Gov. Matt Blunt signs the alernative teacher circulation bill in the University Academy library May 1.
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Bill gives new route to teaching
By: Kurt Kloeblen, Staff writer
kkloeblen@sunpublications.com
Gov. Matt Blunt visited University Academy on May 1 to sign a new bill that might add teachers at the school and across the state.
Blunt singed the Alternative Teacher Certification Bill, which will allow working professionals a different route to earning teacher certificates rather than going back to college.
Blunt praised the bill for helping those with real world experience have the chance to move into the classroom.
“I believe if a doctor is qualified to perform brain surgery, then with proper supervision and mentoring they are qualified to teach biology,” Blunt said. “If an engineer is qualified to design products that millions of people depend on, then with the proper mentoring and supervision, they are qualified to teach basic science. This bill allows for them to become teachers, without taking a few years off to get a degree.”
The bill Blunt signed, Senate bill 1066, stipulates that potential teachers earn teaching certificates through the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence. Requirements include 60 classroom hours, 30 hours of professional development, two years of a mentoring program, completion of performance-based teaching evaluation and participation in begging teacher assistance program.
Eileen Proudlock, the board’s state and national partnerships director, said Missouri is the eighth state to offer the program. She said her organization has about 300 people already interested in the program and she anticipates many more enrolling.
“The 300 we have gotten is just though news articles, but we haven’t really done any real big push,” Proudlock said. “We’ve gotten so much overwhelming support for the legislation. We wanted people to wait until we knew the governor would sign. But we wanted to push for those people waiting anxiously for this to go through.”
Cheri Shannon, University Academy superintendent, said the school has hired teachers who went through a modified university system and she would be eager to hire teachers coming through the new program.
“It’s very attractive,” Shannon said. “Like the governor said, it can really help with the application of content to the real world. We have a science teacher who worked for a pharmaceutical company in their lab. She went through alternative certification. She’s wonderful with the kids. She does different things than a traditional science teacher might do.”
Blunt said teachers who have gone the traditional route will get along with teachers coming through the new program.
“These alternative certified teachers do develop a rapport with their other teachers,” Blunt said. “There are certain skill sets that are involved in teaching that they don’t have, so they want to learn from those that have been in the classroom year after year. Mentoring relationships are established.”
Shannon agreed.
“We have some teachers here who came through the alternative certification route at the university level, which is a shortcut from what teachers like me had to go through,” she said. “I don’t think it will be an issue.”
Because of a looming teacher shortage in Missouri, Rep. Scott Muschany said replacing retiring teachers will be a high priority in coming years.
“National trends say that 40 percent of our teachers will retire in the next five to six years,” Muschany said. “So you can see the problem. There is a looming teacher shortage facing us. But if Harry S. Truman were alive today, he wouldn’t be qualified to teach U.S. History. This bill gives another tool in the tool box to schools to find and recruit very qualified, extremely competent and mature teachers.”
Contact Kurt Kloeblen at (913) 385-6087 or kkloeblen@sunpublications.com
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Blunt singed the Alternative Teacher Certification Bill, which will allow working professionals a different route to earning teacher certificates rather than going back to college.
Blunt praised the bill for helping those with real world experience have the chance to move into the classroom.
“I believe if a doctor is qualified to perform brain surgery, then with proper supervision and mentoring they are qualified to teach biology,” Blunt said. “If an engineer is qualified to design products that millions of people depend on, then with the proper mentoring and supervision, they are qualified to teach basic science. This bill allows for them to become teachers, without taking a few years off to get a degree.”
The bill Blunt signed, Senate bill 1066, stipulates that potential teachers earn teaching certificates through the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence. Requirements include 60 classroom hours, 30 hours of professional development, two years of a mentoring program, completion of performance-based teaching evaluation and participation in begging teacher assistance program.
Eileen Proudlock, the board’s state and national partnerships director, said Missouri is the eighth state to offer the program. She said her organization has about 300 people already interested in the program and she anticipates many more enrolling.
“The 300 we have gotten is just though news articles, but we haven’t really done any real big push,” Proudlock said. “We’ve gotten so much overwhelming support for the legislation. We wanted people to wait until we knew the governor would sign. But we wanted to push for those people waiting anxiously for this to go through.”
Cheri Shannon, University Academy superintendent, said the school has hired teachers who went through a modified university system and she would be eager to hire teachers coming through the new program.
“It’s very attractive,” Shannon said. “Like the governor said, it can really help with the application of content to the real world. We have a science teacher who worked for a pharmaceutical company in their lab. She went through alternative certification. She’s wonderful with the kids. She does different things than a traditional science teacher might do.”
Blunt said teachers who have gone the traditional route will get along with teachers coming through the new program.
“These alternative certified teachers do develop a rapport with their other teachers,” Blunt said. “There are certain skill sets that are involved in teaching that they don’t have, so they want to learn from those that have been in the classroom year after year. Mentoring relationships are established.”
Shannon agreed.
“We have some teachers here who came through the alternative certification route at the university level, which is a shortcut from what teachers like me had to go through,” she said. “I don’t think it will be an issue.”
Because of a looming teacher shortage in Missouri, Rep. Scott Muschany said replacing retiring teachers will be a high priority in coming years.
“National trends say that 40 percent of our teachers will retire in the next five to six years,” Muschany said. “So you can see the problem. There is a looming teacher shortage facing us. But if Harry S. Truman were alive today, he wouldn’t be qualified to teach U.S. History. This bill gives another tool in the tool box to schools to find and recruit very qualified, extremely competent and mature teachers.”
Contact Kurt Kloeblen at (913) 385-6087 or kkloeblen@sunpublications.com