Johnstown, PA (WJAC) — On Monday, administrators in the Ferndale Area School District met virtually with the state's acting education secretary to address the ongoing teacher shortage and what can be done to solve the problem.
“I mean, we are in a crisis, the jobs are there.”
It’s an ongoing issue in many school districts, but especially in the Ferndale Area School District.
Superintendent Jeff Boyer and Dr. William Brontz have been brainstorming ways to get teachers into classrooms.
“We have to work within the contractions of the PDE and the current way we have available to certify teachers, and I think that led us to start brainstorming about possible different ways we can steer students and other professionals into the teaching profession.”
“We're working within a framework of rules, and regulations and policies; if we can start breaking down those walls we can get there.”
Dr. Brontz and Superintendent Boyer have many ideas on how to break down these barriers, but the first way they say begins with the Praxis Test.
“The Praxis core tests are comprehensive assessments that measure the reading, writing, and math skills and content knowledge of candidates entering teacher preparation programs.”
Without passing the Praxis, simply put, you cannot become a teacher.
“We have a candidate, she is a professor at Cal U, and we would like to fill the position with her, unfortunately, although she has her bachelors, masters and doctorate in education, she doesn't meet the criteria to be in a Pennsylvania classroom so we would have to emergency certify her. She would have to enroll in a teacher prep program, all these things that don’t make sense to me with her level of education and her experience, she should be able to walk right into a classroom, however, with the current rules, that just can’t happen.”
This summer, the Department of Education waived the requirement of the basic skills test to become a teacher and the question is now, what can be done with the Praxis test?
Administrators in Ferndale say they want to see the district have more control over the results of the Praxis exam.
“Giving some local control, give the schools more of a role of deciding who they want in a classroom; let us choose where the cutoff is and gives us more autonomy in the process.”
“If we can do something with thatlet us decide on the score and the Department of Education can give us the recommended score, it wouldn't deter kids from entering the field. They know they will have to take a test but it’s not the one pathway to becoming a teacher, create multiple pathways to become a teacher.”
The Praxis exam is not the only issue those in the Ferndale School District would like to see solved.
The lack of early exposure is also an issue the district recognizes.
Superintendent Boyer raised the question, why is there no high school teacher preparation program that offers a degree or certificate?
“Why don’t we have something like that, either county wide or even regionally for our future teachers to jump into, that type of career pathway where that can lead them to teacher certification in a faster manner than a traditional four-year route.”
Another issue is the return on investment for education students.
Many students are graduating with large amounts of student debt and entering the profession with a very low salary.
Raising the salary could be an issue with taxpayers in the district, but Dr. Brontz believes there is something the Department of Education can do.
“Expand student loan forgiveness for the teaching profession. Have benchmark years where you have certain amounts of student loans forgiven.”
Dr. Brontz and Superintendent Boyer feel hopeful about their conversation with education secretary, but hope to continue the conversation and see some legislative changes
“Let’s get more teachers in the field, make it a viable pathway, we need those folks.”
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