Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/19/2023 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Teachers Like Us, Strategies for Increasing Educator Diversity in Public Schools | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 19, 2023
3:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Löki Tobin, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Jesse Bjorkman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): TEACHERS LIKE US~ STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING
EDUCATOR DIVERSITY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LYNN OLSON, Senior Fellow
FutureED
Georgetown, Washington D.C.
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the presentation Teachers Like Us.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:50 PM
CHAIR LÖKI TOBIN called the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Gray-Jackson, Bjorkman, and Chair Tobin. Senators Kiehl
and Stevens arrived thereafter.
^PRESENTATION(S): TEACHERS LIKE US, STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING
EDUCATOR DIVERSITY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PRESENTATION(S):
TEACHERS LIKE US, STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING
EDUCATOR DIVERSITY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
3:32:43 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of the presentation
Teachers Like Us.
3:32:48 PM
LYNN OLSON, Senior Fellow, FutureED, Georgetown, Washington
D.C., said FutureEd is a solution-oriented education think tank
at Georgetown University. The organization is dedicated to
independent analysis and innovative ideas for enhancing grades
K-12 and higher education. She mentioned that the report she was
going to discuss had examined barriers and opportunities for
increasing teacher diversity across various states. Several
studies had demonstrated that when students of color had
teachers of color, there were improvements in attendance,
reductions in disciplinary issues, increases in academic
achievement, higher high school graduation rates, and greater
college enrollment rates. She emphasized that teachers of color
had a positive impact on all students, enhancing their sense of
self-efficacy and their attitudes toward race.
3:33:50 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 2 and stated data from the report
indicated that students of color made up over 50 percent of the
student population, but 80 percent of the teachers were white.
This resulted in a situation where, in many states, the majority
of students were attending schools and districts that did not
have any teachers of color on staff.
3:34:18 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 3 and explained that teachers
recognized the significance of racial diversity in the nation's
schools. She referred to results from a national survey
conducted by the RAND Corporation on behalf of FutureEd, which
revealed that 81 percent of K-12 teachers considered it
important for students to be taught by teachers from diverse
racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 79 percent believed it was
important to have colleagues from diverse backgrounds. However,
only 58 percent of respondents believed their school district
was committed to promoting racial and ethnic diversity. She
emphasized the need to consider every step of the teacher
recruitment process, acknowledging that there was no one-size-
fits-all solution and that addressing issues at various stages
of the pipeline was essential.
3:35:18 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 4 and said numerous factors contribute
to the underrepresentation of teachers of color in public
schools, such as:
Disparities in high school graduation,
College enrollment
College completion
Educator preparation programs
These factors then extend to:
Hiring practices
Job placements
Job retention
Many students of color receive lower-quality education compared
to their white peers, resulting in reduced achievement and lower
graduation and college attendance rates. The high cost of
college and financial disincentives for entering teaching,
especially when compared to more lucrative professions,
discourage individuals from pursuing teaching careers. Black and
Latino teachers often rely more on federal student loans, accrue
higher loan debt, and face greater challenges in loan repayment,
making teaching less appealing as a profession.
Furthermore, colleges of education, where most teachers are
trained, are predominantly white. A study by the American
Association of Colleges of Teacher Education found a significant
diversity gap in teacher preparation programs, with only 28
percent of graduates being people of color in 2022.
Additionally, a national report by The New Teacher Project
(TNTP) revealed a substantial diversity gap when comparing the
racial and ethnic makeup of students, teachers, and colleges of
education to the population of public school students in each
state. This gap exceeded 10 percentage points in forty-three
states.
3:37:13 PM
MS. OLSON stated that even when students of color graduate with
teaching degrees, they encounter challenges. They tend to have a
higher failure rate on state teacher licensure exams compared to
their white peers. Additionally, they may face bias and
discrimination in hiring practices and on the job. Teachers of
color are often placed in under-resourced schools with high
concentrations of low-income and minority students. These
schools struggle to attract and retain teachers, leading to a
disproportionately high number of novice teachers and higher
attrition rates. Consequently, teachers of color are more likely
to leave the profession at higher rates than their white
counterparts.
3:38:17 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 5 and explained the distinctions
between "movers" (teachers who change schools) and "leavers"
(teachers who leave the profession altogether). She pointed out
that Black and Latino teachers were more likely to switch
schools or exit the profession compared to white teachers. This
observation underscored the need to address not only the
recruitment of teachers of color but also their working
conditions, opportunities for career advancement, and strategies
for retaining them in the teaching profession.
3:38:51 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 6 and discussed the various solutions
to the challenge of diversifying the nation's teaching force.
She mentioned that in the FutureEd report strategies adopted by
states between 2018 and 2022 to promote teacher diversity were
examined. She emphasized the importance of each state gathering
accurate and transparent data about the scope of its problem.
Having clear data enables states, districts, and schools to set
specific goals and benchmarks to track progress. For instance,
Massachusetts publicly shared data on the racial demographics of
the educator workforce on its website and enacted legislation
requiring measurable diversity goals to be set.
She said Tennessee was recognized as a leader in setting
measurable targets for increasing the number of teachers of
color. The state required districts to establish goals and
strategies for increasing teacher diversity, submit these plans
to the State Department of Education, and provide annual reports
on their progress. Additionally, the state's Educator
Preparation Report Card evaluated teacher preparation programs
based in part on the percentage of program graduates who were
people of color.
3:40:41 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 7 and pointed out that addressing the
high cost of attending college and earning a teacher education
degree is crucial to overcome barriers in recruiting teachers of
color and first-generation college students into the teaching
profession. To tackle this issue, both federal and state
governments have introduced service scholarships, grants, and
loan forgiveness programs that alleviate tuition expenses in
exchange for teachers committing to serve in high-need schools
or hard-to-staff subjects for several years. FutureEd's analysis
revealed that 18 states enacted legislation between 2018 and
2022 to provide financial incentives for teachers of color. Six
of these states specifically allocated funds for loan
forgiveness or mortgage assistance, while the majority offered
scholarships and financial assistance programs to mitigate the
costs associated with becoming a teacher. Some states offered
multiple financial incentives to support teacher diversity.
3:41:49 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 8 and said many states are also
interested in Grow Your Own programs to try to increase the
diversity of the teacher profession, particularly considering
the strong competition for the limited supply of existing
teachers of color. These programs aim to create a local talent
pipeline by recruiting prospective teachers of color from the
community, including high school students, paraprofessionals,
after-school staff, and other community members. In exchange for
preparing to become teachers, candidates typically receive
financial, programmatic, and curriculum support and commit to
working in the community after earning their teaching license.
According to the FutureEd analysis, at least 21 states have
passed laws in the past five years that explicitly allow,
establish, or fund Grow Your Own programs, with approximately
half of these states specifying the goal of increasing
diversity. As an example, California's classified school
employee teacher credentialing program offers financial support
of up to $4,000 per year for up to five years to school staff,
such as paraprofessionals, to earn a bachelor's degree and
teaching credential. Since receiving funding in 2016, the
program has assisted over 2,000 classified employees in becoming
teachers, with nearly half of them being Latino.
3:43:20 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 9 and said states have also begun
investing in teacher residency programs, often considered the
gold standard in teacher preparation. Modeled after medical
residencies, the intensive clinical preparation provides
candidates on the job training under the mentorship of a master
teacher while also doing coursework. Teacher residents are
typically compensated during their yearlong internship, making
the programs more accessible to students who cannot afford to
entirely leave the labor market while attending school.
Residencies attract and retain more teachers of color. About 49
percent of residents are people of color, more closely mirroring
the student population. A challenge of the model is
affordability. Texas used some of its Elementary and Secondary
School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to provide grants to
districts to partner with teacher preparation programs to offer
residency models. The districts are considering having residents
work as substitute teachers or tutors to then funnel money back
into the residency program. Some districts are using the money
from existing teacher vacancies to explore teacher leadership
models. Residents provide release time for highly skilled
teachers to support other student teachers. The salary from the
vacant position is then spread across multiple residency
stipends. Through the US Department of Labor, registered teacher
apprenticeships are now eligible for federal funding, which
covers the expenses of job training, wages, transportation, and
childcare. Industry recognized apprentices must pay at least
federal, state, or local minimum wage and participate in
structured work experience under the guidance of a mentor with
related instruction. Tennessee won approval of its K-12 teaching
apprenticeship model from the US Department of Labor in 2021.
Eleven states are seeking recognition for apprenticeship models.
3:46:26 PM
MS. OLSON turned to slide 10 and discussed the various
strategies that states can implement to diversify their teaching
force, highlighting the success story of the Highline School
District in Washington state. The Highline School District,
which enrolls over 18,700 students, with over half being Black
or Latino, significantly improved teacher diversity through
strategic recruitment, hiring, and placement. Over the years, it
increased its new hires of color from 12 percent in 2014-2015 to
35.7 percent by 2022-2023, resulting in 26 percent of the
district's teachers being people of color.
Highline's diversity initiative featured several components,
including offering earlier placements and hiring dates for
schools looking to diversify their teaching staff. It began by
scheduling early, providing specialized staff to work with
school principals on their hiring plans, and changing its
interview process to ensure fairness.
MS. OLSON recapped several of the avenues for states to consider
when aiming to diversify the teaching workforce. The first
strategy involves creating actionable data, goals, and targets
to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue's scope and
the areas where state efforts are most needed. In addition to
quantitative data, states can conduct surveys on teacher working
conditions and utilize focus groups to gain insights into why
potential candidates may not enter the teaching profession or
why teachers of color leave it.
Another strategy is to start early by funding programs that
initiate outreach to students of color as early as middle and
high school. This includes supporting early colleges of
education, teacher academies, dual enrollment programs, and
"grow your own" initiatives. States can also offer targeted
scholarships and forgiveness programs to cover the costs
associated with attending teacher preparation programs, as well
as provide increased support for minority-serving institutions.
States can expand pathways into teaching that support high-
quality, diverse candidates by investing in "grow your own"
programs, scaling teacher residency programs, and promoting
registered teacher apprenticeships. It's crucial to enhance the
percentage of candidates of color who pass teacher licensing
exams by providing financial support and human resources to
prepare aspiring teachers for these exams. States can also
explore alternative approaches to licensure tests, such as
portfolios, while maintaining high entry standards for the
teaching profession.
MS. OLSON stressed the importance of not only recruiting more
candidates of color into the teaching profession but also
retaining them. This can be achieved by offering leadership
opportunities, establishing career pathways specifically for
teachers of color, and increasing the representation of leaders
of color within the teaching profession.
3:49:45 PM
CHAIR TOBIN acknowledged Senator Stevens and Kiehl arrived.
3:50:01 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said about 50 percent of Alaska's population is
Native and speculated that the number of Native teachers in
Alaska is far less, perhaps 1-2 percent. Alaska is trying to get
more young people to enter the teaching profession. Regarding
the effectiveness of teachers of color on students of color, he
asked whether the teacher and student needed to be of the same
race.
3:50:56 PM
MS. OLSON replied that much of the original research looked at
the effect of black teachers on black students. More recent
studies looked at the effect of teachers from diverse racial and
ethnic backgrounds, not necessarily matching the race and
ethnicity of their students. These studies have discovered
similar findings, possibly due to certain characteristics
identified in a study by David Blazer. Blazer's research, which
involved surveys and classroom observations, revealed that
teachers of color are more likely to believe in the malleability
of student intelligence, invest time in building relationships
with students and families, customize lessons based on
individual student needs, and handle student misbehavior in
constructive ways. This suggests that teacher behavior and
expectations can have a positive impact on all students, not
just those of the same race.
3:52:30 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked how teacher-preparation programs have
impacted student learning and outcomes.
3:52:51 PM
MS. OLSON asserted that, due to the newness of the programs, few
studies have examined the influence of the programs on student
outcomes. Research primarily concentrated on whether the
programs had enhanced the diversity of the teaching workforce
and the duration for which candidates stayed in the profession.
She highlighted that these studies indicated that teachers of
color had a positive impact by improving student achievement,
attendance, and graduation rates while also reducing discipline
issues. Consequently, the programs seemed to hold promise for
students.
3:53:36 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON said she recognized that as a legislator
and a black woman, people who look like her respond to her a bit
differently. Therefore, she can understand how the same is true
with having a teacher in the classroom who looks like the
students.
3:54:14 PM
CHAIR TOBIN stated she could also appreciate the benefits of
racial diversity in the teaching profession. She stated she had
a question regarding page two of the report, specifically the
reference to a study discussing the impact equivalence of
teacher race and reduced class size on student learning. She
requested Ms. Olson elaborate on the similarities between the
two different approaches.
3:55:08 PM
MS. OLSON replied that reducing class size is an expensive
strategy to improve student learning outcomes, especially when
it needs to occur on a large scale. Research shows that quality
of instruction and who teaches is important to student learning.
Findings suggest that teacher characteristics, including race
and diversity, should be considered part of the teacher quality
equation. Seth Gershenson, an economist from American
University, asserted that when evaluating teaching quality,
administrators should not view teacher diversity as a separate
or competing goal. Instead, they should consider a teacher's
race as one of the measures of teacher quality, alongside more
conventional criteria like years of teaching experience and
demonstrated performance.
3:56:38 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said state teacher retention working group
recommendations include leadership. She asked Ms. Olson if any
research she evaluated addressed how having superintendents,
support staff, and principals of color working for schools might
improve education outcomes.
3:57:01 PM
MS. OLSON replied there have been studies on the importance of
color in school leadership. The studies show that teachers of
color are more likely to be hired by school leaders of color and
experience a more favorable work environment. It is crucial to
consider race not only for teachers but also school and district
leadership. Surveys and discussions with teachers, especially
teachers of color, emphasize the significance of career pathways
to retain them in the profession. They highly prioritize strong
professional development opportunities and clear career paths,
which could facilitate their progression into leadership roles
if they so desired.
3:58:11 PM
CHAIR TOBIN mentioned that the FutureEd report discussed various
high school training programs and the concept of establishing an
early pipeline for students to become educators. She asked Ms.
Olson to share examples from the report and suggest ways to
inspire young people to pursue education as a career.
3:58:31 PM
MS. OLSON replied that early intervention, particularly in
relation to students of color, is important She stressed the
significance of introducing the idea of teaching as a viable
career option as early as middle or high school to make it clear
that a career in education is attainable. She mentioned specific
programs such as the Center for Black Development. She mentioned
two programs in Washington state that promote early exposure to
teaching. One helped create teacher academies tailored to local
needs and the other aimed at recruiting bilingual high school
students. She also touched upon other early exposure avenues to
teaching, such as dual enrollment programs, early career high
schools, Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-
TECH), and future teacher clubs, which collectively provide
students with opportunities to explore teaching as a career
choice.
4:01:10 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked whether FutureEd saw improvement in
teacher diversification since 2020.
4:01:28 PM
Ms. Olson responded that the most significant progress was
observed in the number of Latinos entering the teaching
profession. Although some headway was being made, a substantial
gap persisted, partly because of the rapidly changing student
population. [Inaudible]. Action would be needed on multiple
fronts to change the trajectory all along the pipeline.
4:02:26 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said the February 2023 report Teachers Like Us has
great examples of states working to support teacher pipelines.
4:03:42 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Tobin adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting at 4:03 pm.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| FutureEd Report - Teachers Like Us 04.01.2023.pdf |
SEDC 4/19/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| Lynn Olson Presentation 04.18.2023.pdf |
SEDC 4/19/2023 3:30:00 PM |