Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
04/06/2018 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB102 | |
| SB188 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 188 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | HB 102 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 188-TEACHERS: BOARD CERTIFICATION INCENTIVES
8:47:59 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced the consideration of SB 188.
8:48:41 AM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of
SB 188, said the bill provides incentives for teachers to become
nationally certified. One of the goals of the Educator
Excellence Committee [for the Department of Education and Early
Development's Alaska Education Challenge] was to triple the
number of nationally certified teachers in Alaska, specifically
in hard-to-staff schools. The studies show that students of
nationally certified teachers do better and the teachers have
lower burnout rates. The fiscal note is modest. Twenty-seven
other states have similar programs. Most of them are
significantly higher than this. Many are $5,000 a year with
$5,000 more for challenging districts. His aide, Elise Sorum-
Birk, researched this and it has good return on the dollars.
8:50:14 AM
ELISE SORUM-BIRK, Intern, Senator Bill Wielechowski, Alaska
State Legislature, presented SB 188 on behalf of the sponsor.
National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are a major asset in
classrooms. Many of the most successful educational systems
around the world focus on and emphasize the professionalism of
their teacher workforce. NBCTs are unique in that they are
challenging themselves to be the best possible educators they
can be. The closely examine their work and observe themselves
scientifically. They are trying to actively better their work.
National Board Certification is provided by the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards. Research throughout the
years has shown this is a good investment for education.
8:51:55 AM
MS. SORUM-BIRK referenced the list of studies about the impact
of NBCTs on pages 8 and 9 of the publication about NBCTs from
the National Conference of State Legislators. A 2015 study from
Washington state indicated that students taught by NBCTs had up
to six weeks of additional learning gains in middle school math
and across the board, NBCTs were statistically more impactful on
student learning outcomes. A 2012 study from the Los Angeles
School District showed that in math, students had up to two
months of learning gains and in language arts, up to one month.
In Florida, a 2012 showed NBCTs were among the top 25 percent of
teachers in their subject area. Evidence also indicates that
NBCTs are less likely to suffer burnout and be retained at
higher rates. NBCTs are found to be more fulfilled in their
work.
8:54:02 AM
MS. SORUM-BIRK said financial support for NBCTs is not a new
idea. Currently, 26 states have financial incentives for NBCTs.
They are proposing a modest number compared to many of those
states. Some school districts in Alaska, including Anchorage and
Kenai, also provide incentives. Washington state implemented
their program in 1999. They now have largest proportion of NBCTs
in the nation. They invest heavily in NBCTs. They provide $5,000
stipends to NBCTs and an additional $5,000 for teachers in low-
income areas. One goal of the Alaska Education Challenge is to
triple the number of NBCTs in the state, especially in hard-to-
staff schools. This could be important in addressing the
difficulty of recruiting and retaining quality teachers in
Alaska.
8:56:09 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked what the prerequisites are for taking the
exam.
8:56:41 AM
MS. SORUM-BIRK responded that it is actually a training process,
not an exam. Candidates must be a certified teacher with three
years of experience to apply for the program.
8:57:06 AM
TARA BIVENS, Representing Self, Jump Start toward National Board
Certification, supported SB 188. The National Board
Certification process can last one to five years. Teachers
complete four components of a peer-reviewed process. One
component is a six-hour exam. The other three are based on work
directly in the classroom. In each of those components they
analyze their work in a very specific, targeted way.
9:00:30 AM
MS. SORUM-BIRK presented the sectional for SB 188.
Section 1:
Sec. 14.20.225. Establishes incentive and stipend payments
for national board certification. Establishes amount for
stipend payment to be paid to eligible teachers by school
district or department. Outlines additional incentives for
teachers in high poverty areas with low performance rates.
Establishes the responsibility of DEED to provide
sufficient funding for these incentives, in addition to
existing state aid, and allows DEED to establish a
procedure for school districts to request stipend funds.
Allows school districts to offer additional incentives.
Provides definitions for "district" and "national board
certification."
9:01:42 AM
Section 2:
Sec. 14.43.550 Establishes a loan program to provide
funding for teachers pursuing national board certification.
Sec. 14.43.555 Describes administration of and eligibility
for the loan program. States that the loan program will be
administered by the Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary
Education. Establishes the award amount, repayment period
and interest of the loan. Establishes the responsibilities
of the commission for oversight of the loan application
process and allocation of loan funds. Establishes
eligibility requirement for the loan program. Outlines
duties of the commission relating to payment and repayment
of the loan. Sec. 14.43.590 Provides definitions for the
terms "department" and "district."
9:02:38 AM
STEVE ATWATER, PhD., Representing Self, supported SB 188. He
said he is the Dean of the University of Alaska Southeast School
of Education, but he was presenting his own views, not an
official position. His support for SB 188 comes from two
perspectives, one from his work on the Alaska Education
Challenge and one from his experience as a teacher and
superintendent in Alaska. While the bill is about supporting
teachers, it is ultimately about improving the K-12 student
learning experience. This bill is one way to do that. The Alaska
Education Challenge was an inclusive process designed to
generate recommendations that would lead to systemic coherence
for the K-12 system. He was part of the committee on Educator
Excellence. Chair Stevens was on that committee, which was
facilitated by Dr. Lisa Parady. They spent a lot of time
reviewing best practices and exploring how to improve and
support teachers. The committee set three goals, including
tripling the number of NBCTs, especially in hard-to-staff
schools, through salary incentives. Alaska has fewer than 200
NBCTs out of more than 8,000 teachers.
DR. ATWATER said that as a superintendent, he noticed that NCBTs
are often the best teachers in a building. The Teacher of the
Year often has this certification. A challenge for teaching is
that the career trajectory, excluding becoming an administrator,
for teachers is limited. This bill provides an incentive to
teachers to take a career step that will rejuvenate their
practice. All NBCTs will claim that their certification process
is the best experience they've ever had. The turnover rate in
Alaska is higher than the national average. NCBTs are more
likely to stay in their schools and in the teaching profession.
He asked them to agree than an incentive for teachers to become
NBCTs is important. Consider the fiscal notes with the
understood benefits of an increase in student learning and
creating a more stable teacher workforce.
9:06:38 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL said the certification process sounds like the
engineering licensure process, where an engineer graduates and
works three years under the supervision of a professional
engineer, receives approval from the supervising engineer, and
then takes an exam to become a professional engineer. The
teacher profession has not gone to that level of certification.
She thinks of the highest performing schools in the world in
Finland, where teachers are highly regarded, the highest
educated people, revered and highly paid. This certification
process is important and long overdue. She asked how does this
fit in with what other countries in the world are doing.
9:08:23 AM
DR. ATWATER answered that the need to establish a hierarchy of
professional development is important. School districts provide
professional development and teachers are required to recertify
with coursework. The process is not as formalized as in other
countries or in other professions. He agrees the formality of
that process would be of benefit to the K-12 system. This bill
would begin to make that happen.
9:09:12 AM
SENATOR BEGICH said he appreciated Dr. Atwater's connection of
the bill to the Alaska Education Challenge. That was the point
of the challenge, to come up with innovative ways to improve
education.
9:10:01 AM
MS. BIVENS said she is a teacher in Anchorage and a candidate
support provider, meaning that she works with teachers across
the state with the certification process. She is 100 percent
certain that this will transform education in Alaska. It has
been proven in other states. She was teaching sixth grade in
Anchorage in 2000 when she was certified. She could not believe
how much the process impacted her as a teacher. She has worked
to get information about National Board Certification out to
other teachers through grass roots advocacy. Alaska has 187
board certified teachers. They need help in boosting this
number. NBCT candidates tend to be involved in wide aspects of
their school communities.
9:13:10 AM
MS. BIVENS said so sometimes teachers have to limit what they
participate in. One thing that helps in making the process
accessible is helping financially. Washington state had 23 NBCTs
when their stipend was introduced in 2000. Now they have 10,000,
18 to 20 percent of their teachers. An incentive makes it easier
to make it a priority when trying to make ends meet. Alaska
needs the next level of advocacy. Grassroots advocacy is
reaching its limits. Teachers pay for their own classes, but
this is not so much about expenses as priority. More people need
to do this. She thought she understood so many things about
teaching, but after the process of analysis and reflective
thinking--something rare because of the lack of time for
teachers---her level of professionalism and confidence was
raised. Her teaching was transformed because of this process and
twenty years later she asks herself the same questions she did
when she went through the process. This will push education
forward in the state. It is affordable. It increases student
learning.
9:19:17 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked about the cost of the process. Multiple
professions in this state require national certification. She
doesn't know that any of them have stipend or loan programs. She
asked if she could justify that by explaining the cost of the
exam.
9:19:46 AM
MS. BIVENS said there are teacher certification programs, of
course. Some universities are moving toward the evidence-based
learning required by the national certification. National
certification is a voluntary system based on national standards.
The cost is $2,500 to $5,000 to go through the process.
9:22:55 AM
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Administrators, supported SB 188. She chaired the Alaska
Education Challenge Educator Excellence Committee. Senator
Stevens, his aide Timothy Lamkin, Dr. Atwater and many other
citizens sat on that committee. The charge was to come up with
something transformative. Of the three recommendations, this
rose to the top. The research is compelling. There is a fiscal
note in tight times, but they need to avail themselves of every
good strategy to assist school districts in a time of shortage
and they are struggling to retain quality staff. This goes
directly to the goals of the Alaska Education Challenge, as well
to the greatest needs in school districts. This is a proven idea
they need to capitalize on.
9:25:21 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked what districts spend on professional
development. She asked if this could be the professional
development, what the funds for professional development could
be used for, and whether every single teacher could be required
to be nationally certified.
9:26:03 AM
ACTING CHAIR COGHILL said that is a broad question that Dr.
Parady wouldn't immediately have the answer to. That is
something they can get back to.
9:26:27 AM
JESSE BJORKMAN, Representing Self, supported SB 188. He said to
speak to Senator Hughes' question, the standards of National
Board Certification could stand in for much of the professional
development programs and strategies that districts are using.
His local school district spends a lot of money on professional
development and targets one or two areas of the five core
propositions that National Board Certification uses. With NEA-
Alaska and other organizations that support National Board
Certification, a large network of support exists for teachers
who wants this. He doesn't know that this certification is for
everyone as it is intensive and requires a lot of effort in
looking at practice that may not be appropriate for everyone,
but it is immensely helpful for multiple teachers in a building
to gain that certification. They can pass on strategies and
methods of pedagogy on to their colleagues. Having a teacher-
based professional development system can transform schools.
They can have a professional development system from the bottom
up, not top down, with more intrinsic teacher buy-in. It is
better use of state dollars than going Outside to hire
consulting firms. They already have the structures to educate
themselves as teachers and pass that information on to
colleagues. That is the most valuable part of National Board
Certification. Being halfway through the in-depth and detailed
process has transformed the way he teaches. It is the best
professional development he's ever had.
ACTING CHAIR COGHILL held SB 188 in committee.