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SPECIAL REPORT | HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS: Too Few Teach Math, Science: Schools Scramble to Fill Positions

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 06:00 CST

By Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press

Feb. 14--By the time James Clark hits the job market in 2007, he'll be a hot commodity. And that's a problem for the Michigan public schools that will likely clamor to hire him.

Clark is a math major, an Eastern Michigan University senior from Adrian who has a passion to teach high school math. That makes him a rarity in a group whose members typically find themselves headed to higher-paying jobs in engineering and other fields, educators say.

But if schools across Michigan are going to meet proposed high school graduation requirements that mandate more math and science classes, they're going to need a lot more people like James Clark.

"I love teaching. It's hard for me to understand why people don't want to teach," Clark said last week.

The reality is that many Michigan schools already struggle to fill math and science jobs. In Holly Area Schools, openings for elementary school positions typically attract 50 to 60 applicants. But when a high school math job opened up in 2005, the district got only 12 applications.

"It's a seller's market," Holly Superintendent Kent Barnes said Monday.

The State Board of Education has proposed standards that would require students to take four years of math and three years of science, and that means more teachers will be needed. President George W. Bush, meanwhile, also wants to find 70,000 new math and science teachers for the nation's schools.

No one knows exactly how many new math and science teachers Michigan will be need to meet the requirements, which still must be approved by the Legislature. But educators said it will almost certainly be difficult to find enough.

Having enough math and science teachers is a national problem, as well: U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in a forum on the White House Web site this month that studies show two-thirds of the nation's math and science teachers are expected to retire by 2010.

Some local districts are already looking at the numbers: If the state requirements are put in place, Macomb County schools, for instance, will need nearly 70 new teachers -- many of them math and science instructors -- in three years, said Gayle Green, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Macomb Intermediate School District.

Districts already compete with one another for staff -- and the ones that fare well are those that can offer top salaries and benefits.

"Financially, we can't compete," Roderick Martin, superintendent for the Tahquamenon Area Schools in Newberry, in the Upper Peninsula, said Monday. "We can't compete with a school system that is willing to pay more to attract the best."

He learned that the hard way last summer when he was trying to recruit an experienced teacher from the Detroit area who was earning nearly $70,000 annually. She agreed to take a pay cut, to $50,000, but even that was too much for the district. She decided to stay in her current job.

District officials in urban and suburban areas also say they'll struggle to compete.

"It's a supply-and-demand situation. The supply will be far outweighed by the demand," Joel Carr, superintendent for Romulus Community Schools, said Monday.

Needed: Incentives, new attitudes

Part of the problem stretches back to the public schools themselves: Educators say K-12 schools aren't producing a lot of high school graduates interested enough in math. And it's difficult to convince those who are that teaching is an option when they can draw higher salaries in careers such as engineering.

"There's an attitude by many that this isn't what you do when you're really good, which is a shame," said Bette Warren, head of the mathematics department at EMU.

In the past, schools had more latitude in filling spots in science and math. A district could have shifted a chemistry teacher to math to fill a need, for instance. But under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, teachers must be highly qualified in the areas they teach.

Warren said colleges and universities need to do a better job of recruiting math experts for teaching. But there are other incentives that could be tried as well: higher salaries for math and science teachers, special scholarships for students who commit to teaching in those areas or loan forgiveness programs designed to spur interest in math and science teaching.

But unions may question any attempt to pay some teachers more than others based on the subjects they teach. Currently, teachers are paid based on seniority.

Margaret Trimer-Hartley, spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Association, which represents school employees statewide, said the organization would have to look at the pros and cons of such a suggestion.

"We recognize we're going to have to do something significant to increase the number of people with science and math backgrounds going into teaching," Trimer-Hartley said Monday.

Some educators, however, say the nation won't produce enough qualified math and science teachers until a culture that discourages students from excelling in those areas changes.

"Americans and American parents tend to be more likely to believe math is an innate talent, versus something that is both important and you can actually learn," Warren said.

No one encouraged William Timmerman to teach math. But it was in the back of his head as he started college at the University of Detroit Mercy, majoring in architecture, he said last week. He liked the classes. And he found himself helping his classmates.

He changed his major and is now a math teacher at Southfield High School.

"I'd rather have, say, not as huge of a house and be happy doing what I enjoy, as opposed to possibly devoting my life to the architecture and not being able to enjoy life," Timmerman said.

Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or higgins@freepress.com.

About this series

The Free Press is examining proposals to strengthen graduation requirements for Michigan high school students.

Currently, the only statewide condition in place is the completion of a civics course.

Today: Finding math, science teachers is not easy.

Monday: What Michiganders think of the proposed requirements. To see the story, go to www.freep.com.

How to contact the legislators

The Senate Education Committee and the House Education Committee are considering separate pieces of legislation that address the proposed Michigan graduation requirements. Here are the names of committee chairs and local legislators on the committees and their contact information.

Senate Education Committee

* Chairman Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, 517-373-6920 or SenWKuipers@senate.michigan.gov

* Vice Chairwoman Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, 517-373-1758 or SenNCassis@senate.michigan.gov

* Minority Vice Chair Irma Clark-Coleman, D-Detroit, 517-373-0990 or SenIClark-Coleman@senate.michigan.gov

* Burton Leland, D-Detroit, 517-373-0994 or SenBLeland@senate.michigan.gov

House Education Committee

* Chair Brian Palmer, R-Romeo, 517-373-0843 or repbrianpalmer@house.mi.gov

* Majority Vice Chair Leslie Mortimer, R-Horton, 517-373-1775 or lesliemortimer@house.mi.gov

* Minority Vice Chair Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, 517-373-0852 or hoon-yunghopgood@house.mi.gov

* Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee, 517-373-1792 or kathyangerer@house.mi.gov

* Robert Gosselin, R-Troy, 517-373-1783 or robertgosselin@house.mi.gov

* Fred Miller, D-Mt. Clemens, 517-373-0159 or fredmiller@house.mi.gov

* Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, 517-373-0847 or ginopolidori@house.mi.gov

* Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, 517-373-0589 or virgilsmith@house.mi.gov

* Aldo Vagnozzi, D-Farmington Hills, 517-373-1793 or aldovagnozzi@house.mi.gov

To find the name of your senator or representative, visit the following Web sites:

* http://senate.michigan.gov/SenatorInfo/find-your-senator.htm

* http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp

You can also contact your legislator by calling the state operator at 517-373-1837, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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