Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum report offers solutions to improve how Texas' education system recruits, prepares, supports, and retains secondary math and science teachers.
Fort Worth, Texas (PRWEB) February 22, 2012
1. Increase the supply of first-career math and science teachers by expanding recruitment initiatives both in high school and in college.
2. Enhance the preparation of secondary math and science teachers with improved curriculum and on-site learning experiences under the guidance of successful practicing teachers.
3. Improve the quality of district/campus support for first-year teachers using mentors assigned to help them bridge the gap between theory and the real-world challenges facing them in the classroom.
"The report is the result of a five-year review of the experiences of a select group of math and science high school teachers located in four of the fastest-growing sectors of Texas," said Pete Geren, president of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, which established the Richardson Forum in 1990. "This report offers insights into what inspired these men and women to become teachers and what obstacles they encountered during their first five years in the profession. Their experiences, analyzed by Forum scholars and combined with additional research, provide an action plan for improving the quality and quantity of math and science teachers in Texas."
The report can be downloaded at the Sid W. Richardson Foundation's website at http://www.sidrichardson.org/51teachers.
Geren said this was the first time that the Forum had taken such a personal approach to address a problem in the Texas education system. "In an effort to understand what lies behind the alarming statistics regarding the shortage of qualified math and science teachers, the Forum decided to go to the teachers themselves, to understand the problem from their perspective and address the challenge based on their experience and insights," he said. “It is our belief that this report will assist policy-makers, administrators, and practitioners in their efforts to address the shortage of high-performing teachers in these critical subject areas."
Co-chairs of the Forum are Valleau Wilkie, Jr., who established the Forum and retired as head of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation in 2011, and Dr. William E. Reaves, who served as executive director emeritus of CREATE (Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education), a teacher education research consortium of The University of Houston System, The Texas A&M University System, The Texas State University System, and The University of Texas System.
About the Study
The report describes results of a five-year follow-up investigation of the same math and science teachers in Texas high schools who had participated in an original three-year study performed by a team from Region 4 Education Service Center in Houston, Texas. The original study, led by Jo Ann Wheeler and David Eschberger, was titled 50 Texas Mathematics and Science Teachers: Year 3 (2007–2008) Report. The results were published in November 2008.
The Sid W. Richardson Foundation subsequently commissioned TCES & Associates to follow up with those original math and science teachers in the fastest-growing sectors of Texas: Dallas-Fort Worth, Greater Houston, San Antonio-Austin, and South Texas-Rio Grande Valley. With promised anonymity, the teachers shared their personal stories and identified some of the challenges they had encountered during their first five years on the job.
Dr. Linda J. Reaves, vice president of TCES & Associates, Inc., and Dr. William E. Reaves conducted the follow-up study and wrote the report.
About the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum
The Sid W. Richardson Foundation established the Forum to provide a venue for leaders from schools, business, government, universities, and foundations to discuss education reform. The Forum has published seven reports of its discussions and collaborations to bring about positive reform in critical areas such as the growing shortage of qualified math and science teachers, teacher preparation programs, and the ways in which school districts and universities recruit, prepare, support, and reward teachers, principals, and superintendents. The reports are available on the Foundation's website, http://www.sidrichardson.org.
The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve the people of Texas. Grants are made primarily to educational, health, human service, and cultural organizations.
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Bill Lawrence
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