Educator Quality and Quan/ty a CEAAC Project with Partners NEA Alaska and Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. Charles Wohlforth director@ceaac.net Jerry Covey jscc@gci.net Barbara Adams badams.ak@gmail.com Updated December 16, 2014
EQQ Context 2004: CEAAC Board files the cons/tu/onal Moore suit to address low performance in rural schools. 2009: Judge Gleason orders teacher and principal training to meet state s cons/tu/onal obliga/on. 2012, January: CEAAC setles Moore suit without a specific teacher prepara/on component. 2012, April: CEAAC Board adopts a three- year plan, taking on teacher quality and quan/ty beginning in 2014. 2014, April: CEAAC Board retains Jerry Covey and Dr. Barbara Adams to study and make recommenda/ons. Today: Covey/Adams Report to CEAAC
EQQ Project Goals 1. Collate statewide issues that nega/vely impact Alaska s cer/ficated educa/on workforce. 2. Iden/fy effec/ve prac/ces in educator recruitment, development, and reten/on. 3. Engage stakeholder groups in a collaboraave effort to prioriaze improvements that will strengthen Alaska s ceraficated workforce. 4. Secure policy, regulatory, and statutory changes to improve the quality of Alaska s cer/ficated educa/on workforce.
Issues & Impetus Issue Statement: Alaska s educa/on system is not serving all students to the best of their ability. Only about 40% of Alaska s high school graduates atended postsecondary ins/tu/ons in 2012 (ACPE, 2013). 49% of first- /me UA freshman required remedial courses in 2013. Of that group 81% of them required remedial math and 50% required remedial English (ACPE, 2014). Half of Alaska s K- 12 students are minority but 90% of teachers are white (ISER, 2013). District teacher turnover ranged from 7-52% in 2012 (ISER, 2013). From 2008-2012 an average of 64% of teachers were hired from outside (ISER, 2013). Turnover rate for teachers prepared outside is double that of teachers prepared in Alaska, regardless of years of experience. For example, 23% vs. 12% turnover of early career teachers 0-3 years (ISER, 2013).
Methodology & Methods Approach Long- term issue Make change Leaders from range of stakeholders Grounded Theory Data Collec/on Interviews (16) Two interviewers Individual mostly and some group Structured protocol Document review
Interview Data Collec/on Alaska Dept. of Educa/on & Early Development Alaska Staff Development Network Alaska Teacher Placement Anchorage School District Associa/on of Alaska School Administrators Associa/on of Alaska School Boards Educa/on MaTers Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Future Educators of Alaska Ins/tute for Social and Economic Research NEA Alaska UA Rural Campus Leaders UA Schools of Educa/on UA Statewide Administra/on
Research Reports/Documents Alaska Department of Educa/on and Early Development (DEED) Documents Council for the Accredita/on of Educator Prepara/on (CAEP) Educa/on MaTers, Inc. Flexner Report on Teacher Prepara/on (Brookings Ins/tu/on) Ins/tute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) Reports Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Standards (intasc) Na/onal Board of Professional Teaching Standards Na/onal Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) 2013 State Teacher Policy Yearbook Shaping Alaska's Future (University of Alaska) Stanford Social Innova/on Review TCC Interior Educa/on Summit Dral Report UA SOE Dral Plan for Revitalizing Teacher Educa/on in Alaska
Coding & Analysis Process Itera/ve Process: open coding, axial coding, selec/ve coding Analysis: frequency, co- occurrence, quotes open coding Quality Compensa/on Mentoring Percep/on axial coding Issues Solu/ons Changes selecave coding Prepara/on Recruitment Reten/on Professional development
Results by frequency
Results for Issues Issue: ideas suggested as problems, botlenecks, difficul/es. Issue Change Solution Preparation 0.13 0.12 0.08 Recruitment 0.13 0.08 0.13 Retention 0.13 0.05 0.06 Compensation 0.10 0.05 0.05 Conditions 0.10 0.06 0.03 Governance 0.10 0.05 0.02 Quality 0.10 0.13 0.05
Results for Solu/ons Solu/on: ideas suggested that address an issue or suggest change in a specific and ac/onable manner. Solution Issue Change Recruitment 0.13 0.13 0.08 Funding 0.12 0.09 0.09 Partnerships 0.09 0.05 0.05 Staff 0.09 0.03 0.01 Mentoring 0.09 0.01 0.04 Preparation 0.08 0.13 0.12
Results for Changes Change: ideas suggested for modifica/on without providing a solu/on. Change Issue Solution Perception 0.17 0.08 0.07 Quality 0.13 0.10 0.05 Preparation 0.12 0.13 0.08 Funding 0.09 0.09 0.12 Incentive 0.09 0.07 0.03 ProfDev 0.08 0.08 0.06 Recruitment 0.08 0.13 0.13
Results by Topic Preparation Recruitment ProfDev Retention Benefits 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.05 Certification 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.03 Communication 0.02 0.09 0.00 0.09 Compensation 0.03 0.06 0.00 0.05 Conditions 0.02 0.08 0.05 0.08 Data 0.17 0.14 0.05 0.07 Demands 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.00 Funding 0.03 0.10 0.08 0.02 Governance 0.08 0.01 0.10 0.00 Incentive 0.08 0.18 0.01 0.04 Leadership 0.01 0.00 0.06 0.06 Mentoring 0.01 0.04 0.11 0.00 Partnerships 0.10 0.03 0.10 0.04 Pay 0.01 0.05 0.02 0.05 Perception 0.09 0.02 0.00 0.06 ProfDev 0.06 0.02 0.00 0.03 Quality 0.30 0.07 0.03 0.04 Staff 0.02 0.03 0.12 0.14 Support 0.04 0.07 0.09 0.08
Systemic Approach Strengthen K- 12 Cer/ficated Workforce Expand the Alaska grown Workforce Train 60% of new hires in state by 2025 PreparaAon & Recruitment Develop and Keep the Workforce Develop 90% to proficiency level by 2025 Prof Development & RetenAon Measurable Outcomes
EXPAND PreparaAon Ø Raise standards for entry into and exit from educator prepara/on program in state (CAEP) Ø Ensure university capacity for teacher educa/on serves 40% more students Ø Increase and strengthen pre- service field experience (local and culture) Ø Integrate ESL training for all teachers Ø Provide a systemic process for improving teacher prepara/on using stakeholder and outcome feedback Ø Increase and strengthen bridge programs to atract minority groups into educa/on careers Ø Establish laboratory schools in urban and rural hub communi/es Recruitment Ø FEA program in every school district, aim for 5% of high school student popula/on for a total of 2,000 students Ø Increase and strengthen bridge programs to atract minority groups into educa/on careers Ø Loan forgiveness for Alaskans who are trained outside and return to teach Ø Support loan forgiveness throughout schooling not just at the end Ø Free special educa/on courses Ø ATract second career people Ø Incen/vize hard to fill jobs Ø Revisit salary and benefits package DEVELOP & KEEP Professional Development Ø Add 10 quality professional development days Ø Add 6 days to school year Ø Add 4 days to quality in- service alloca/on Ø Implement best prac/ces Ø Provide targeted funding Ø Assess to ensure quality of PD Ø Select two curricular programs for major content areas if districts voluntarily choose to use them, state will purchase them and EED will provide on- going quality staff development Ø Increase and expand the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project RetenAon Ø Incen/vize hard to fill jobs Ø Revisit salary and benefits package Ø Loan forgiveness for educators who remain in district three years Ø Con/nue teacher reten/on grants to districts Ø Scale up prac/ces that work in districts to a statewide level Ø Celebrate teachers with awards and recogni/on Ø Establish laboratory schools in urban and rural hub communi/es Ø Increase and expand the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Note: this systemic approach should support increased reten/on as a whole
PreparaAon STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT ACHIEVING GOAL #1: TRAIN 60% OF NEW HIRES IN STATE BY 2025 Ø Raise standards for entry into and exit from educator prepara/on program in state (CAEP) Ø Ensure university capacity for teacher educa/on serves 40% more students Ø Increase and strengthen pre- service field experience (local and culture) Ø Integrate ESL training for all teachers Ø Provide a systemic process for improving teacher prepara/on using stakeholder and outcome feedback Ø Increase and strengthen bridge programs to atract minority groups into educa/on careers Ø Establish laboratory schools in urban and rural hub communi/es
Recruitment STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT ACHIEVING GOAL #1: TRAIN 60% OF NEW HIRES IN STATE BY 2025 Ø FEA program in every school district, aim for 5% of high school student popula/on for a total of 2,000 students Ø Increase and strengthen bridge programs to atract minority groups into educa/on careers Ø Loan forgiveness for Alaskans who are trained outside and return to teach Ø Support loan forgiveness throughout schooling not just at the end Ø Free special educa/on courses Ø ATract second career people Ø Incen/vize hard to fill jobs Ø Revisit salary and benefits package
Professional Development STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT ACHIEVING GOAL #2: DEVELOP 90% TO PROFICIENCY LEVEL BY 2025 Ø Add 10 quality professional development days Ø Add 6 days to school year Ø Add 4 days to quality in- service alloca/on Ø Implement best prac/ces Ø Provide targeted funding Ø Assess to ensure quality of PD Ø Select two curricular programs for major content areas if districts voluntarily choose to use them, state will purchase them and EED will provide on- going quality staff development Ø Increase and expand the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project
RetenAon STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT ACHIEVING GOAL #2: DEVELOP 90% TO PROFICIENCY LEVEL BY 2025 Ø Incen/vize hard to fill jobs Ø Revisit salary and benefits package Ø Loan forgiveness for educators who remain in district three years Ø Con/nue teacher reten/on grants to districts Ø Scale up prac/ces that work in districts to a statewide level Ø Celebrate teachers with awards and recogni/on Ø Establish laboratory schools in urban and rural hub communi/es Ø Increase and expand the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Note: this systemic approach should support increased reten/on as a whole
Next Steps Request consensus from CEACC board Present Alaska EQQ Plan to stakeholder groups Convene stakeholder group to begin developing recommenda/ons Present plan to school boards, local governments, statewide civic, community, and business groups Present policy recommenda/ons to legislature and educa/on agencies Advocate for change