MONROE - Teachers across Wisconsin will not be required to take additional college credits or complete a professional development plan to maintain their teaching license over their lifetime as part of an overhaul.
The recently passed biennial state budget for 2017-19 includes significant changes to teacher licensure ruacles that took effect recently. As part of the changes, five staff members were cut from the state Department of Public Instruction. Local school districts across the state will now be charged with verifying that teachers in their districts have completed three years of teaching and meet the standard of being an effective teacher.
"I think overall it's a positive step," said Rick Waski, Monroe district administrator. "It puts more local control on the districts to have teachers maintain their license."
Teachers just out of college and those who have less than three years in the same school district will be granted a provisional license for three years. After teaching in the same district for three years, teachers are eligible for a lifetime license.
Educators who have been teaching for five years in the same district will be grandfathered into a lifetime teaching license.
Under the previous teacher licensing system, the initial license was valid for five years. After the initial license phase and three to five years of teaching, educators were eligible to advance to a Professional Educator License that required them to submit a professional development plan.
While teachers won't be required to take courses to renew their license under the new rules, "the (Monroe) district will still have expectations that they grow professionally," Waski said.
He said there will be no additional costs to the Monroe school district for taking on a larger role in teacher recertification. Districts will still have to get final approval from the DPI to recertify teachers.
Judging what constitutes an effective teacher could pose some challenges, but there is a road map in place with the state's Educator Effectiveness model that principals across the state use during teacher evaluations. The Educator Effectiveness plan has 21 criteria and requires teachers to set one professional development goal every year.
"Whether a school district recommends a teacher for a lifetime license will depend on their evaluations," Waski said. "Schools can have teachers focus on district needs and targeted training."
Tom McCarthy, community relations director for the DPI, urges caution about how to measure the effectiveness of a teacher. Is it by higher standardized test scores? Growth on state tests? Graduation rates or students taking Advanced Placement courses or tests? Is it the number of students who move on to attend colleges and technical schools?
"It's too early to tell what the impact will be," McCarthy said. "There is nothing in the law that says they (teachers) have to score an X, Y or Z on their Educator Effectiveness evaluations. Those decisions will be all up to the local districts."
To some administrators, completing a series of steps and requirements isn't the best way to judge teacher effectiveness.
"The DPI was not about the quality of the education," Waski said. "It was about completing steps. The DPI was not able to evaluate the quality of the educator."
Argyle School District Superintendent and Principal Phil Updike said the teacher certification law still has a lot of questions to be answered.
"In my mind, the only way to verify the quality of a teacher for a semester or year is to use that tool," he said, referring to Educator Effectiveness.
Another potential snag could be teachers who move or come from out of state.
"If a teacher starts in a district and moves to another district, how will that be handled?" Updike asked.
McCarthy said the DPI is working on developing a form that school districts could use to complete if an educator teaches several semesters and then moves to another district to teach before fulfilling the six-semester (three-year) requirement for a lifetime license.
Taking additional college credits can still be an option to take a step up on the pay scale in many districts. In the Monroe school district, Waski said for teachers with a bachelor's degree, each six additional college credits would lead to an increase in pay of $1,050 per year. Teachers with a master's degree who complete 12 additional college credits will see an increase in pay of $2,100 per year, he said.
New Glarus School District Superintendent Jennifer Thayer said the district doesn't have many inexperienced teachers so they may not have to deal with as many provisional teaching licenses.
"We tend to hire experienced teachers," Thayer said. "We want our teachers to become better. With the teacher effectiveness system in place, we want our teachers to become the best they can be."
Thayer said principals already use a national level rubric through the Educator Effectiveness model to evaluate teachers on 21 criteria.
Thayer said teachers in New Glarus are observed every year, but veteran teachers receive a more in-depth evaluation every three years where they are required to provide evidence that they are meeting the best teaching practices. New teachers receive an in-depth evaluation for the first three years of their career and then once every three years.
Brodhead school district Superintendent Leonard Lueck doesn't expect the new recertification guidelines to have a major financial effect on the district.
"It's really no extra cost," Lueck said. "We have to monitor their license anyways. It may cut down on some of the paperwork with the professional development plans."
Teachers in Brodhead are observed every year, but Lueck said every three years teachers undergo a more comprehensive summary evaluation.
Teachers in Brodhead get a salary increase for each six college credits they take.
Lueck said the pay increase on the salary scale depends on experience.
The recently passed biennial state budget for 2017-19 includes significant changes to teacher licensure ruacles that took effect recently. As part of the changes, five staff members were cut from the state Department of Public Instruction. Local school districts across the state will now be charged with verifying that teachers in their districts have completed three years of teaching and meet the standard of being an effective teacher.
"I think overall it's a positive step," said Rick Waski, Monroe district administrator. "It puts more local control on the districts to have teachers maintain their license."
Teachers just out of college and those who have less than three years in the same school district will be granted a provisional license for three years. After teaching in the same district for three years, teachers are eligible for a lifetime license.
Educators who have been teaching for five years in the same district will be grandfathered into a lifetime teaching license.
Under the previous teacher licensing system, the initial license was valid for five years. After the initial license phase and three to five years of teaching, educators were eligible to advance to a Professional Educator License that required them to submit a professional development plan.
While teachers won't be required to take courses to renew their license under the new rules, "the (Monroe) district will still have expectations that they grow professionally," Waski said.
He said there will be no additional costs to the Monroe school district for taking on a larger role in teacher recertification. Districts will still have to get final approval from the DPI to recertify teachers.
Judging what constitutes an effective teacher could pose some challenges, but there is a road map in place with the state's Educator Effectiveness model that principals across the state use during teacher evaluations. The Educator Effectiveness plan has 21 criteria and requires teachers to set one professional development goal every year.
"Whether a school district recommends a teacher for a lifetime license will depend on their evaluations," Waski said. "Schools can have teachers focus on district needs and targeted training."
Tom McCarthy, community relations director for the DPI, urges caution about how to measure the effectiveness of a teacher. Is it by higher standardized test scores? Growth on state tests? Graduation rates or students taking Advanced Placement courses or tests? Is it the number of students who move on to attend colleges and technical schools?
"It's too early to tell what the impact will be," McCarthy said. "There is nothing in the law that says they (teachers) have to score an X, Y or Z on their Educator Effectiveness evaluations. Those decisions will be all up to the local districts."
To some administrators, completing a series of steps and requirements isn't the best way to judge teacher effectiveness.
"The DPI was not about the quality of the education," Waski said. "It was about completing steps. The DPI was not able to evaluate the quality of the educator."
Argyle School District Superintendent and Principal Phil Updike said the teacher certification law still has a lot of questions to be answered.
"In my mind, the only way to verify the quality of a teacher for a semester or year is to use that tool," he said, referring to Educator Effectiveness.
Another potential snag could be teachers who move or come from out of state.
"If a teacher starts in a district and moves to another district, how will that be handled?" Updike asked.
McCarthy said the DPI is working on developing a form that school districts could use to complete if an educator teaches several semesters and then moves to another district to teach before fulfilling the six-semester (three-year) requirement for a lifetime license.
Taking additional college credits can still be an option to take a step up on the pay scale in many districts. In the Monroe school district, Waski said for teachers with a bachelor's degree, each six additional college credits would lead to an increase in pay of $1,050 per year. Teachers with a master's degree who complete 12 additional college credits will see an increase in pay of $2,100 per year, he said.
New Glarus School District Superintendent Jennifer Thayer said the district doesn't have many inexperienced teachers so they may not have to deal with as many provisional teaching licenses.
"We tend to hire experienced teachers," Thayer said. "We want our teachers to become better. With the teacher effectiveness system in place, we want our teachers to become the best they can be."
Thayer said principals already use a national level rubric through the Educator Effectiveness model to evaluate teachers on 21 criteria.
Thayer said teachers in New Glarus are observed every year, but veteran teachers receive a more in-depth evaluation every three years where they are required to provide evidence that they are meeting the best teaching practices. New teachers receive an in-depth evaluation for the first three years of their career and then once every three years.
Brodhead school district Superintendent Leonard Lueck doesn't expect the new recertification guidelines to have a major financial effect on the district.
"It's really no extra cost," Lueck said. "We have to monitor their license anyways. It may cut down on some of the paperwork with the professional development plans."
Teachers in Brodhead are observed every year, but Lueck said every three years teachers undergo a more comprehensive summary evaluation.
Teachers in Brodhead get a salary increase for each six college credits they take.
Lueck said the pay increase on the salary scale depends on experience.