs that beat those here in Washington.
He talked about how a state policy, though conceptually a good idea, would not add value to an already complicated teacher recruitment and retainment process. He noted that there are two quality control issues that this proposed policy seemed to be trying to address: 1) the quality of the individual and 2) the quality of the field experience.
The former, he said, is a university/college admissions issue, not a state policy one. He argued that the quality of the individual needs to be addressed early. Preferably while that soon-to-be teacher is still in school.
The latter, is a district problem and responsibility. In his district, they have a rigorous interview process for all prospective teachers. And their field program not only trains but provides consistent feedback. With this program in place, Goeke's district has gone from 5% permanent hires after program completion to 50%. Now that's good recruiting.
The outcome? The board passed a motion to not set a state policy at this time.
Looks like Goeke's trek out to Olympia was well worth the drive.
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