6 EDCAL May 30, 2016
Policy institute brief examines solutions to teacher shortage
A policy brief from the Learning Policy
Institute looks at the issue of loan forgiveness and scholarships in recruiting more
candidates to the teaching profession.
The brief notes that attracting and
retaining sufficient numbers of qualified
teachers is challenging when college graduates carrying significant student debt have
more lucrative career choices.
A number of approaches have been put
forth, with two of the more popular being
loan forgiveness and service scholarships.
LPI brief authors Anne Podolsky and Tara
Kini note this is similar to what the medical
profession has done to attract practitioners
to service in underserved communities.
“Existing research on teacher and physician loan forgiveness and service scholarship
programs suggests that, when the financial
benefit meaningfully offsets the cost of professional preparation, these programs can
successfully recruit and retain high-quality
professionals into fields and communities
where they are most needed,” the brief notes.
As far too many California school
districts are discovering, the hiring pool
of qualified teaching candidates is rapidly shrinking, brought on by the Great
Recession’s massive cuts and layoffs to K-12
education. An entire wave of young teachers
felt the brunt of layoffs and understandably
began to turn to other professions.
The LPI brief additionally notes that
teacher salaries lag behind those of other
occupations that require a college degree,
and young people often accrue significant debt to prepare for the profession.
Recruitment and retention challenges are
typically greatest in underserved urban and
rural communities, as well as in subjects like
math, science and special education. People
can earn significantly higher starting salaries in private sector jobs.
Even after adjusting for the shorter work
year, beginning teachers nationally earn
about 20 percent less than individuals with
college degrees who enter other fields, and
the gap widens to 30 percent by mid-career.
Compounding this challenge, more than
two-thirds of those entering the education
field borrow money to pay for their higher
education, resulting in an average debt of
$20,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree
and $50,000 for a master’s degree. College
loans represent a significant debt burden for
many prospective teachers and a potential
disincentive to enter the profession.
The brief indicates that offering subsi-
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dies for teaching preparation in the form of
loan forgiveness or service scholarships, tied
to requirements for service in high-need
fields or locations, is a promising practice.
If recipients do not complete their service
commitment, they must repay a portion
of the scholarship or loan, sometimes with
interest and penalties.
The federal government and the states
have long offered such incentives to medical professionals to fill needed positions,
and have periodically done so for teachers as well. In both medicine and teaching, research suggests that these programs
have been successful when the subsidies
are large enough to substantially offset
training costs. More affordable than acrossthe-board salary increases, loan forgiveness
and scholarship programs offer a targeted,
short-term approach to increasing teachers’
overall compensation package at the time
that it matters most to individuals’ career
decisions, LPI says.
The policy brief concludes with a list of
elements that can make a program of loan
forgiveness or service commitment successful. Among the recommendations are
that it should cover all or a large percentage of tuition; target high-need fields and/
or schools; and commit recipients to teach
with reasonable financial consequences if
they do not fulfill the commitment.
For the full list of recommendations, an
abstract of the policy brief and more information, please go to https://learningpolicyinstitute.org.
IQC addresses Hindu history concerns
California Department of Education’s
Instructional Quality Commission heard
testimony May 24 from Hindu and Indian
history stakeholders about the importance
of equity and cultural competency in the
Social Science and History Framework.
The IQC elected to adopt proposed
edits, including the decision not to replace
mentions of India with “South Asia” and
the reintroduction of two sages of diverse
backgrounds.
Since 2014, efforts by the Hindu
American community have been under way
to update the textbook framework put forth
by the CDE, which many say currently
reinforces cultural stereotypes and historical
inaccuracies about Hinduism and India.
In July, a final draft of the framework will
be created. The framework will drive textbook adoption and classroom instruction.
GENDER
Other Gender Specific Needs.
• When Worlds Collide: Autism and
Gender.
• Diversity in Action: Creating A Gen
der Inclusive Community.
The last day to register is July 3. If you
have any questions, please email events@
genderspectr um.org. Registration may be
accessed at http://goo.gl/ic9Ezc. More
information can be found by visiting www.
genderspectrum.org.
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Conference.
Expert practitioner sessions will include:
• Legal Aspects of Creating Safe Schools
for Gender-Expansive Youth.
• Inclusive Practice On the Ground:
Gender and the Classroom.
• Supporting Student Transitions and
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