For-Profit, Alternative Teaching Programs Are Booming
DENTON — One afternoon in mid-November, Jeff Arrington scattered 80 paper gingerbread men labeled with numbers across the floor of his high school disaster-response class.
The numbers corresponded with the severity of injuries ranging from burns to hysterical blindness. His students had to categorize the “men” based on the level of medical attention each required.
Arrington, in the middle of his third month of teaching at the Advanced Technology Complex in the Denton Independent School District, has a background well suited to the subject. He was a police officer for six years — he turned in his badge on Sept. 12 and ...
Comments (31)
Rob Dyson
While I am not opposed to allowing people from other occupations to enter the teaching field, the fact that these "For Profit" teacher mills are still producing large numbers of newly certified teachers at this time of hiring freezes and layoffs is irresponsible. Personally, I feel it creates a huge disadvantage for experienced teachers to get hired since they are having to compete with the less expensive first year teachers. This route to teacher certification was easy money for these organizations and it is time for our Legislature to review the necessity of this fast track to teaching. While this strategy might be good for the State since they can find "lower wage" teachers, this was incredibly destructive to the teaching profession.
C Baker
What a well researched and interesting article! Who knew? Thanks for the info.
Ed Fuller
What was left out of this article is that (1) for profits tend to provide less pre-service training, thus are generally less prepared to enter a classroom teacher; (2) teachers from for-profit institutions are more likely to quit teaching; and (3) teachers from for-profit institutions are more likely to teach in high-poverty, high-minority, and low-performing schools.
Thus, Texas allows the least prepared teachers to enter the schools needing the most prepared teachers and allows massive turnover of teachers which research shows has a negative effect on student achievement. Policymakers and legislators in Texas give lip-service to closing the achievement gap, but money and campaign contributions trump the education of poor and minority kids.
The governor and legislators had a room full of research showing that selectivity into programs and clinical experience are both strongly related to producing effective teachers, yet balked when they had a chance to implement both.
C Baker
Why would we want to most experienced teachers to be reserved for teaching third world illegal aliens who have smothered our schools? How can any teacher make a differance when we continue importing people who refuse to learn our language and are all entwined in human trafficking, document fraud and an notion that they are taking back a country that belongs to them...Neither an experienced teacher or a new teacher will ever win this challenge until we secure our borders and deport those who are destroying and bankrupting our education system..
David Spratt
. While I am not opposed to allowing people from other occupations to enter the teaching field, the fact that these "For Profit" teacher mills are still producing large numbers of newly certified teachers at this time of hiring freezes and layoffs is irresponsible. Personally, I feel it creates a huge disadvantage for experienced teachers to get hired since they are having to compete with the less expensive first year teachers. This route to teacher certification was easy money for these organizations and it is time for our Legislature to review the necessity of this fast track to teaching. While this strategy might be good for the State since they can find "lower wage" teachers, this was incredibly destructive to the teaching profession.
Kinda like the turning of the blind eye to the couple of million Illegals that have come and taken many of " the little peoples" jobs, especially in construction? I think it is amusing how fast they cry foul when it is their jobs at stake , and they perceive that a bunch of " carpetbaggers " are coming for their jobs. It was all well and good when the production of Anchor babies produced the need for more teachers, never mind their Illegal parents were displacing American workers who were not having as many children , knowing they could not afford them without Government assistance.
Enjoy , looks like the future has caught up to you quicker than you thought. Now we can move on to the abolition of the Federal Dept of Education.
Tim Collins via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Having started, but not completed, an alternative route certification at one of the University of Texas Campuses, I have to say the quality of the education received left much to be desired. At least one class was run like a diploma mill. For the end of class evaluation I asked who I should write the check to next semester so we could skip the pretend education and I could check off the credits completed
Sheri Alexander via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Texas politicians and business leaders who control this state DO NOT SEE EDUCATION, K -12 OR HIGHER, AS A PRIORITY. I will graduate UT and be a certified teacher and will LEAVE TEXAS and take my new degree, passion, energy and tax dollars to another state that values me and my profession and wants to educate all children accurately and fairly. Texas, I am done with you. Perry and the 82nd leg have made this state an inhospitable environment for those who value education. Parents, you can blame yourself for the good teachers leaving specially if you didn't vote at all or voted republican. I hope this comment is taken seriously because many many other education students are beginning to see my point. We can't get hired no one cares so peace out, we'll go where we're wanted.
Sharon Richard via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Good luck, Sheri. When you find a state without tea party frightened and indebted Repub legislatures, let us all know. It's too late for me as I near retirement, but young teachers deserve to know. I am still afraid that Perry will eke out the national nomination.
Henry Weber via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Good luck Sheri. I think you're going to be moving to other states quite often.
Katie Blackmon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
They are scamming people if they tell them they can find them a teaching job in this economy. HISD, one the biggest school districts in the US, is not hiring.
Katie Blackmon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
In other words: Rip-off.
Tim Tukaram Spotswood via Texas Tribune on Facebook
But here at DISD we do take anyone. I work with teachers that can barely speak English so they teach the kids in total Spanish. We don't prepare the kids for the real world either; we just prepare them for the stupid test. TAKS, TASS, BOAT... whatever they call it this year.
C Baker
By personal knowledge I will say that I have found out that there are teachers being placed in classrooms who are not teaching what we think they are teaching. Many of these schools which are 100% illegal alien students have teachers who are teaching the Mexican version of our Texas History. Teachers who barely speak English and are conducting class in Spanish only so that an American student can not learn at all.
C Baker
Tim, You are absolutely correct.
It should be manditory for a teacher to read and write in English and a requirement that they teach all children in our English Language. This has got to stop and how do we even know if these people aren't using false documents to get into our schools? I've been told that the people who say that they are teachers from Mexico are 100% Communist, and that is what they are spreading into our schools with our tax money paying the bill. Teachers are being fired and displaced while people like this are being put into our schools?? What part of that makes any sense?
Dale-Adell Stokes via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I enrolled last year at Region 14 to get my certification in special ed! I was informed that they were only taking 12 students! Well, on the first day there was over 30 students! On that first day I realized it was a joke and that I wanted to drop out! I was informed they would not refund my initial 1,000.00 deposit! I believe it was better to lose one thousand dollars over five thousand dollars!
C Baker
Dale-Adell, So what you confirming is that in fact what you saw on the first day of this class was a paper mill operation and that's why you withdrew?
Robert David
After reading this article my first thought was that this was another attempt by the K-12 public education establishment in Texas to maintain it's closed mind attitude about anything new and different. (Yes, I have worked in public education and was repulsed by the waste and cronyism.) If the for profit programs are not consistently turning out quality teachers, work with them to address the issues. If someone wants to enter the teaching profession from another profession how do we facilitate this? We want the brightest minds in public education. You do not want the legislature to 'fix' public education. Educators, heal thyself!
C Baker
Robert: Anything new or different is not the problem here....If we don't have the oversite to make sure that these private certification courses are not in fact, currupt paper mills, maybe it's time that we shut this down. It was passed by the legislature at a time when we were in need of more teachers....Or so we were told. That is not the case anymore...
I've seen the product of someone who was certified this way and he shouldn't have been taking care of animals much less children....
James Hadden
Doing substitute teaching is a great winnowing process. If that could be integrated into alternative teaching programs at an early stage, that would be a benefit for all.
As an academic research person in acoustics and a follower of teaching methods in the sciences, I observed that students responded enthusiastically when the fundamentals behind an analytical shortcut were presented, and when (circa 1982) computer-=based demonstrations were offered.
Later, serving as an unqualified instructor in math at a local private school, I found the students were encouraged by the examples I presented of the "future" applications of the techniques they were studying.
Mike Snyder
This is such a thorny issue I don't know where to start, but I suppose establishing my credibility would work. I disliked public school because it was painfully boring, the teachers not very enlightened, critical thinking swallowed by rote learning, classroom control of extreme importance to underpaid control freaks with poor self esteem. I repeated seventh and eighth grades and graduated second from the bottom of my class. I knew my education had ended. Fortunately, a good friend convinced me to try studying at one of our state's (Connecticut) community colleges. I loved it. I transferred to Colorado and earned a degree in photojournalism and worked for newspapers in both Mexico and the United States.
The fun I had, the fulfillment I enjoyed, was challenged by providing for my family so I moved to San Antonio where I eventually decided to use my bilingual skills and challenge myself by becoming what I had always loathed: teachers. I went through the TOPP alternative certification program at region 20 and found it appalling, a disorganized waste of time and energy. I still would like to see some numbers showing how many people finished their program and became successful teachers that remained in the field for at least five years.
From what I witnessed, I would say the attrition rate would far exceed that of teachers certified by the traditional route, having majored in some form of education in college. But even the traditional' route is plagued with problems. When I was in college the major that consistently had the lowest GPA average was Education. And perhaps the worst aspect of "our" educational system in the U.S., and especially Texas, is that many bad teachers don't remain in the classroom for very long - they become even worse administrators.
After reading some of the comments I hope "C Baker" is in no way associated with education. "Third world illegal aliens" and the idea that a "Mexican version" of "our Texas history" is invalid, improper, unacceptable, or flat out wrong makes me chuckle. The broad topic of Imperialism in world history, when intelligently presented without bias or prejudice, doesn't quite agree with "our Texas history."
If "C Baker" has been educated in Texas I can well understand the ignorance displayed, and the comments support the contention that we need a real overhaul of the educational system. Good teachers deserve good administrators, and they deserve much better pay and much better working conditions. After all, they will always have the "C Bakers" to deal with...
Robert David
There are excellent and poor alternative certification programs just as there in the traditional route. We know which programs are better than others. This is the information that needs to get out to all LEAs so that teachers from these programs are not hired and the power of the marketplace is given the opportunity to work. The last thing we need is for the legislature to get involved to 'police' the training of teachers. Educators need to step up and provide the leadership needed in this situation. Do you want something like the State Board of Education? If not, then start contacting the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), etc. These organizations may already have the needed information.
Hey, Texas Tribune, sounds like there is a story here on which programs offer quality training and how well the teachers do in the workplace!
Mike Snyder makes a good point about bad teachers becoming bad administrators.
Alice Taylor
Quote--"Eissler said for-profit programs were no more likely to turn out less-qualified teachers than their nonprofit competitors. “Like anything else,” he said, “there are some that are really good and some that aren’t as good as the others.” He said there is a need for the state to study which programs are getting the best results. Right now, Eissler said, “most of what we know is anecdotal.”
So he's saying THAT HE KNOWS that for-profit programs are NO MORE likely to turn out less-qualifed teacher and in the next breath is saying "Most of what we know is ancecdotal." It looks to me like he doesn't know any more than the rest of us if the companies are producing effective teachers or not. On the lege's part, it's all a guess.
From my point of view, having mentored a teacher who have come in to teaching from one of these programs and who crashed and burned out within weeks, the programs don't do nearly enough to see who is even suited for teaching and if they come in to teaching with the right expectations, much less prepare them for the classroom. Teaching is not as easy as it looks to an outsider, not by a long shot. Good teaching is even harder.
Mike Snyder
I appreciate what Alice Taylor said, maybe because of the years I spent as a student as well as the years I spent as a teacher. It's truly unfortunate there are so few really good teachers.
C Baker
Mike Snyder said:"If "C Baker" has been educated in Texas I can well understand the ignorance displayed"
*****
REALLY?
Ed Fuller
to C Baker: the percentage of students who are immigrants is very small and has been dwindling over the last 10 years. It is down to nearly a round-off error. Students who are enrolled in schools with true bilingual programs actually do very well academically. In fact, Spanish-speaking students who transition out of bilingual programs by the end of the third year actually outperform mono-lingual White students on both the TAKS math and reading tests.
So, enough with the racist talk about illegals ruining the Texas education system. What has ruined it is the lack of attention and investment on the part of the Governor and legislature. Texas ranks in the bottom 10 of states with respect to per pupil funding, even after adjusting for cost of living differences across states. It is just easier for racists to blame illegal immigrants rather than admitting that they don't want to pay taxes to fund a world-class education system.
In fact,, this story (based largely on my data analysis), is another example of how the Governor would rather not spend money on teacher preparation and allow the "invisible hand" of the free market improve the system. The problem is that the invisible hand has created an incentive for for-profit teacher prep programs to produce poorly prepared teachers who quit at high rates so demand stays high. The highest performing countries and states around the world consistently do three things: (1) have very high selectivity in choosing who becomes a teacher, (2) require extended high-quality training programs for teachers, (3) and provide support for beginning teachers. Texas has chosen to do the opposite of the first two and provide only basic support with respect to number 3. Why? Because it is cheaper to allow the current system than to create a world-class teacher preparation system.
Mike Snyder
Thank you, Mr. Fuller. The problem could not have been explained more succinctly.
Mike Snyder
C Baker: Please don't confuse ignorance with stupidity. (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition "lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified.") We are all ignorant of things, but some are more ignorant than others. I apologize if I offended you, but it does appear you are not very well versed in the topic being discussed. And, unfortunately there is a racist overtone to some of your comments that really disqualifies anything you try to contribute about this incredibly important issue. For some reason The Texas Tribune's forums elicit responses that are much more interesting and informative than those of newspapers such as The San Antonio Express-News. It would be nice if it remained that way.
C Baker
Mike&Ed or what ever your name(s) are today, you are so far off in left field. The fact is that Texas can't afford to pay to educate all of children of foreign countries, and why should we? They need to go home to be educated in their own countries.
The result would be plenty of money for our students and teachers who are citizens of this country.
Texas Bookworm
I've taught in the public schools for 15 years. I teach a highly specialized elective course, and my students are at the top of their class for the most part. I have watched this system self destruct before my eyes. I am shocked and apauled that so many people could care less about the state of public education in Texas. It simply is not a high priority to politicians or the general public. Teaching is the laughing stock of professions. My cream of the crop high school students scoff at the idea of becoming a teacher. They would rather be doctors, lawyers, or engineers. Why? Because doctors, lawyers, and engineers are highly paid, and highly respected jobs. Until teaching can match that, don't expect to attract the top high school graduates to the teaching profession. I believe it should be just as difficult to become a teacher as it is to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Why should teaching be the default profession for those who can't get into med school or law school?
Regarding the comments about illegal aliens: I teach in San Antonio where white people are a minority. Honestly, I don't take much notice of the race of my students. It does not affect how I teach them. I teach whoever walks in the door and they get my best regardless of legal status. I have had a couple of students who could not speak English well (both Asian) and they did just fine. I speak Spanish but have never had to use it while teaching here. I don't see the relevance (from a quality of teaching standpoint) of whether a student is legal or illegal. Now, there may be a valid financial argument for illegal aliens, but I hardly believe they are the root of the problem with education. I believe if all of the sudden illegal aliens vanished, we would still have the same problems with our education system.
We cannot blame our broken system on anyone other than the politicians who created it, and the people who voted for it. We need real reform from the ground up, not just band-aids on a gaping wound. Politicians think they can throw a little money at the problem and it will shut people up for a while. Money is not going to help when it is mismanaged. Until we have equitable funding for all public schools and respect for the teaching profession, nothing will improve.
C Baker
Texas Bookworm, I beg to differ as to the quality of education being effected by illegal immigration. Are you saying that if the size of your classroom were reduced by 1/2 that you wouldn't have more time to spend with students who are legally in this country? There is no way to manage a budget when you cannot predict how many more thousands will just appear from foreign countries at any given time to be educated within a certain school district.
Texas Bookworm
C Baker: My class would be devastated if it were half as big. I have 80+ in my largest class and I have no problem teaching them well and keeping discipline tight. I do not teach a traditional class, I teach an elective. I need more students in my classes. However, I know what you are referring to are core curriculum teachers, and I see your point. Unfortunately, our government has a history of pissing on our shoes and telling us it's raining. If illegal aliens all of the sudden disappeared, the government would see that as an opportunity to cut our budget further. We have less students now without all those illegals, so we need less money to operate, right? More teachers would be fired, and class sizes would remain the same at maximum capacity or overcrowded. My point is that the root of the problem in education is not just illegal aliens. Education needs total reform, complete and utter overhaul. It is not just ONE thing making public education falter, and it's a different situation in every school district.
We have department meetings at school all the time to focus on problem solving, and how we can do better by our students. NEVER does a teacher or administrator say "well if it weren't for all those illegals we could actually do our jobs....." Yes, we do need a lower teacher to student ratio, but I'm afraid our government wouldn't allow that even if we did get rid of illegals. The teacher to student raito we need (for regular classes) is about 15 to 1. I don't see that happening.
The government won't even give us the money that is owed to schools by law. Do you think your property taxes are going to public schools? Think again! When politicians say the school districts are receiving more money, they take away money somewhere else so the amount really just stays the same, yet the population keeps growing (even without illegals). School districts are having to sue the government to get the funding they were promised. It's ridiculous!