Why is there a teacher shortage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience, the principals who are screamers are the ones at Title I or near-Title I-status schools. They're just under too much pressure from the powers above to remain sane and rational in that job. (See also: Cora Kelly principal story.) One more factor contributing to the teacher shortage: unstable, nasty principals.

Yeah, we've had those at our Title I school. The screamers and the nasty/unstable principals we had only succeeded in digging the hole deeper. Fortunately we are in a different position now, which is why we're slowly but surely pulling ourselves out of accreditation with warning.

[Anonymous]

So, could the teachers on this thread give me advice? Is the program in a title 1 school which is 50% ELL going to be less rigorous than at a 9-10 school? What about a 7-8?
Trying to decide whether to stay where we are. Kids are mostly fed and clothed and taken care of, just a lot of kids with non educated parents who don't know English.
I can transfer my son to 7-8, but not to 9-10 (the latter would require moving). But I woukd have to drive him there instead of a 2 min walk to current school.
Also, he gets a lot of free and low cost enrichment just by virtue of going to a title 1. His reading is progressing, as is his writing. I like his teacher and the teachers for the next two grades are also great as I am told. Experienced.
So, will he fall behind by grade 5 compared to his peers who went to GS 9-10?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, could the teachers on this thread give me advice? Is the program in a title 1 school which is 50% ELL going to be less rigorous than at a 9-10 school? What about a 7-8?
Trying to decide whether to stay where we are. Kids are mostly fed and clothed and taken care of, just a lot of kids with non educated parents who don't know English.
I can transfer my son to 7-8, but not to 9-10 (the latter would require moving). But I woukd have to drive him there instead of a 2 min walk to current school.
Also, he gets a lot of free and low cost enrichment just by virtue of going to a title 1. His reading is progressing, as is his writing. I like his teacher and the teachers for the next two grades are also great as I am told. Experienced.
So, will he fall behind by grade 5 compared to his peers who went to GS 9-10?

I'm a teacher so I'll be first but it will be interesting to hear what other teachers say. And ... I don't know.

GS 7-8 and 9-10 schools get those ratings for a reason: because they are really good at what they do and how they do it. On the other hand, though, some Title I schools are really good, too. They just are not in the same position to get high ratings because of standardized test scores, which are so mightily influenced by the SES of the students.

With Title I schools, you do know they get a lot of oversight because of the Title I status so usually the baseline teaching can be very good. But the pressure on teachers is really tough in Title I schools. So that's where the importance of a good principal comes in to play.

The principal sets the tone for the environment of the school: whether it will be happy and cheerful and full of bustling activity with children focused on learning or whether it will be shrieking, gloomy and tense with children acting out and not learning.

If you have a good principal at a Title I school, then you will see great teaching and learning (like at my school). Teachers teaching with great enthusiasm and love in a high quality environment with high expectations for their students. Lots of supports. Great teachers at Title I schools are there because they are committed to what they are doing and they want to be there. They are doing outstanding things. It is their demographic and they will give your child a lot of attention and s/he will get a great education. But if you have a principal who is a screamer, a nasty, unhappy person, then the good teachers are laying low trying not to attract unwanted attention and the bad teachers, who fly in for a year or two because it is the only job they can get, are stirring things up and causing problems. The whole place is tense and unwelcoming. There is not a lot of learning going on because the kids pick up on the tension and behavior goes to heck very quickly. Kids and teachers are hanging on by their fingernails trying not to get sucked down into the whirling vortex of bitterness and bile and hate.

If you decide to stay, then my advice is to monitor. Schools can change quickly from year to year depending on who is in charge and how the staff and children are responding. If you are happy with how your child is progressing (meeting baseline targets, on grade level, good enrichment, friends) then all is good. It sounds like a great set up with only a 2 minute walk (nice!). But keep an eye on it and be ready to transfer if you need to. The 7-8s and 9-10s are about as good as it can get so they seem like a sure thing but remember that a 7-8 or a 9-10 go from good to bad. It isn't likely that a great school will take a nosedive but it has happened.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

If you decide to stay, then my advice is to monitor. Schools can change quickly from year to year depending on who is in charge and how the staff and children are responding. If you are happy with how your child is progressing (meeting baseline targets, on grade level, good enrichment, friends) then all is good. It sounds like a great set up with only a 2 minute walk (nice!). But keep an eye on it and be ready to transfer if you need to. The 7-8s and 9-10s are about as good as it can get so they seem like a sure thing but remember that a 7-8 or a 9-10 go from good to bad. It isn't likely that a great school will take a nosedive but it has happened.

Another teacher here. This is excellent advice. Find out how long staff has been in the school. Has anyone actually retired after some years in the school? That can tell you a lot. When the principal/admin supports the teachers, the best teachers will be happy and stay. People who are true teachers want to TEACH and focus on students. When their focus is pulled away by crazy inane stuff, they become irritated and leave for greener pastures. The principal has control of this part of the school environment. They can support or intimidate. Support works much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, could the teachers on this thread give me advice? Is the program in a title 1 school which is 50% ELL going to be less rigorous than at a 9-10 school? What about a 7-8?
Trying to decide whether to stay where we are. Kids are mostly fed and clothed and taken care of, just a lot of kids with non educated parents who don't know English.
I can transfer my son to 7-8, but not to 9-10 (the latter would require moving). But I woukd have to drive him there instead of a 2 min walk to current school.
Also, he gets a lot of free and low cost enrichment just by virtue of going to a title 1. His reading is progressing, as is his writing. I like his teacher and the teachers for the next two grades are also great as I am told. Experienced.
So, will he fall behind by grade 5 compared to his peers who went to GS 9-10?

I'm a teacher in a Title 1 school and I wouldn't send my child to one unless I really didn't have any other choice. It would be an okay option for ES but most definitely not past 5th grade. The curriculum is the same as other schools but when the focus is on bringing up kids who are below grade level, there is less focus on the higher kids. My DS was one of them. While his school wasn't perfect, there were enough other high kids to form groups for reading and math. In my school, there might be 2 kids per class who are above grade level. In my son's school, around a third of the class was above grade level. If you do stay, make a move to another MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, could the teachers on this thread give me advice? Is the program in a title 1 school which is 50% ELL going to be less rigorous than at a 9-10 school? What about a 7-8?
Trying to decide whether to stay where we are. Kids are mostly fed and clothed and taken care of, just a lot of kids with non educated parents who don't know English.
I can transfer my son to 7-8, but not to 9-10 (the latter would require moving). But I woukd have to drive him there instead of a 2 min walk to current school.
Also, he gets a lot of free and low cost enrichment just by virtue of going to a title 1. His reading is progressing, as is his writing. I like his teacher and the teachers for the next two grades are also great as I am told. Experienced.
So, will he fall behind by grade 5 compared to his peers who went to GS 9-10?

I'm a teacher and worked in both types of schools but they were high schools, not elementary schools. There was no comparison with the rigor at the secondary level. The 9-10 school focused overall and learning and application to the real world. The lower performing school with more ESOL students focused on test prep and SOLs. We moved to send our children to a 9-10 pyramid. It came with other pros and cons with being in a pressure cooker but we wanted them around high achieving peers and all those enrichment opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Another teacher here. I agree with the other PPs' advice. Stay but monitor. The pressures that principals put on teachers, which definitely affect teachers' work with children, are often hidden from parents, however.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP who asked about staying/leaving a title 1 school.
I volunteer a lot at school and I know there are good teachers who have been at the school for over 5 years (and my son's 1st grade teacher has been here for about 20 years).
The principal is young and has a high stake at this school as his son is in this school, too, and his younger child is supposed to start school here as far as I know. The principal is new and has been very open to ideas from parents. I think he is supportive as far as teachers go. I do sense some burn out on the part of the teachers as not many parents want to take part in the school day to day operation. They are extremely grateful when they get volunteers in the classroom.
As for kids who are above grade level, I believe there are maybe 5 kids in DS's class who read above grade level, if not more. The school hired an ESOL coach this year who does leveled instruction (my DS is in the advanced group judging by who is in his group).
There is a lot of free stuff in the school which would be more expensive or not avalable if it see a regular school; on the other hand, "good" schools have more variety in afterschool activities.
Our middle school is actually a 7 (as opposed to a 4 for our current elementary school). I have heard it is improving rapidly with the new principal, so we will see.

[Anonymous]

Oh yes and thank you everyone so much for chiming in! PP

[Anonymous]

I would never judge a school by its after school activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never judge a school by its after school activities.

It's just one of the indicators. It is not too bad per se when a school doesn't have many afterschool options, but is usually a sign that parents can't afford/their priorities lie elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/america-has-a-teacher-shortage-and-a-new-study-says-its-getting-worse/2016/09/14/d5de1cee-79e8-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a_story.html


Washington Post article claims there's been a dramatic decrease in new teachers entering the profession:

"Enrollment in teacher-preparation programs dropped from 691,000 in 2009 to 451,000 in 2014, a 35 percent decline, according to the study, “A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand and Shortages in the U.S.”"

It also claims nearly 2/3 of teachers leave before retirement age.

If teaching is supposed to be such a cushy job, "summers off, home by 3", and so well paid with great benefits ... why aren't people rushing to become teachers?

Because it's not a cushy job, you don't actually get the summer off, you're not home by three, and you're not well-paid.

If we want more teachers, we need to pay them more and treat them better. Like any other job.

My husband just entered his 5th year teaching in a Title 1 elementary school. This is his second career. We paid out of pocket for him to get a MSE. He had been working as a Fed attorney for years. As a teacher, he works three times as hard for half the pay. Screw the idea of summers off. It's more like three weeks by the time we are done with snow days and shifting school starts and mandatory training in the middle of the summer. We pay out of pocket for child care for at least one month every summer because he gets out of school later in the year and goes back earlier than our kids.

He spends $$ out of pocket every fall to get supplies for his classroom. He is expected to change his schedule on a dime because a training is scheduled at the last minute. He must be at school so early there are no good child care options for when I have to travel for work, so we have to pay someone to watch our children at 6:30 in the morning.

In general, we both thought by giving up the commute into downtown, our life would be a little easier when he was a teacher. Ha! My life sucks more because he can never take off and feel comfortable about it. Days off mean sub plans and no confidence the sub will get through to the kids.

He loves teaching, though. It's the BS that comes with it, including constant judging by someone, that sucks.

I completely get it that no one wants to be a teacher. I don't.

You completely described my DH. He doesn't like taking days off because of how crappy the work environment already is and the knowledge that it'll make the day worse for his kids. And yes, the neverending judgment.

[Anonymous]

Isn't it easy to segue into education administration if you're a motivated teacher? I know some brain dead former teachers who clear $100,000 as principals of mediocre buildings. They were tracked for administration pretty early because they were principals by ~30yo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it easy to segue into education administration if you're a motivated teacher? I know some brain dead former teachers who clear $100,000 as principals of mediocre buildings. They were tracked for administration pretty early because they were principals by ~30yo.

Most of us who are good, really good teachers, would never ever want to be an administrator. We're teachers because we choose to be. For the most part, the people who move in to administration are those teachers who aren't good at teaching but they still want to contribute to and be a part of education. That said my school's current principal and one ap both have reps as being outstanding teachers before their transition to administration. We've had others, too, but they are few and far between. Teaching and admin are different skill sets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it easy to segue into education administration if you're a motivated teacher? I know some brain dead former teachers who clear $100,000 as principals of mediocre buildings. They were tracked for administration pretty early because they were principals by ~30yo.

Most of us who are good, really good teachers, would never ever want to be an administrator. We're teachers because we choose to be. For the most part, the people who move in to administration are those teachers who aren't good at teaching but they still want to contribute to and be a part of education. That said my school's current principal and one ap both have reps as being outstanding teachers before their transition to administration. We've had others, too, but they are few and far between. Teaching and admin are different skill sets.

+1. I show up because I love my work kids; I'd never be an admin because I have no interest in being out of the classroom.