Riverside Press-Enterprise

Future teacher shortage feared

COLLEGE: The number of people studying for careers in education is in decline statewide, statistics show.

By IMRAN VITTACHI

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Fewer Californians are enrolling in college programs to prepare themselves for school-teaching careers, which means fewer qualified teachers will be available statewide if the trend persists, experts said.

According to the latest report card from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, enrollment in teacher-education programs at public and private universities throughout the state was down for the second consecutive year in 2003-04.

The number of enrolled students was off by almost 9 percent in 2003-04 from the year before.

From a high of 77,705 in the 2001-02 academic year, enrollment fell from 74,203 in 2002-03 to 67,595 in 2003-04, a 9-percent drop, the commission reported. The commission sets state standards for public-school-teacher preparation, licensing and credentialing.

Another indicator of declining interest, according to the commission, was a drop in the number of those taking the state-required California Basic Educational Skills Test. The commission reported that 84,048 people took the test in 2003-04 compared with 129,054 in 2001-02 and 91,950 in 1999-2000.

These trends can only strain the supply of credentialed teachers in the fast-growing Inland region, said college of education program administrators, education officials and observers.

"Definitely, in the high-growth areas of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, we have shortages," said Joan Bissell, associate dean at Cal Poly Pomona's College of Education.

For example, at Cal State San Bernardino, a major recruitment center for regional school districts, enrollment in teacher- education and credentialing programs fell from 3,077 students in 2001-02 to 2,298 in 2003-04.

At Cal Poly Pomona, College of Education enrollment fell from 1,006 students to 757 over the same period, commission data shows.

Bissell said she was "very concerned that we need to increase the number of candidates applying" to Cal Poly programs.

Related:California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

PDF:Report card on California teacher preparation programs

 

Worse Shortage Predicted

One study by an education think tank indicates the teacher shortage will worsen in coming years and could reach more than 50,000 by 2012-13.

Officials at regional universities said they were not surprised by declining enrollments. Many attributed the reduction to a shrinking state education budget and the disappearance of state-subsidized financial incentives for teachers.

"We're still struggling with what's happening at the state level," said Carolyn Eggleston, associate dean at Cal State San Bernardino's College of Education, where officials noted a two-year drop in college enrollment.

Others said that a wide perception of dimming career prospects, combined with an awareness that they have to pass another round of exams -- brought about by the federal No Child Left Behind -- to qualify to become teachers is deterring students from signing up for teacher's ed.

"In a state where we're desperate for teachers who are qualified, we've put a lot of obstacles in their way to becoming qualified," said Mary Crist, dean of the College of Education at Cal Baptist University in Riverside.

Barbara E. Kerr, a Riverside elementary-school teacher and president of the California Teachers Association, agreed it has become harder for prospective teachers to earn credentials.

"If you look at the attacks (on education) made by our governor, the strong emphasis on tests, the fact that the state spends a thousand dollars less per pupil than the national average, and we have (a large) student population, I think all these things are going to make a difference with people deciding if they want to go into the profession," Kerr said.

Patricia Potter, vice president for regional operations at National University, attributed lowered enrollment in its teacher-education programs to the start of the war in Iraq and news then of the state's budgetary crisis.

National University, a private, nonprofit institution based in La Jolla, saw its credentialing-program enrollment dip from 12,869 in 2002-03 school year to 12,212 in 2003-04.

Concern Created

"The headlines all across the state talked about teacher layoffs and this created concern," Potter said. "What happened then is people said, 'Wait a minute, if I'm going to make a choice about a job, I don't want to pick education.'"

Statewide enrollment in teacher education programs swelled to its high of 77,705 in 2001-02, after California committed millions of dollars from the mid-1990s on to reduce the average elementary class size to a student per teacher ratio of 20:1.

However, should the falling enrollment continue on a downward slope, it could strain the state's supply of credentialed teachers. Experts warn this will tighten during the next decade as the baby-boomer generation among California's teacher work-force moves into retirement.

"The gap between teacher supply and demand is expected to widen in future years, peaking in 2012-13 at a shortage of about 52,000 teachers," according to a recent study by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, an education think tank in Santa Cruz, which highlighted a looming crises. "Even if interns are included in the supply of teachers, the gap will remain at 38,000."

Education officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties said their agencies have no way to project how many teachers their respective school districts will need in coming years to absorb demographic growth.

"We know there are going to be less teachers out in the market available to school districts," said Antonio Arredondo Jr., assistant superintendent for personnel at the Riverside County Office of Education.

To solve the problem, local school districts may have to recruit for teachers in other regions, such as Northern California, Arredondo said.

Because of a shortage of teachers credentialed to teach, math, science or special education, districts like Moreno Valley Unified now regularly go out of state to recruits teacher candidates. The district sells itself by enticing prospective recruits on California's climate and by offering them pay packages that are better than those available to teachers in their home states, said Willie Hasson, the district's chief certificated personnel recruiter.

Christine McGrew, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Office of Education, said that the 33 districts it serves have yet to notice effects of lowered enrollment in teacher- education programs.

The districts together with the office aggressively seek out or exchange information on potential recruits through a computerized network called Ed-Join, McGrew said.

"Districts and our office are constantly trying to get the word out about the need for teachers," she said. "Districts do what they can to make potential teacher candidates aware of the merits and rewards of the teaching profession."

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