EDUCATION

Study: Indiana ranks among lowest for teacher recruitment, retention

Chelsea Schneider
Chelsea.Schneider@indystar.com
Wayne Township Schools Superintendent Jeff Butts

Indiana ranks among the lowest states for teacher recruitment and retention, according to a new nationwide study that anticipates a growing shortage of educators as fewer people enter the profession and demand grows.

In Indiana, more than a quarter of teachers say standardized testing makes them worried about job security — the highest proportion in the nation. Hoosier educators also earn starting salaries lower than the national average but face among the largest class sizes.

Those factors led to the state’s low rating for attracting professionals to the classroom in a report released this week by the Learning Policy Institute. Indiana scored a 2.17 out of a possible 5 points in a review of educator data, including teacher compensation and working conditions. Just three states, Arizona, Texas and Colorado, and the District of Columbia received lower scores.

Schools struggling to fill their classrooms with educators is a hot topic in Indiana, though many proposed solutions failed during the past legislative session.

Now it’s becoming a theme in this year’s race for governor.

Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, the Republican candidate, told IndyStar the state should offer incentives for high-performing teachers to stay in the classroom.

“First and foremost, we must treat teachers as professionals and as role models, as they were for me, then equip them with the resources they need to succeed,” Holcomb said in a statement. "We also need to ensure teachers are a part of the conversation and have a seat at the table. Educators know what is best for their schools.”

His Democratic opponent, John Gregg, also has spoken of a recruitment strategy, with the first step of giving “back to teachers a seat at the policy making table,” according to his campaign website.

The study by the Learning Policy Institute offers a stark outlook.

The report notes that enrollment in teacher preparation programs has declined 35 percent across the country over the past five years, forcing school districts to hire more teachers on temporary credentials.

Even as fewer people are entering the profession, demand for teachers is growing. School districts are working to reduce class sizes, but higher enrollments and an 8 percent attrition rate are complicating that goal, according to the report.

That means the shortage could persist and might even get worse, the report found.

Nationally, an estimated 60,000 positions went unfilled for the 2015-16 school year, and projections show that widening to 112,000 spots by 2018.

Wayne Township Schools Superintendent Jeff Butts said it’s a sign of Indiana’s aggressive approach to adopting education reforms, including tying teacher pay to student performance on standardized tests.

“The fact remains we across the state are struggling to recruit teachers into the profession and make sure spots are filled when the school year begins,” Butts said. “We made teaching not very attractive to go into as a profession.”

The report recommends that states should adopt policies leading to more competitive pay for teachers or create other incentives such as mortgage guarantees and child care supports. Other ideas include offering subsidies to train teachers in subjects where shortages exist, such as math, science and special education. On the national level, the report also calls for more support for teacher mobility and pension portability.

“The teacher shortage provides an opportunity for the United States to take a long-term approach to a comprehensive and systematic set of solutions to build a strong teaching profession,” according to the report. “Although these proposals have a price tag, they could ultimately save far more than they would cost.”

Last year, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz developed a 49-member commission to identify strategies to attract more educators into Hoosier classrooms. However, the group’s proposals, including a call to permanently reduce the influence of test scores on the annual evaluations of teachers,  died this past legislative session.

Mounting pressure by the Indiana State Teachers Association helped stop a plan that would have allowed superintendents to offer extra pay, outside of a district’s collective bargaining agreement, to attract or retain teachers.

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Ritz remains focused on the work product of her commission, despite inaction by the legislature, said Annie Mansfield, a spokeswoman for the schools chief's re-election campaign.

“Politics has unfortunately entered our classrooms once again,” Mansfield said, “but Superintendent Ritz will continue to find other means to carry out these recommendations from the bipartisan commission, working with any stakeholders who will take the teacher shortage seriously.”

Ritz has criticized one strategy to recruit teachers that was signed into law this year. Lawmakers set up a $10 million scholarship fund for prospective teachers, a move that earned nearly unanimous support in the House and Senate, but one that Ritz called “political showboating.”

Her Republican opponent, Jennifer McCormick, said state leaders need to focus on teacher compensation and professional development opportunities.

“We need to pay attention and focus on educator development,” said McCormick, who is superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools. “That has to be a big priority.”

McCormick said she agrees with Butts from Wayne Township that education reforms played a role in the state experiencing issues with attracting and retaining teachers.

“The messaging during some of that reform was pretty aggressive, and the pace was very difficult on a lot of stakeholders,” McCormick said.

The state should now focus, she said, on the question of “where do we go from here?”

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.

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Indiana’s ranking

The study by the Learning Policy Institute rated states on factors that could influence teacher recruitment and retention. The higher the score, the better the recruitment and retention environment.

The worst states

Arizona: 1.5

District of Columbia 1.91

Texas and Colorado: 2

Indiana 2.17

Maryland, Mississippi and New Mexico: 2.18

The best states

Oregon: 4.09

Wyoming: 4

Pennsylvania: 3.92

Vermont and South Dakota: 3.82

Alaska: 3.73

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