Over the weekend, we learned that the Virgin Islands Board of Education proposed entering into an important Memorandum of Agreement with our Department of Education, which would ultimately allow us to recruit and hire critically needed teachers for the upcoming school year from outside the territory. Prior to this action, the department was not able to honor certifications brought in by candidates from the mainland, which, over the past few months, has forced us to turn away applicants at a time when we could not afford to.
While we thank the board for acting on this proposal, we are also still waiting for them to decide on another request, which would give us the flexibility to hire applicants that may not be fully certified on the condition that they complete all of their remaining requirements within three years while working for the department.
It has been said by some board members that this proposal, which was introduced last month during an emergency meeting requested by the department, shows that we are lowering our standards for teacher certification. I said it then, and I say again, this is not so.
Here is why:
For years, national headlines and international news reports have warned of a burgeoning teacher staffing crisis and the inability to recruit qualified professionals that would fill the critical needs in the classrooms. The crisis has only become more widespread over the years and much like our counterparts in the U.S. proper and overseas, the territory has also been tackling this issue but has less to offer applicants coming from outside – or even inside – that can earn twice as much in salary somewhere else. Additionally, and quite frankly, they don’t have to comply with as many of the certification restrictions imposed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
When the federal “No Child Left Behind Act” was implemented, states and territories went into overdrive trying to figure out how they could realistically get the majority of their workforce to meet the criteria for a “highly qualified teacher.” Like so many other jurisdictions, our Board of Education was tasked with having to recertify so many of those professionals that had already served for decades in the classroom. That’s not the case anymore.
In subsequent years, 45 states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have applied for a waiver from many NCLB’s provisions – from teacher certification and testing requirements to student proficiency targets. And in 2011, further support was received from President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who both understood the need for and granted flexibility to those jurisdictions that simply could not meet all the NCLB mandates.
We, too, are asking for some flexibility – not asking for any changes in the NCLB mandates or the lowering of standards for our teachers – but for changes in the timing of the enforcement of full certification policies, which is in line with what other states allow.
Over the last few years, the department chose to keep trying to meet the NCLB mandates, because we thought we would have a greater shot at meeting our proficiency targets, ensuring that every child was performing at grade level and that they were graduating from high school ready to tackle college or a job.
But we do not have a choice any more, and we have asked the Board of Education to give us some flexibility in the area of certification because we have, over the past few months, turned away individuals who have come in just short of “highly qualified” at the time of application but could meet the requirements through the completion of locally applicable coursework and/or student teaching experiences.
We have always maintained that in order for candidates to move forward in the hiring process, they must have at least a bachelor’s degree, have content area expertise and have passed the Praxis exam. This remains unchanged.
Further, the department is still pushing for full certification, but what we are asking is for the flexibility to hire those individuals that we need – while also mandating that they complete any coursework or teaching requirements they have missing within three years. Testifying at the recent emergency meeting with the Board of Education, our assistant Human Resources director, Nicole Jacobs, explained those applicants would initially sign an offer letter that would make official their commitment to completing the work, which would be required for tenure.
“The Board of Education’s current certification requirements require every course in pedagogy and every course in content area to be completed for initial certification,” Jacobs said. “Other states only require certain initial requirements and then require the rest for recertification.”
Loosening the strings and giving the department more flexibility would immediately allow us to hire critical English, math, reading, art, music, special education, elementary education and social studies teachers – along with individuals that currently serve as substitutes.
And we see this as a proverbial “win-win.” Not only will our students have full-time, qualified care in our classrooms, but we would still be aiming to meet those higher federal mandates by giving our workforce the ability to become highly qualified at their own pace.
Come September, when each school has to sit down and work out solutions to gaps in classroom coverage, we know that our parents will be concerned that their children are not getting the academic attention that they deserve. We understand, and I say again: getting this much needed flexibility from the Board of Education would be a major step toward making things better. It doesn’t mean that we are looking for anything less from our teachers – it just means that we want something more for our children.
Donna Frett-Gregory is the acting commissioner of Education for the territory.
