Good Educators and Staff Got Locked Out

Earlier this year the District school system wrote tough new requirements.  Teachers must have a bachelor's degree in precisely the subject they taught.  Surely no-nonsense requirements like these would filter out all but the most highly qualified teachers would be permitted in our school system!

Unfortunately, the new regulations had just the opposite effect:

• Some terrific teachers could no longer teach the subject they'd been most successful with.  Why?  Because their undergraduate degree was in another subject.
• Teachers who once taught two or more subjects could now teach only the subject they got their undergraduate degree in.
• The pool of new teaching talent dried up because now credentials had to match exactly.

For example, an engineer wasn't "qualified" to teach math, nor was a Spanish-speaking math teacher "qualified" to teach even the most elementary Spanish.  Regardless of the teacher's past success, the only option was to go back to school and earn an additional bachelor's degree.

Applicants Rejected Without A Glance

Every school system is competing for "qualified" teachers.  Like DC they too want the best and the brightest.

The requirement that applicants have an undergraduate in precisely the field taught was working against us.  Other schools were casting a wide net for new applicants.  They would let Physics majors demonstrate their skills in Math.  They were even cutting costs by encouraging teachers to demonstrate skills at teaching multiple subjects.

The law of supply and demand had kicked in -- against DC.  And frankly even when the credentials were a perfect match, it's a remarkable candidate who prefers the gritty challenge of teaching in the inner city over the comparative luxury of a position in an affluent suburban community.

A Train Wreck In The Making

You've got the picture now.  The credential rules were turning our schools into a train wreck.  Individual schools had to choose between getting a Math teacher or an Earth Sciences teacher.  Legions of substitute teachers were pushed out of their normal role to somehow make the time to function as full time teachers in core subjects like Math.

What We're Doing to get Back On Track

The fledgling State Board stepped into this mess.  The current regulations had been made with the best intentions.  So it was clear that changing the regulations would need a consensus among parents, real world educators, education scholars, organization experts and the District government.

That's slow and detailed work that has no shortcuts.

But eventually new, more realistic, standards emerged to describe a "qualified" District of Columbia teacher.  Recently the State Board proudly approved new, more sensible, licensing and certification regulations for teachers.  (More about using regulations as tools...).

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