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Schools Struggle to Meet Deadline

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Joshua Palmer, The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho

Apr. 13--TWIN FALLS -- It's something school administrators in Magic Valley have already known: some schools will not meet the federal deadline for highly qualified teachers.

Although President Bush and Congress have promised parents that 100 percent of core classes will have highly qualified teachers by the end of the school year, it has proven to be a more difficult task than federal and state lawmakers anticipated.

By May 15, states will know where they stand and whether they will lose federal aid, which is the government's only real enforcement tool.

Marilyn Howard, Idaho state superintendent of public instruction, said one of the difficulties is that the federal government still has not specifically identified "highly qualified."

"It can be difficult for schools as everyone gets started down the pathway of what the federal government says it wants," Howard said. "Then all of a sudden it comes to a certain point where they say we need to do something different."

Thirty-three states, including Idaho, say 90 percent to 99 percent of their main classes have teachers who are highly qualified. According to the No Child Left Behind law, those teachers have a bachelor's degree, a state license and proven competency in every subject they teach. But most of the other states put their numbers a tier below -- 70 percent to 89 percent -- and a few are even farther behind, according to a review of new state data by The Associated Press.

The accuracy of those accounts is now under review by the Education Department, which is checking not just total numbers but also the figures within poor and struggling schools.

"I know there is a shortage in many positions," said Jim Cobble, superintendent of the Jerome School District. "I think it's because many federal regulations are designed for specific situations, but they are not practical when applied to the rest of the nation."

With few states, if any, expected to reach full compliance on time, the department plans to allow an extra year to states that have shown a good-faith effort. Others could lose millions of dollars in aid if federal officials don't see enough progress.

"Except for one area, we will meet those standards," said Mel Wiseman, superintendent of the Shoshone School District. "But we have a teacher who we think can serve well in that position, so we will work towards a good-faith agreement where the teacher can work towards the education requirements to be considered highly qualified."

He said the most significant challenge to Idaho is its lower-than-average pay scale for teachers.

"My personal opinion is that we're going to have to look at a raise in pay to compete with other states like Wyoming and Nevada that pay significantly more," Wiseman said. "For example, just recently there was a career fair for teachers in Pocatello, and Clark County (Nevada) was there looking for teachers."

Skepticism remains over whether states have inflated their quality numbers by setting easy standards for veteran teachers. Some states have allowed teachers to qualify based on conferences attended, awards won, years taught and other accumulated experience.

"It would be unwise to place a lot of stock in these numbers, because we have watched states game this system to make it look like all of their teachers are highly qualified," said Ross Wiener, policy director at The Education Trust, which helped shape the law.

Islas, the department official, said the number of highly qualified teachers is on the rise because states have made serious efforts as the deadline gets close. They have stepped up teacher training, and the federal government has sent teams to the states to help.

There is one reprieve: Teachers in isolated, rural areas have an extra year to qualify.

AP Education Writer Ben Feller contributed to this report.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho

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Source: The Times-News

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