[CaTEACH-SMI] Education Week article

[Leslie Bushong]

EDUCATION WEEK
Published in Print: June 13, 2007

Business-Higher Ed. Group Offers Plan for Teacher Shortfall
By 
<http://www.edweek.org/ew/contributors/vaishali.honawar.html>Vaishali Honawar

A report that was 
<http://www.bhef.com/solutions/anamericanimperative.asp>slated 
for release this week foresees a vibrant, 
hands-on role for businesses in combating the 
much-publicized shortfall of math and science teachers in K-12 schools.

Members of the 
<http://www.bhef.com/index.asp>Business-Higher 
Education Forum, an organization made up of 
Fortune 500 chiefs and higher education leaders, 
say the United States will need 280,000 new 
mathematics and science teachers by 2015. But 
there simply are not enough skilled teachers in 
those areas entering the profession or committing 
to long-term careers, the report underscores.

To help relieve the shortage, the 
Washington-based forum puts forth a detailed plan 
that calls on the federal and state governments, 
school districts, higher education institutions, 
and businesses to work in concert in teacher 
recruitment, retention, and continuing professional growth.

For instance, the report says, in the area of 
retention, the federal government could expand 
support for comprehensive, research-based 
teacher-induction programs; state governments 
could disseminate tools to evaluate the 
effectiveness of such programs; school districts 
could establish, evaluate, and report on the 
programs; universities could conduct research on 
their effectiveness; and businesses could sponsor and support the programs.

Forum members hope their strategy would double 
the number of college graduates with degrees in 
critical STEM­science, technology, engineering, 
and math­disciplines in eight years.

Many reports in recent years have sought to 
highlight the problems in STEM education, most 
notably 
<http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html>“Rising 
Above the Gathering Storm,” which was prepared in 
2005 by a panel of business leaders convened by 
the National Academies. The report warned that 
the U.S. economy would suffer if it failed to 
improve the scientific and technological skills of its workforce.

But Brian Fitzgerald, the executive director of 
the Business-Higher Education Forum, said very 
few of the other reports have called for a
strong role for business in addressing the 
critical shortage of math and science teachers, 
or identified sound strategies to counter it. 
“This report is unique because it deals with 
recruitment, retention, and renewal, and creates 
a road map for each of the five stakeholders to get this work done,” he added.


New Ideas

Some recommendations in the report are familiar, 
such as scholarships for teacher education 
students in the STEM disciplines, differential 
pay for such teachers, and ongoing professional development.
But there are new ideas as well, among them the 
creation of an administrator’s position at each 
school­a vice principal of academic affairs to 
provide support for new teachers, help 
experienced teachers master classroom-instruction 
skills, and help all teachers develop and implement curricula.

While some may worry about adding another 
administrator to schools, the authors say the 
idea was modeled after the leadership of 
universities, where a president and a provost 
handle different affairs, complementing each other.

Gerald F. Wheeler, the executive director of the 
National Science Teachers Association, in 
Arlington, Va., said that is one of the many 
proposals in the report he is excited about 
working with schools to carry out. “A vice 
principal for academic affairs could be a 
coordinating glue who would bring teachers together,” he said.

The report also proposes early and aggressive 
teacher-recruitment efforts, such as targeting 
middle school students and presenting them with 
teaching as a viable career option.

With two major pieces of federal education 
legislation up for reauthorization, the No Child 
Left Behind Act and the Higher Education Act,
forum members said a window of opportunity is 
open to influence significant change.

Investing in STEM programs, Mr. Fitzgerald said, 
is “a national imperative” to keep the United 
States intellectually vibrant and economically competitive.

Vol. 26, Issue 41, Page 13
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