The Senate Higher Education and Education & Youth Committees met jointly Nov. 25 to continue exploring ways to improve educator recruitment and retention. Senate Higher Education Committee Chair Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) stated that the joint committee is likely to hold two additional meetings before releasing a final report.
Below is a link to the full agenda and video footage of the meeting, which begins at the 19:14 mark
Second Joint Meeting Focuses on Educator Preparation Programs |
 Most of the Nov. 25 meeting was dedicated to teacher preparation and certification. In addition to universities, the committee heard from state agencies and numerous school districts. Several common themes emerged across the presentations. Among these is that students in education preparation programs face various hurdles, such as financial burdens due to student teaching and a lack of mentor teachers. |
DECAL Gives Overview of Early Education Workforce
Amy Jacobs, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), provided information on the early education workforce. Overall, 70,000 people are employed in early education in Georgia. Issues such as low pay negatively impact recruitment and retention in this field. Additionally, many childcare providers are small businesses and cannot offer benefits such as healthcare or retirement.
Jacobs described various programs and initiatives DECAL is undertaking to improve retention in the early education workforce. These include pay bonuses and additional adult education and certification opportunities.
Later in the meeting, Jacobs was asked to identify what DECAL needs to improve children’s early education. She replied that additional state funding could help early education workers further their credentials. Additionally, these workers need help affording childcare due to low wages
GOSA Provides Additional Data on Educator Retention
Monica Flamini and Shuyang Wang from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), who presented in a previous joint committee meeting, returned to provide further information on various subjects requested by joint committee members.
The first question they addressed was if there is a difference in educator retention patterns between city and county school districts. GOSA responded that their data does not indicate a consistent difference between city and county districts but also noted they only analyzed a single year. Flamini and Wang then presented data that suggests that superintendent turnover leads to a drop in teacher and leader retention. They also briefly described ways other states account for low-income students in their education funding formulas. GOSA staff noted that Georgia is one of only a few states that does not account for low-income students in its school funding formula.
The GOSA presentation concluded with an overview of scholarly literature demonstrating the strong link between school leadership and teacher retention.
GaPSC Outlines Teacher Certification Pathways
Staff from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) presented the various routes to becoming a Georgia certified educator and the requirements for each route. GaPSC also provided data on educators holding non-traditional certification. At the end of the presentation, GaPSC executive secretary Matt Arthur noted that 15-18% of Georgia students graduating with a degree in education do not enter the field within the state.
Multiple committee members asked the GaPSC to explore ways to be more flexible and creative in awarding teacher certification.
School Districts and Universities Speak on Educator Preparation Programs
Representatives from multiple school districts and universities presented on a variety of educator preparation programs. Represented school districts included Baldwin County and Gwinnett County, while the represented universities included Georgia College & State University, Mercer University, Fort Valley State University, Valdosta State University, and College of Coastal Georgia. Among the programs highlighted were various high school pathway programs, paraprofessional-to-teacher programs, teacher residency programs, and Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs designed for candidates who did not have bachelor's degrees in education. These programs aim to either improve the recruitment of high school students into traditional teacher preparation programs or provide ways to supplement these traditional programs by offering alternative routes for already-working adults.
Several common themes emerged during these presentations. First, it was emphasized that teachers are increasingly unlikely to recommend the education profession to their students. Multiple university presentations noted many of their students struggle financially with student teaching requirements. Additionally, it is often challenging to identify mentor teachers as there is often no financial compensation for teachers taking on this additional workload. Presenters urged legislators to consider ways to provide stipends for both student and mentor teachers
GaDOE Presents on GaRTAP
Bronwyn Ragan-Martin and Heather Finley from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) spoke about the Georgia Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program (GaRTAP), which aims to help more high school students enter teacher apprenticeships. GaRTAP was recently awarded a nearly $4 million grant to help expand the program.