Colleges Speed Teacher Placement

Colleges and universities in Orange County are redesigning their teaching programs to speed the placement of elementary school instructors in the hundreds of jobs created almost overnight countywide by the recently passed bill to reduce class sizes.

The $1-billion state funding incentive has set off a frenzy for new recruits coming out of UC Irvine, Chapman University and Cal State Fullerton, which historically have provided the bulk of Orange County’s teachers. One Chapman student recently was approached by a Garden Grove recruiter as she left class and within minutes was offered a job.

Although the state produces 5,000 new teachers each year, there may be an immediate need for 20,000 teachers if every California school district takes advantage of the state program. The state will reimburse schools $650 per pupil if they reduce class sizes to a maximum of 20 students in kindergarten through third grade. The lower class sizes are seen as key to reversing a slide in statewide reading and math scores.

Educators said it appears that Orange County schools will be able to find enough teachers to meet this year’s need, although many of the new teachers do not yet have credentials.

Instead, they were offered emergency contracts that permit anyone who holds a bachelor’s degree and has passed a state licensing exam to teach. Such recruits can hold teaching jobs while going through a program that leads to a full credential.

“Districts need teachers right this minute,” said Cheryl Valdez, an associate professor at Chapman University and liaison to Orange County school districts. “But there’s a finite population of teachers.”

The scramble for teachers has driven some school district administrators to call graduate programs daily to make sure they can scoop up the first and most qualified teaching candidates.

Garden Grove Unified is still racing to hire 70 teachers; the first day of school is Thursday. To meet their needs, school officials have been screening every possible teaching candidate at Chapman University.

Just last Thursday, a Garden Grove Unified recruiter snatched Chapman University student Yolanda Gomez just as she was leaving an evening class. Gomez was told she could have a job interview in five minutes. Clad in jeans and unprepared for the impromptu interview, Gomez still managed to land a job at Garden Grove Unified that night.

“I had no idea I was going to walk into an interview,” Gomez said. “I told the recruiter this is not the way I look at work. But the interviewer told me: ‘It’s OK. We’re catching people between classes all the time.’ ”

Gomez, who has one more year before she receives her teaching credential, was hired on an emergency contract. She will teach at Bryant Elementary in Garden Grove and juggle night classes at Chapman University to earn her credential this year.

Although school districts have vowed to hire primarily credentialed teachers, scores of bilingual and other specialized instructors such as Gomez are being offered emergency contracts because there is an even greater shortage of these teachers.

To meet the demand quickly, local universities have been sharing resources and coordinating academic programs. Officials maintain quality has not been compromised. Rather, some educators see a bonus in moving teaching candidates more quickly into the classroom.

“The state has given us the opportunity to move quickly and rethink the way we prepare our teachers,” said Louis F. Miron, chairman of UCI’s department of education.

UCI, Cal State Fullerton and Chapman are writing joint grant programs so they can cooperate on teaching methods, primarily in reading. UCI students, who used to be required to spend only one quarter of the academic year at local schools, will now spend one year in the classroom.

At Chapman University, some required courses have been shortened from 15 to 11 weeks so that students can get into the classroom sooner. The graduate schools are coordinating mentorship and support programs so that those students close to earning their credentials can immediately enter the districts.

In Santa Ana, for instance, newly recruited instructors began work last Thursday by observing and assisting classrooms run by veteran teachers. When portable classrooms arrive in the coming months, the new instructors will take some of those students to form new, smaller classes.

Some graduate schools are seeing a rise in students enrolled in their teaching programs, and the applicants boast a range of backgrounds.

There’s the professional clown trying to get his credential. The attorney seeking a career change. And the graduate student looking to switch from researching child development to teaching first-graders.

The enrollment rise means some professors are being asked to teach additional sections. Courses like “Foundations of Education” and “Classroom Management” at Chapman have been in such high demand that more sections were added.

Although total enrollment figures have not been determined, Chapman’s Valdez estimates an 87% increase in five of her fundamental teaching courses. “We’re doing everything we can to prepare teachers for next year too,” Valdez said. “The districts have already tapped out all the candidates in existing prep programs.”

Educators are now questioning whether there will be enough teachers next year if schools opt to expand the reduction program to upper grades--especially if the state funding incentive is as fat as this year’s $770 million. Most schools began reducing only first-grade classes this year.

“You also have to remember, in older districts like Orange and Santa Ana, there are large graying teacher populations,” Valdez added. “We expect many of them will retire soon.”