Teachers without full certification were hired in increasing numbers by Maryland's 24 public school districts this year -- a trend running counter to a new federal law that will require teachers in poor, low-performing schools to hold permanent certification.
Nearly 10 percent, or 5,351, of the state's 55,021 new teachers have provisional certificates, which means that they may have a college degree but have not passed the necessary state exams or still need to finish course work, according to a report released yesterday by the Maryland State Department of Education.
_____Related Articles_____
•
D.C. Offers Transfers to Better Schools (The Washington Post, Aug 10, 2002)
•
New Rules Hold Up Md. Student Transfers (The Washington Post, Aug 3, 2002)
•
Few Families Seek School Switch in Montgomery (The Washington Post, Jun 22, 2002)
•
For Pupils, A Chance to Transfer Up (The Washington Post, May 10, 2002)
•
Bush Tries to Maintain Grade on Education (The Washington Post, Mar 3, 2002)
|
| |
|
Last year, 8.4 percent of the state's new hires, or 4,479 teachers, had provisional certificates.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that students in Title I schools have teachers who are "highly qualified," which Maryland interprets as holding a full certificate to teach. The ambitious law sets a timetable for states and school districts to meet requirements or face a financial penalty.
"We do have challenges ahead of us," Lawrence E. Leak, assistant state superintendent for certification and accreditation, told the 12-member state school board. He said the Baltimore City and Prince George's County systems both have a large number of provisional teachers and Title I schools.
State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said schools are starting to put new hires with permanent teaching certificates into Title I schools, in anticipation of the federal requirements. "We will start to see a higher percentage of certified teachers," she said.
The numbers of teachers with provisional and full certification were included in the annual Maryland Staffing Teacher Report. The report concluded that overall, there were critical teacher shortages in subject areas such as technology, computer science, English for speakers of other languages, foreign languages, math, science and special education.
Maryland's public schools also need to hire more male and minority teachers, the report said.
Though there are state incentive programs to lure promising candidates into the profession, and programs to help them their full credentials once they decide to teach, the report found that not enough people take advantage of the programs.
The state had 2,523 teacher candidates this year and is expecting to have 2,754 next year. But there are 7,600 slots that need to be filled, officials said, and with a national teacher shortage, the state cannot easily draw candidates from other areas.
State school board President Marilyn D. Maultsby of Baltimore suggested that a task force of state education officials, board members and teachers unions study the quality of teaching staffs in low-performing schools, along with staff shortages in the subject areas outlined in the report.
The board agreed to set up the task force, which is expected to give an update in the next few months.
