 The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement has released a report on the recent redesign of South Carolina's Mentor Training.
The report, composed by Dr. Jennifer Garrett, details the changes that were made to the state's mentoring program. Read the full report here.  The Ken Bower Teacher Cadet Scholarship, named in memory of Dr. Ken Bower, an architect of the original Teacher Cadet course and curriculum, is awarded each year to senior Teacher Cadets who intend to become a classroom teacher in one of South Carolina's many public schools. “The recipients of the Ken Bower Teacher Cadet Scholarship are the epitome of exemplary future teachers, and I look forward to welcoming these South Carolina homegrown teachers to the ranks of our state’s stellar educators,” notes Marcella Wine-Snyder, Program Director for the Teacher Cadet Program. “For thirty years now, South Carolina’s Teacher Cadet Program has endeavored to support education’s ubiquitous goal of providing high quality schools for all children in all neighborhoods by attracting the state’s best and brightest students to the teaching profession. At the center of every effective education system is the classroom teacher because a teacher’s impact outweighs all other influential factors on student learning. Without great teachers, our state simply cannot meet its education goals.” Teacher Cadet instructors receive notification of the call for applications early each calendar year and all senior Teacher Cadets are eligible to apply. Thanks to the generosity of silent auction "shoppers" at two CERRA conferences and other donors who support the Teacher Cadet program, 2016 recipients will receive a one-time award of $1,000. The award is mailed directly to the recipient's college before August 1 and is applied to his or her account. Awards are determined based on the merits of scholarship, teacher recommendations, and a written essay. The Ken Bower Teacher Cadet Scholarship is not "needs-based" and does not rely on the financial information of the Teacher Cadet’s family. Teaching Fellows may also be recipients of the Ken Bower Scholarship. 2016 Ken Bower Scholarship Recipients
Mary Bruns is a student at Beaufort High School located in Beaufort, SC where she is a Teacher Cadet under the instruction of Deborah Kidd. She is an honors and AP student and takes dual enrollment classes at the Technical College of the Lowcountry. She participates in National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Project Unify, tennis, and soccer. Mary spends time at her church as a middle school youth group leader volunteer, teaching kids about their faith. Mary will be attending the College of Charleston and majoring in secondary English education. Kaitlin Hutson is a senior at Williston-Elko High School in Williston, South Carolina. She is president of her senior class, her school’s National Honor Society and also Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She participates in many other clubs including: Beta Club, Club Truth, Math Team, Spanish Club and many others. She enjoys playing tennis and has played since the seventh grade. She plans on attending the University of South Carolina - Aiken where she will major in early childhood education. Catherine Anne Langley is slated to graduate with highest honors from Buford High School in Lancaster, South Carolina where she will be a completer in the teacher education program under Elizabeth McDonald. She is an active member of the National Honor Society, National Beta Club, Educator’s Rising, Student Council, Junior Civitans, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is a graduate of Youth Leadership Lancaster. She was first-runner up Homecoming Queen and first runner-up Miss Buford. Catherine Anne also served on the yearbook staff and prom committee and was a daily volunteer in the special needs class at Buford Middle School. While balancing school responsibilities, Catherine Anne is employed by Chick-fil-A and was recently promoted to the position of marketing assistant. Her passion is helping others, especially conducting Vacation Bible School for children in Appalachia each summer. Catherine Anne will attend Winthrop University in August and major in early childhood education. Diamond Sullivan is a senior at Calhoun County High School in St. Matthews, SC. She has been in the Teacher Cadet program for two consecutive years and has done her field study with elementary students. She has also taken education courses at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and has received her SC Early Childhood Teaching Credential. After graduating, Diamond plans to attend the University of South Carolina - Beaufort to major in early childhood education. She aspires to become an independent teacher and continue to earn her doctorate in education to become a college professor. Sara Vess will be graduating from Indian Land High School where she invested her time into academics and various student teaching experiences. One of Sara's favorite classes in high school is her Teacher Cadet course. She completed her student teaching experience at Harrisburg Elementary School in a third-fifth grade special education classroom. Sara is currently employed at a local elementary school where she serves as the teacher for second-graders enrolled in an after-school program. Sara is very involved at her high school. She is a member of the Varsity Cheer Team and serves as the secretary for the Student Government Association and the Educators Rising club. She enjoys being a small group leader of Indian Land's FCA. Sara will be attending the University of South Carolina where she intends to major in early elementary education.  For several years, data from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement’s (CERRA’s) Supply and Demand Survey Reports have indicated that South Carolina is experiencing a teacher shortage in certain subject and geographic areas. More teachers are leaving the classroom, causing more vacancies and more new hires to fill those positions. The number of teachers leaving each year is significantly higher than the number of students graduating from South Carolina institutions each year who are eligible for teacher certification. In response to these trends, FY16 Proviso 1A.78 was passed directing a study be conducted that projects the number of additional teachers needed annually in public school classrooms for grades K5 through 12, for school years 2016-17 through 2027-28. CERRA and the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) have just released a report that summarizes the results of that study.
In this report, the number of teachers expected to be needed during these years was compared to the number of teachers expected to be available during this same time. Based on this comparison, seven core subject areas are projected to experience a teacher shortage over the next 12 years. These subject areas are art, business/marketing/computer technology, mathematics, sciences, social studies, special education, and Spanish. The report displays tables that include the projected supply and demand of teachers by subject area for three specified school years (2016-17, 2021-22, and 2027-28), as well as the projected teacher surplus or shortage for each subject area. Also included are estimates of the cumulative teacher shortages that South Carolina is likely to experience if there are no changes in current patterns of hiring or completions of in-state teacher education programs. Looking at mathematics, in particular, in order to eliminate the projected teacher shortage by 2021-22, the state will need to produce approximately 459 new math teachers. This number rises to 527 in the 2027-28 school year. These figures incorporate new hires available, teachers leaving, and new demand for teachers from the increasing student count. As part of Proviso 1A.78, a survey was sent to the deans of teacher education programs in 30 South Carolina public and independent colleges/universities to determine whether these institutions have the capacity and infrastructure to fulfill the projected teacher needs. The survey results indicate that South Carolina colleges and universities with teacher education programs have the willingness and ability to accommodate more teacher candidates in several subject areas that are projected to have teacher shortages. According to the deans, however, there is a lack of student interest in entering the teaching profession, particularly in these core areas: sciences, social studies, mathematics, and special education. Unfortunately, these areas are the ones with the greatest need for teachers and are projected to have the most significant teacher shortages over the next decade. Overall, South Carolina does not produce a sufficient number of teachers through the state’s teacher education programs to fill current and anticipated vacant positions. Graduates from in-state teacher education programs are the largest source of newly hired teachers each year. Other new hires include international teachers and those from another state, and teachers from alternative certification programs like South Carolina’s Program of Alternative Certification (PACE). These sources combined, however, may not generate a supply of teachers large enough to meet the current or projected demand for teachers based on student enrollment. Read the study here.  According to the results from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement’s (CERRA) Fall 2015 Supply and Demand Survey, the gap between teacher supply and teacher demand continues to widen. The number of teachers leaving continues to rise, as does the percentage of teachers leaving early in their careers. More than 5,300 teachers did not return to their teaching positions this year. This issue is exacerbated when compared to the number of graduates eligible for teacher certification. Over the last five years, on average, only 2,180 graduates completed a South Carolina teacher education program. Adding to this dilemma is the escalating number of teachers who leave their positions so early into their careers. Of the teachers who did not return at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, 39% left in the first five years and 14% left after just one year or less in the classroom. This occurrence has, unfortunately, become a trend as these figures rose from 34% and 13% last year and even more so from the prior year.
Statewide, districts reported a 33% increase in the number of vacant teaching positions compared to last year and a 66% increase compared to the 2013-14 school year. Many South Carolina districts continue to have difficulty filling vacancies in special education at all school levels and mathematics and sciences in middle and high schools. This year, more vacancies occurred in social studies and English as well. Additionally, districts are citing a growing number of vacancies in primary and/or elementary schools. Some districts, regardless of certification area, struggle to hire and retain teachers due to their geographic location in the state. Twenty of these districts with excessive teacher turnover will be targeted through the Rural Teacher Recruiting Incentive. One possible incentive is tuition reimbursement for certain certified teachers to either add on a critical need subject area or pursue graduate coursework in understanding children in poverty. Teachers who add on a critical need subject area will help address the ongoing challenges to fill vacancies in these areas. Teachers who pursue graduate coursework in poverty will learn tools and strategies to more effectively relate to and provide instruction to their students, resulting in a greater degree of job satisfaction and a higher rate of retention. “South Carolina is moving in the right direction with these initiatives to recruit teachers into underserved schools,” notes Jane Turner, Executive Director of CERRA. “As evidenced by the supply and demand numbers, however, there is still work to do to ensure that public school districts do not face the consequences of a statewide teacher shortage.” Editor’s Note: The 2015 Supply and Demand Report can be accessed here. There you also will find archived reports dating back to 2001. |
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