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.