Urban Education: The

Crisis in Staffing Urban Schools with Effective

TeachersKristyn Appel

Foundations of Education (31320)

Dr. Wanda Hutchinson

July 22,2015

What is an urban school?oLarge central cities.

oPoverty.

oUrban schools educate many of the nation’s immigrant children, where English is their second language (Jacob, 2007).

oPerform below national standards, and high school dropout rates are over 40%(Sadovnik, A., Cookson, Jr. P., Semel, S., 2013, p.7)

Staffing in Urban SchoolsoShortage of effective teacherso Lack of support from school administrations.o Student behavior problemso Classroom intrusionso Limited faculty input

Staffing in Urban SchoolsoAccording to the National Commission for Teaching and America’s Future (2002), 50% of urban teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years of their career.

oTurnover

oTeacher attrition

oLess likely to be certified, less likely to have graduated from competitive colleges, score lower on standardized exams, and are more likely to be teaching subjects for which they are not certified (Jacob 2007).

No ExcusesoAmerica needs to fix urban schools before poverty.

oSchools can make a critical difference, regardless of a child's socioeconomic status

oIt is the good teacher who holds the most promise for significantly reducing the achievement gap (Klein 2009).

Difficulty Staffing Teachers in Urban Schools

o“Revolving door”

oJob dissatisfaction

oLow salary

oRecruiting more teachers

oNo Child Left Behind Act

Impact on the StudentsoStudents lose the most.

o“Students will not be able to meet high learning standards unless their teachers are prepared to meet high standards” (Hunt, J., Carroll, T., 2003).

Impact on the Students Children need stability.

Children’s emotional and social development suffer the consequences (Hunt, J., Carroll, T., 2003).

Impact on the StudentsoA no win situation!

oForced to sit in classrooms

oIn one widely noted Tennessee study, children who had the least effective teachers three years in a row posted academic achievement gains that were 54 percent lower than the gains of children who had the most effective teachers three years in a row (Hunt, J., Carroll, T., 2003).

Societal and Political ImpactoNCLB Act states that all schools should have highly qualified teachers in every classroom (Sadovnik, et al. 2013, p.235).

oIncreased accountability

oSchool choice

oNarrow definition of research

oQuality of teachers

Societal and Political ImpactoTeach for America

oAdvocates maintain that TFA provides well-educated teachers in areas where recruitment is difficult.

oPay a greater upfront cost

oThe TFA hiring contracts are non-refundable (Cohen, 2015).

How Can We Improve?oTeacher-run schools

o“Most teachers have no say in their schools’ decisions about hiring, promotions, firing, budgets, pay levels, curriculum or scheduling” (Osborne, 2015).

o“Having more control keeps teachers and students more engaged” (Osborne, 2015).

How Can We Improve?oOrganize every school for teaching and learning success.

oTeacher preparation

oAccrediation/Licensing

oBuild a high quality teaching professiono Satisfaction of a rewarding careero CompensationoWorking conditions

ConclusionsoCrisis in staffingo Teacher retention o not the supply but the quality of teaching

oChildren suffer

oMake a changeo Schools must become a place where teaching

and learning thrive.o Treat our teachers better.

ReferencesCohen, R., (2015). The true cost of teach for America’s impact on urban schools. The American Prospect. Retrieved from:

prospect.org/article/true-cost-teach-Americas-impact-urban-schools

Ingersoll, R. (2004). Why do you high-poverty schools have difficulty staffing their classrooms with qualified teachers? Retrieved from

Center for American Progress.

Jacob, B. (2007). The challenges of staffing urban schools with effective teachers. The Future of Children, 17(1).

Hunt, J., & Carroll, T., (2003). National commission on teaching and america’s future, no dream denied: A pledge to america’s children.

Washington D.C.

Klein, J. (2009). Urban schools need better teachers, not excuses, to close the education gap. U.S. News & World Report.

ReferencesNational Commission for Teaching and America’s Future, (2002). Unraveling the “teacher shortage” problem: Teacher

retention is key. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Osbourne, D., (2015). To improve schools, let teachers run them. Washington Post. Retrieved

from https://www.washingtonpost.com

Sadovnik, A. Cookson, Jr. P., Semel, S., (2013). Exploring education: An introduction to the

foundations of education. 4th ed. New York: Routledge Taylor Francis Group.