Pre K - 12 & PSRP Public Education Issues Platform

Quality Teachers and Support Staff

The Issue

Ensuring that there is a highly skilled teacher in every classroom is vital to student success. The state must do more to help school districts recruit, train and retain a highly skilled teaching and classroom paraprofessional force, as well as the very best for all support staff positions. This must be done statewide, but particularly in high-poverty urban and low-income rural communities where the academic needs of students are often greatest. Funds also need to be provided to assist teachers and para-professionals to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Looking at countries showing high academic achievement, teachers, not unlike ours, have a solid academic background, mastery in their subject area and education in pedagogy, but also are ushered into the profession through a practical, proven and realistic training process including mentoring and professional development.

Action Steps

To build on the state's efforts for teacher quality, we encourage: In the area of teacher quality, we encourage state leaders to:

• Mentoring: Adopt a non-threatening, supportive fully-funded peer mentoring program across the state for entry-level teachers, for the first four years, with a plan to develop a peer intervention program to assist seasoned teachers who may have hit a rough patch;


• Environment: Provide funding for safe, modern, healthy working environments to attract and retain highly skilled educators;


• Education Opportunities: Provide funding for research based professional development and affordable higher education opportunities for paraprofessionals and other school personnel. This will not only raise support staff levels of effectiveness, but often encourages continuing education toward teacher certification and a source of new teachers familiar with district policy and programs as well as the community; ;


• Salaries and Benefits: Provide funding for professional salaries and benefits for teachers and support staff;


• Professional Development: Fund and support research based high quality, meaningful professional development for teachers, classroom paraprofessionals and all staff which would include:
  
  
  1. Useful content;
     
     
  2. Research-based educational programs;
     
     
  3. Opportunities suitable to the need of students as determined by the educators in any specific location;
     
     
  4. Programs that are sequential, that reinforce, compliment or expand on a given theme;
     
     
  5. Enhance the work of all staff as all staff are part of a child's education.
     
     
• NBPTS: Support certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and fund monetary rewards for successful completion.

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