Education secretary speaks to Mo. State Board of Education

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Filling teacher vacancies will require using nontraditional methods, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings told members of the Missouri State Board of Education on Thursday.

She pointed to federal programs such as Teach for America to recruit more college students and alternative certifications for people with other careers who want become teachers.

"We're going to have to figure out how to recruit mid-career professionals into our classrooms," Spellings said.

Missouri Education Commissioner Kent King noted that in Missouri last year, just one person graduating from college had majored in teaching physics. He said that's not uncommon.

Hours later, the Senate gave initial approval to legislation that would allow the state to accept a new teacher certification program designed for people who want to change jobs to become a teacher.

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence would be allowed to test secondary teachers until August 2014. Legislators could vote to extend the law.

Currently, Missouri elementary and middle school teacher requirements include a minimum 2.5 grade point average, the completion of certain classes and a minimum time spent student teaching. This year's bill is not the first time lawmakers considered whether to allow different certification programs.

Sponsoring Sen. Luann Ridgeway, who is a lawyer, said Missouri has too few teachers and the certification requirements make it more difficult to fill openings.

"I can teach college -- I have a juris doctorate -- but I can't teach basic government at a high school," said Ridgeway, R-Smithville.

Critics, which includes a state teachers union, said that particular alternative certification program is insufficient.

Chris Guinther, Missouri president for the National Education Association, said the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence checks whether people know a subject, not whether they can teach it.

"As we hold our students to higher standards, it seems incongruous that we're willing to lower teacher standards," said Guinther, who has been a special education teacher for more than 30 years.

Spellings has been traveling across the country to meet with the state education boards to talk about the No Child Left Behind law. Enacted in 2001, it requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Missouri State Board of Education member Deborah Demien sparked Thursday's discussion about certifications after she said teachers seem to have the biggest affect on education quality, yet there are too few of them.

"To me it seems the only way we can solve this immediately is through alternative certifications," Demien said.

Spellings said in a news conference afterward that low salaries also make it hard to attract people to teaching. Average teacher salaries in Missouri are among the lowest in the nation.

House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, said at the start of the session that boosting teacher pay is among his priorities for the session.

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Teacher certification is SB1066

On the Net:

U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov

Missouri Department of Education: http://www.dese.mo.gov

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov