June 6: Professional Personnel Development

Panelists

• Harold Boger, Math Specialist, LAUSD - District G
• Margaret Gaston, Co-Director, Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning
• Betty Karnette, State Senator
• Arthurlene Towner, Dean of the School of Education and Allied Studies and Professor of Educational Psychology, California State University, Hayward

Discussion Questions

1. What are the most important factors in attracting and retaining experienced and qualified teachers?

   • Are the answers different for teachers in low performing schools?
   • What should the state's role be?

2. How can teaching excellence be assured at postsecondary level?

   • Will the recommendations in the draft Plan help?
   • Are there other essential factors that should be addressed?
   • Is the increasing proportion of temporary faculty an issue in relation to quality teaching and learning? If so, in what ways?

Background for the Discussion

1. In addition to attention to teacher preparation, certification and diversity (Recommendation 4), the draft Master Plan suggests that the state, regional entities, and local school districts should upgrade professional development activities (Recommendation 6) and that the state should provide incentives for the development of career ladders and compensation for teachers to reward exceptional teachers for staying in the classroom (Recommendation 7). Further, Recommendation 5 states that the State should focus more resources and attention on hard-to-staff schools, and 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 suggest providing additional resources to attract and retain the finest educators for schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty. This includes a focus during teacher preparation and professional development on teaching children who bring particular challenges to the learning process, and teaching in urban settings; and providing short-term grant funding to create professional development schools that operate as partnerships between institutions of postsecondary education and low-performing schools. (A number of other recommendations also relate to personnel development, e.g. number 11, on compensation; 18 and 19, on education leaders; and 26, on professional development for effective use of technology.)

2. The draft Plan directs attention to emphasis on teaching skills, as well as academic credentials for college and university faculty (Recommendation 9), and recommends competitive compensation schedules for all professional personnel (Recommendation 11). Further, Recommendation 10 suggests that "The Legislature should direct the California Community Colleges, California State University, and the University of California to adopt policies, within one year of being directed to do so, regarding the appropriate balance of temporary [non-tenured or tenure-track, non-permanent faculty; may be full- or part-time] and permanent/tenure track faculty for their respective systems." Hiring temporary faculty gives institutions flexibility and costs less, but these faculty are typically not involved in key activities of other faculty, such as curriculum development, selection of new faculty, or evaluation of current faculty candidates for tenure/permanent status.

Related Issues

Professional personnel issues are related to many others; the links below lead to pages on this site that give more information in selected areas.

• Accountability
• Equity
• Professional Personnel
• Technology

Working Group Report and Recommendations

Professional Personnel Development was a topic addressed by one of the Working Groups convened by the Joint Committee to develop a Master Plan for Education.

Links

• Report of the Working Group: searchable copy of the report, with recommendations.
• Analysis by Joint Committee Staff: summarizes Working Group recommendations, mentions relationships to reports of other committees, and gives comments including pending questions raised by the recommendations.
• Minority Report
• Public Testimony
  • California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
  • California School Boards Association
  • California State University
  • California Teachers Association
  • California Tomorrow
  • Emmy Gunterman

Results

• High quality teachers for all students.
• A true continuum of teacher development.
• Effective leadership.

Goals Addressed

The Joint Committee charged the Working Group with providing recommendations related to educational personnel to achieve these goals:

• Every student will have the opportunity to learn from a fully qualified teacher or faculty member.
• The state will ensure a sufficient supply of teachers, faculty and administrators with the qualifications necessary to promote student learning.

The Working Group established additional goals of ensuring that (1) students and schools with the greatest challenges have access to the best teachers and administrators, and (2) teacher preparation programs fully train teachers in subject matter and pedagogy. The Group further determined that to meet its goals, it would be essential to establish operational definitions of "teacher quality" and "administrator quality" that would apply to the continuum of careers for those professionals and serve as reference points for the Working Group deliberations and subsequent recommendations.