Proposed California laws could remove hurdles to becoming a teacher | EdSource

Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

California teacher candidates would get paid while student teaching, and the state would begin a public relations campaign to recruit new teachers to the profession, if two new bills pass the Legislature and are signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bills are among a raft of legislation that lawmakers are considering during the 2023-24 legislative session to make it easier for people to become teachers.

Before earning a credential, California teachers are required to complete 600 hours of student teaching. The lack of pay for this work has long been considered a major roadblock for teacher candidates, who must still pay tuition, for books and supplies plus other living expenses, while completing student teaching and taking teacher preparation courses.

Source: Proposed California laws could remove hurdles to becoming a teacher | EdSource

State eases testing requirements for teachers | CalSchoolNews.org

Aspiring teachers are no longer required to take the California Basic Skills Test (CBEST) or the California Subject Matter Exams for Teachers (CSET) to earn their credential.

The relaxed rules, which were part of the new state budget, are “a game changer” for many teacher candidates who have been excluded by the test requirements, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Executive Director Mary Vixie Sandy said.

“These tests are meant to accurately measure readiness to begin teacher preparation, not to be a barrier that keeps potentially great teachers from learning to teach,” Sandy said. “We are eager to move forward with this shift in state policy. As alternatives to high-stakes testing these measures will right-size the role of testing and allow a broader and more diverse array of people to make a career out of teaching.”

Source: State eases testing requirements for teachers | CalSchoolNews.org

Customized microcredential programs benefit rural schools with convenient PD options | Education Dive

By Shawna De La Rosa

Microcredential PD programs are gaining popularity as more districts implement them for teachers to select, learn and demonstrate their strengths and skills. While not a substitute for more robust professional learning, these programs can be tailored to any aspect of the career — from learning to work with parents to gaining skills for leadership roles — where an educator needs or wants to improve.

That added personalization allows more ownership in professional learning, while also providing convenient access for teachers who would otherwise have to travel great distances for personalized opportunities based on their career interests.

Source: Customized microcredential programs benefit rural schools with convenient PD options | Education Dive

Solano group offers scholarships for those who seek teaching credentials – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Scholarships are available through the C. Shirley Michel Scholarship Fund to Solano County residents who have bachelor’s degrees and are seeking California teaching credentials at accredited universities.

The scholarships are administered by Division 24 of the California Retired Teachers Association. Nine $2,500 scholarships were awarded last year.

Source: Solano group offers scholarships for those who seek teaching credentials

Big changes in requirements to become a special education teacher in California | EdSource

By John Fensterwald

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is making big changes in how special education teachers will be trained, adding core courses and an assessment already mandated for general classroom teachers.

Commissioners view the overhaul of preparation requirements as critical to improve the education of the state’s roughly 740,000 students with disabilities and predict the changes could be transformative: More students with disabilities will be identified and served earlier, taught more effectively and “mainstreamed” more often in classrooms serving all students.

Though four years, several reports and iterations in the making, the commission’s most recent decision came one day after the state released data showing that students with disabilities did worse than other student groups in California on multiple indicators of achievement. Two-thirds of the 228 districts that will receive assistance from county offices of education were designated because of the poor performance of students receiving special education services.

Source: Big changes in requirements to become a special education teacher in California | EdSource

Alternative certification can help more people become teachers | EdSource

By Shia Smith

For a long time I did not know exactly what job I wanted, but I knew I had a passion for helping the voiceless.

I worked as a faculty research assistant for the Oregon Water Resources Research Center, led professional workshops for Dell Computer Corporation, became a mentor for young people through the the Austin Writers’ League’s writing and poetry workshops and was a part‐time teaching artist with the Theatre Action Project.

I finally settled on being a creative writer at Compass Learning, where I worked with a team of teachers, subject-matter experts and programmers to produce innovative educational software designed to support challenged learners in the area of mathematics.

via Alternative certification can help more people become teachers | EdSource.

Enrollment in teacher preparation programs plummets | EdSource Today

By Louis Freedberg

Enrollments in teacher preparation programs in California are continuing to decline at a precipitous rate, according to new figures prepared for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

A report for the commission indicates that 26,446 students were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in 2011-12 – a 24 percent reduction from the previous year’s total of 34,838 students. That was by far the biggest decline recorded over the past decade, during which enrollments have steadily dropped. Enrollments have declined by 66 percent from a decade earlier, when 77,700 students were enrolled.

via Enrollment in teacher preparation programs plummets | EdSource Today.

California should embrace new national teacher preparation standards | EdSource Today

By Benjamin Riley / commentary

Are we finally about to get serious about improving the professional training of school teachers and principals in this country? And will California be a leader or laggard in this effort?

Earlier this week, a special blue-ribbon commission convened by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) – the new national accreditation organization – issued its final report with recommendations for dramatically different standards for accrediting teacher-preparation programs. These new standards, if adopted by CAEP as is expected, will shift the accreditation process from one that is largely input-based to one that focuses on outcomes.

via California should embrace new national teacher preparation standards | EdSource Today.

Task force recommends including mental health training in teacher credential | EdSource Today

By 

Sweeping national reforms in children’s mental health care have yet to materialize in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, but a group of high-profile educators and policy analysts in California is mapping a plan to transform student mental health services in the state.

Tens of thousands of students with emotional disorders, including clinical depression, chronic anxiety and post-traumatic stress, sit in California classrooms each year, posing a widespread challenge to teachers’ and administrators’ efforts to improve academic outcomes.

Task force recommends including mental health training in teacher credential | EdSource Today.

Stronger teacher preparation needed to improve schools – Viewpoints – The Sacramento Bee

By Gloria Romero

We Californians like to think our state is the national leader in policy change and innovation, that new ideas are born here and other states follow our lead.

In one area, I am sad to say, that is not the case.

California is short-selling too many of its public school students because of education programs that inadequately prepare the next generation of teachers. A new review from the National Council on Teacher Quality that evaluates educational institutions, state by state, produced some sobering results for anyone who cares about what’s going on inside California schools of education.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/19/5507121/viewpoints-stronger-teacher-preparation.html#mi_rss=Opinion#storylink=cpy

Viewpoints: Stronger teacher preparation needed to improve schools – Viewpoints – The Sacramento Bee.

National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed | EdSource Today

By 

This week, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) issued a report, NCTQ Teacher Prep Review. Billed as a consumer’s guide, the report rates teacher preparation programs on a list of criteria ranging from selection and content preparation to coursework and student teaching aimed at the development of teaching skills. While the report appropriately focuses on these aspects of teacher education, it does not, unfortunately, accurately reflect the work of teacher education programs in California or nationally.

National Council on Teacher Quality report is deeply flawed | EdSource Today.

Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate | EdSource Today

By 

California’s teacher training programs were excoriated as among the worst in a nation of poor-quality programs in a report released Tuesday, immediately sparking a debate about the validity of the report’s methodology and findings.

Nearly every teacher preparation program in California, at both public and private colleges and universities, received poor ratings in the report, which was issued by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit. The report was published as a new educational rating category by U.S. News & World Report, which publishes widely followed rating lists whose methodologies have been criticized by some educators.

Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate | EdSource Today.