TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Department of Education is working on a plan to ensure equitable access to excellent educators in state classrooms.
Educators in all 50 states were asked to develop an Educator Equity Plan as part of a federal initiative last summer, the Tulsa World reported Sunday (https://bit.ly/1IcPMD8 ). Oklahoma’s plan must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by June 1.
The plan will calculate equity gaps between the rates that minority and impoverished children are taught by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field teachers compared to rates in which other children are taught by those teachers. The plan must also include an analysis of the root cause of these gaps and identify steps to eliminate the gaps and measures to evaluate progress.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure effective teachers in each classroom,” Deputy State Superintendent of Schools Robyn Miller said.
Initial numbers show that Tulsa Public Schools is one of the districts with the highest number of inexperienced teachers, defined as those who have been teaching for less than three years. Nearly 800 of the district’s approximately 2,650 teachers - about 30 percent - have less than three years of experience. In Oklahoma City Public Schools, about 36 percent of teachers - or just more than 1,000 - count as inexperienced.
Other Tulsa-area districts made the list for highest number of inexperienced teachers, including Union at 29 percent and Broken Arrow at 23 percent.
State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said part of the solution will need to focus on retention. Hofmeister said she has learned from higher education representatives that 40 percent of those graduating with education degrees are no longer in the state or in the profession after five years.
“It is something that we must solve by finding a way to plug the hole in the bucket so we can then develop well-experienced professionals through a career in education in our state,” Hofmeister said.
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Information from: Tulsa World, https://www.tulsaworld.com
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