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Wanted: Teachers More than 800,000 teachers will be needed in California by the time your 6-year-old graduates from college. By OC FamilyPublished: August, 2006

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More than 800,000 teachers will be needed in California by the time your 6-year-old graduates from college Julia Balandis of Irvine is a Santa Ana first-grade teacher who gave up thoughts of going into business so she could pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Six years into a profession that may be America’s most important job, she feels the demon of second thoughts. She is not alone. If you like, love, respect and adore your child’s teacher today, beware.  By 2022, that angel of education will be retired and chances are, there will not be so much as a warm body waiting to take her place. California’s greatest single-industry employment gap in the next generation will be in education. Some 830,000 teachers will be needed in preschool, elementary, secondary, adult and higher education, according to a survey on the future workforce that was released this year by the California Business Roundtable. While some of that number will be comprised of those remaining in the profession, the expectation is that most present-day teachers will be gone in 16 years due to retirement and other opportunities. Hundreds of thousands of teachers work in the largest arena – the K-12 grades enroll more than 6.3 million Californians – and much of the worry centers around specific specialties, such as math, science and special education that are particularly hard to fill. (A math major, for example, can often find a job with a Fortune 500 company for about double the starting teacher’s salary.) Add to that another looming challenge – the comparatively small number of administrators who run campuses, which by most measures comprise a diminishing talent pool. From mid-May of this year to press time, there were as many as nine public school superintendent openings in Orange County alone. For example, Superintendent Al Mijares of Santa Ana Unified is leaving this month after 12 years to work for the College Board, which publishes the SAT. In all, a total of 1.8 million new, highly educated workers for all California industries will be needed by the time your 6-year-old is graduating with a bachelor’s degree. How many will choose the teaching profession amid all that competition?  And will they want to? Joe Ochoa wants to. The 25-year-old Mission Viejo resident went to a job fair in early June and was hired on the spot to teach 10th-grade world history at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood. He will wrap up his teaching credential at Chapman University next spring. “What made me more attractive,” says the bilingual speaker, “is that I started two student organizations and I’ve coached volleyball. They want me to help with student organizations. And also to coach.” Ochoa holds a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies with a concentration in Chicano studies. He earned an associate’s degree in U.S. history. But, as a student, it was both his tug-of-war with teachers as well as his awe of them that drew him into the profession. “I struggled in high school and couldn’t relate to some of the teachers,” says the Mission Viejo resident. “At the community college level, I met a couple of professors who served as role models and mentors and challenged and encouraged me along the way.” He remembers, in another setting, “talking about my life and the importance of school. I realized I wanted to not only be involved in the community, but also teach. I love the interaction with young people.” A fellow student, Seamus Quillinan, 24, of Orange, will be teaching special education at Villa Park High School this fall. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Irvine and will earn his teaching credential by spring 2007 from Chapman. Quillinan is optimistic and idealistic, perhaps the best combination for a profession that some compare to the thanklessness of parenting, with the only advantage being that, unlike a parent, you can leave. “I do have my concerns,” he says. “On the financial level, it’s there, but it is something I will work out in the long term. You are paid in other ways. When you go to school, and have this wonderful experience with students, to see them grow, that’s a huge part of your paycheck. You are doing a good thing for society.” Soon he will have a classroom all his own. “It’s amazing; I can’t wait. It is a unique opportunity.” Teachers left behind “The new issue…is that the No Child Left Behind Movement of rules and regulations is stepping on the ‘artful’ part of being a teacher,” says Chapman University’s Don Cardinal, dean of the education school. “The individual teacher’s professional judgment of teaching the best way at the best moment is being retarded because of this kind of scripting. What good does it do if you are a great teacher and you’re told to teach in the same way?” Casting aside the ill-informed jabs that teachers have it easy because they get all summer off, the profession is one of the hardest to fill and turn  into a  long-term passion because of a host of realities – comparatively low pay;  so little time to teach what you want to teach because so much time is spent  in teaching what you have to teach; parental pressures; difficult children; high  cost of living; school districts that move you around or let you go early in  your career. According to the National Education Association – the union representing 2.8 million teachers – 37% blame low pay for wanting to leave before retirement and 20% cite “unsatisfactory” working conditions.  (In California, 22% of newly hired teachers leave after year four, according to a Public Policy Institute study.) And of mounting concern, about one-third of California teachers are now older than 50, according to an April report by the Oakland Tribune. Retirement for most of them is no more than 5-10 years away. Says Superintendent Pete Gorman, who last month left Tustin Unified School District to take a similar job in North Carolina: “It used to be for a high-achieving female, teaching was akin to the pinnacle of professional levels. That’s changed; there are a variety of other opportunities; that has impacted education greatly.” Gorman says his Orange County district has been blessed by offering competitive salaries and a stable work environment. The 20,000-student district is one of Southern California’s best-run, with an $80 million bond measure helping refresh several campuses. “When you talk about people looking at careers, there has been a general challenge taking place. It used to be considered a more noble profession to enter into.” A teacher’s story Teacher Balandis, who works at Esqueda Elementary in Santa Ana, is one who could make an impact for years to come. Only 29, she is at the beginning of a career, but deeply feels the profession’s frustrations. “It’s so hard to live on that salary, particularly if it is not a dual income,” says Balandis, who is single and owns a condo in Irvine.  She earns a salary slightly above $50,000. “(Other challenges) include a lack of support and No Child Left Behind.” Of the latter, she says, “You go into teaching to show off your creative side and do fun things with children.  But in reality, you find yourself all day teaching to the test. Even though in first grade, they do not take the state exam, you find yourself preparing them for the test next year. And in this community, they need the art and other extracurricular activities.” A districtwide roving music teacher comes to her class once a week for 30 minutes. Balandis also has some non-stipulated class time every Friday afternoon to enrich the children in her own way. “Our days are very jam-packed getting through the course subject.” Balandis graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in business and marketing but followed her dream and earned a master’s degree in education at Azusa Pacific University. She has taught kindergarten, first and second grades. While teaching is in her future, she admits to “thinking about” changing professions. Certainly, most teachers turn this into a career. Linda Ortego of Irvine has done so. The mother of two children, ages 8 and 6, has been a public school teacher for 20 years, currently working part time with second-graders at Turtle Rock Elementary. “I really, really love my job,” she says. “The hours work for my children, and the flexible hours work for me.” One of the perks is the respect she receives from the mostly 8-year-olds. “They think I’m a god; they think I’m funny. It keeps me going in my own little world.” She says the parents are considerate and small things create big moments for her, such as “teacher appreciation week.” Ortego’s advice to student-teachers? “There is no right or wrong way. All I do is steal ideas from others and rework them for me. They should go to several schools and see how teachers do it.” She also finds ways to work around the stringent curriculum. “What they don’t get this year, they’ll get next year. You can’t solve all the problems.” By the numbers  It is estimated that 100,000 new teachers will be needed statewide by 2015 to replace retirements alone. That’s nearly one-third of the more than 300,000 who teach in K-12 public schools. Adds state schools chief Jack O’Connell: “And about 40% of administrators (will retire in that time). We need to create new pathways into the teaching profession. We need to respect our teachers, pay our teachers, give them professional development, a greater degree of gratification.” The challenge in luring teachers is multi-faceted, and shows how difficult it will be to attain the numbers amid the enduring call for someone special. After all, to be a teacher, you need the virtue of a saint and the patience of Job. It is a challenge that new teacher Ochoa, the Chapman University student, looks forward to, with some trepidation. He has heard about the difficulties. “If I am limited in my creativity and what might be more beneficial for students to learn, it discourages a lot of people. Luckily, at the high school that I’m at, the principal seems really supportive in giving flexibility.” While working in Lynwood, Ochoa will need to find housing, and learn how to balance what comes in through a paycheck and what goes out in the realities of living in an expensive Southern California. “Our teachers who stay in teaching, teach for us for five years, but get out of Orange County,” says Bill Habermehl, superintendent of schools for the county. “They can’t buy a home and still teach here. For many of them, unless they have other (economic) situations, we lose a lot to the economics of Orange County.” While many teachers have moved to the Inland Empire over the years, that option is quickly drying up as rising home prices in Riverside and San Bernardino counties put similar type pressures on would-be homeowners. Habermehl points out that a teacher begins earning a salary around $40,000, and 10 years later may be at  $60,000. That hasn’t kept up with the climbing median price of a home: At more than $600,000, the county’s median price is among the highest in the country. In Riverside County, the median price is  $415,000; in San Bernardino County, it is $367,000. Those prices have gone up from $40,000 to $70,000 in the past year alone. The median home price in Riverside County this year for the first time crested $400,000, and San Bernardino County is expected to follow suit sometime in 2007. “Teachers can’t save enough after 3-4 years,” Habermehl says.  He is an advocate of drawing greater numbers of mid-career people in their 40s and even 50s who dream of teaching. Their life experience makes them wonderful candidates, but so far, there is little incentive to draw those professionals into the growing gap. The California Business Roundtable’s April survey points out not only the obvious – the teaching profession represents the single-largest occupation requiring higher education by 2022 – but also that there is no hope to reach those numbers without the twin challenge of meeting the overall demand for workers with bachelor’s degrees. That number would represent nearly 2.3 million workers for all professions. From that pool, Chapman’s Cardinal wants to ensure that would-be teachers aren’t scared away before they make the plunge. “The ‘leaky bucket’ is becoming more leaky, rather than less,” he admits. While he is an advocate of the 4 1/4-year-old federal No Child Left Behind Act that measures yearly academic progress school by school, he is a critic of the result that too many teachers are expected to, as laymen may define it, “teach to the test.” “There is nothing about No Child Left Behind that they have to teach to a script, but student test scores drive education today,” Cardinal says. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out: To get someone to improve the scores on their test, teach towards the test. Teachers now can’t use their own discretion about what that individual needs. They must laser-focus on the curriculum that will be measured on the test.” When Chapman did its own survey of graduates in the teaching profession, the big complaint was that the studies didn’t prepare them for the push on student assessment. State schools chief O’Connell agrees, to a point: “Can it be stifling?  Yes it can at times; but I’ve also seen some lesson plans that incorporate  (imagination). They have to be very creative, but for the most part, teachers are.” Cardinal wonders aloud at the present-day price. “The result is obvious; we’ll increase test scores and we’ll look back and ask, ‘Oh  my God, what did we give up to get those test scores?” For Santa Ana’s Balandis, it is difficult to turn away from the dream. “You have to love this job and love kids, and to help them learn and be a better person. Remembering why you went into this career will help you with the hard times.” Teacher numbers Here are national and state figures regarding public school teachers.     •     Some 2 million new teachers are needed nationally by 2015 to replace those who retire or leave early and to meet expanding enrollments. Of the 3 million public school teachers in the U.S., they have an average of 15 years experience. On average, they are white, female, married and 43 years old.     •     In California, some 830,000 new teachers will be needed by 2022, the largest employment gap of any profession over the next generation.     •     California, which teaches more than one in every nine U.S. students, has a particularly huge need. Because of needs state to state and the high cost of living here, recruiting outside California is particularly difficult.     •     About 30,000 California teachers – 10% of the total – are on emergency credentials. Hardest-hit areas are math and science, where college graduates can earn a much higher starting salary from private industry. Other hard-to-fill positions include bilingual and special education. There is a shortage of male and minority applicants.     •     The reasons for a teacher shortage include an aging teaching corps, with one-third of the force expected to retire within a decade; attrition rates in which 5% of all teachers and 30-50% of new teachers leave each year; the inability to graduate enough teachers despite efforts by California State University and private colleges such as Chapman University; and the high cost of living that puts up barriers for new teachers wanting to buy a first home.     •     Enrollment isn’t waiting. In Orange County, the number of K-12 students is expected to grow from 513,774 in the 2005-06 year to 530,000 in 2008-09. In Riverside County, the 380,963 enrolled students have already surpassed the projected 374,000 for 2008-09; and in San Bernardino County, the current 423,780 students have also exceeded the predicted 409,000 students. Statewide, enrollment will increase from 6.2 million this school year to 6.3 million in 2010-11. Sources: Orange County Department of Education; California Business Roundtable; Palo Alto-based EdSource, an independent education resource (edsource.org);  California State Department of Finance - Demographic Research Unit;  California Research Bureau; National Education Association Sent packing Two superintendents are forced out Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent James Fleming retired in late July following the emergence of a so-called “enemies list” of parents who had attempted to oust the school board. His abrupt departure comes on the heels of Westminster School District’s hiring, then firing, of its new superintendent. In May, the Westminster board hired what looked to be someone historic – KimOanh Nguyen-Lam. She would have been America’s first Vietnamese-American superintendent.  The 10,000-student district is comprised of about one-third Asian students. She was fired without official explanation, although race may have been a factor. In Fleming’s case, the Orange County Register reported that the school district, with Fleming’s full knowledge, created a spreadsheet of parents involved in the recall effort (it failed). Two district employees were given permission by the county’s registrar of voters to examine the petition list, which is against state law. The Register, including columnist Frank Mickadeit, unraveled both the crime and the subsequent list. The county Board of Supervisors may investigate the registrar’s actions. Fleming, in his retirement statement, made only passing reference to the controversy. In Westminster, an interim superintendent, Roberta Mahler, is in place. “I was not formally informed of the reason why they retracted the decision.  I was just told that that is what happened,” Nguyen-Lam said. “Two of the board members have slandered me, saying that I don’t have the qualifications.” Nguyen-Lam is associate director for the Center for Language Minority Education and Research at Cal State Long Beach. She was a schoolteacher for 13 years at Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach. The Fountain Valley resident is a board member at Garden Grove Unified. She earned both master’s and doctorate degrees. Numbers game     •     Only 24.9% of today’s 3 million public school teachers are male; only 9% of them are in elementary schools.     •     The teaching profession is overwhelmingly white (90%) compared to the diverse student body (40.5% minority). (In California, those numbers are 72.1% and 68%, respectively.)     •     In California, 13% of new hires leave after their first or second year; 22% change professions after year four.     •     Roughly one-quarter of the state’s 20,000 new teachers hired each year replace newly hired teachers who have left.     •     If the rate of teachers leaving in their first seven years were cut in half, the need for new teachers each year would drop to 17,500 from 20,000. Ongoing teacher education programs, as well as compensation, help with retention. Sources: National Education Association; “Retention of New Teachers in California,” by Public Policy Institute; EdSource About those salaries In Orange County, starting teacher salaries start as low as $33,811, topping out at $84,269 after 20 or more years at one school district. The average national starting salary is $31,704, according to the National Education Association. The average Orange County teacher makes $63,053 per year, according to statistics from the California Department of Education, School Fiscal Services Division.  Go to: www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/cs/ No Child Left Behind Here is a definition of the 4 1/2-year-old federal act.     •     The long-term requirement is that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2013-14.     •     To reach that goal, California has annual benchmarks that show progress toward this 100% proficiency goal.     •     Schools have to reach a certain test score each year, or improve upon it by one point.  The so-called API, or Academic Performance Index, ranks the performance of a school’s students on state tests administered each May. Those that are ranked low have to improve; those that test high have to excel.     •     No one is excluded. All students, based on ethnicity, poverty, disabilities and status as English learners have to hit annual targets. Source: EdSource Teacher resources So you want to be a teacher. Here are some routes:     •     Orange County Department of Education, 714.966.4236. Website: http://ite.ocde.us/ That is the credential department.     •     California Commission on Teaching Credentialing website: ctc.ca.gov. This site also provides information to alternative paths to a teaching credential.     •     A regional program serving teachers with emergency permits has been set up at Cal State Fullerton called CalStateTEACH.  The program serves Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Imperial counties:  calstateteach.net.     •     Also, at Cal State Fullerton, Center for Careers in Teaching advises and counsels students interested in teaching.  Go to: fullerton.edu/cct.     •     A term you should be familiar with is emergency permits. Teachers on an emergency permit must have a bachelor’s degree and have passed the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) and passed subject area requirements. They have not yet acquired a teaching credential.     •     For data on specific schools and districts in California: ed-data.k12.ca.us     •     For numerous reports on the state of California education: edsource.org     •     One increasing criteria these days is accountability. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has set standards to guide teacher preparation and assessment. They are: engaging and supporting all students in learning; creating and maintaining effective environments; understanding and organizing subject matter; planning instruction and designing learning experiences; assessing learning. Sources: Includes EdSource California funding Here is how the system works, in simplified form.     •     Some 6.2 million students attend California’s public schools at an annual cost of about $58.9 billion.     •     Some 58% of funds come from the state – business taxes, sales taxes and special taxes.     •     21.9% come from property taxes; the Legislature and governor decide how much property tax to allocate to K-12 schools.     •     12% comes from the federal government.     •     Less than 2% comes from the California Lottery.     •     A school district is funded based on enrollment (ADA, or average daily attendance); general purpose money (its revenue limit); and additional support (categorical aid, such as special education and reduced classrooms. There are more than 85 categorial programs swallowing more than one-third of most districts’ funds. Examples are required funding for special education, class-size reduction, and Title I support for students living in poverty). Source: EdSource, an independent education resource (edsource.org)

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