There is a new cost to hiring an international worker to fill a vital but otherwise vacant position in a California classroom: $100,000.

In September, the Trump administration began requiring American employers to pay a $100,000 for new H-1B visas, on top of visa application fees that amount to $9,500 to $18,800, depending on various factors. These visas allow skilled and credentialed workers in multiple job sectors to stay in the U.S. On Dec. 12, California joined 19 other states in for instating the 鈥渦nlawful鈥� fee, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta鈥檚 office.

Most foreign workers on H-1Bs in California work in the tech sector. But California also relies on H-1B visas to address another issue: a nationwide teacher shortage and a for staff in dual-language education and special education in K-12 districts.

Data from the California Department of Education shows school districts filed more than 300 visa applications for the 2023-24 school year, double the amount from just two years earlier. Educators and school officials say its overseas workers on visas are highly skilled, instrumental in multilingual education, and fill positions in special education.

Now education leaders are sounding the alarm that the high additional fee for overseas workers will worsen the strain on California鈥檚 public education system.

International employees fill a much-needed gap for school districts

California continues to face an ongoing teacher shortage. In 2023, California K-12 schools staffed 46,982 positions with employees whose credentials did not align with their job assignments, according to from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Another 22,012 educator positions were left vacant that year. Of total misassignments and vacancies, around 28% were in English language development and 11.9% were in special education.

California school districts have also resorted to hiring teachers who haven鈥檛 yet obtained certain credentials, according to a study by the nonprofit . Facing a need for teachers, school districts have found that trained professionals from other countries are willing 鈥� and qualified 鈥斅爐o take classroom jobs that would otherwise go unfilled.

In 2023, in the Bay Area east of San Francisco, West Contra Costa Unified School District had 381 misassigned positions and 711 vacancies, according to the commission. So the district turned to foreign educators, hiring about 88 teachers on H-1B visas 鈥� a majority from the Philippines, Spain and Mexico 鈥� to teach in mostly dual-language and special education programs, said Sylvia Greenwood, the assistant superintendent for human resources at the district.

鈥淲ith our shortages in special ed, they were a good fit for our district. And so, therefore, we kept that pipeline open and brought teachers here from the Philippines to support our students and our students with special needs,鈥� Greenwood said.

The decline in the number of credentialed special education teachers continues to worsen. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of credentials earned to teach special education decreased by almost 600 across California, according to from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The number of temporary permits and waivers granted by the commission increased by about 300 during the same period.

Francisco Ortiz, the president of United Teachers of Richmond and a teacher at Ford Elementary School in West Contra Costa, said the workload for teachers in the district will increase if West Contra Costa Unified is unable to bring in new international teachers.

This would create 鈥済reater instability鈥� for students, he said, adding, 鈥淚t’s going to have a great impact in special education, which is already on fire.鈥�

California school district officials say they are unsure they can pay the new fee to fill hiring gaps with international employees. West Contra Costa officials said they do not know yet who will be responsible for paying the new fee: the district, international teachers themselves or another party.

鈥淲e are a district that is dealing with a structural deficit as well, and so that cost, in a lot of ways, is going to be very difficult for our district or really any school district, to be able to take that on,鈥� said Cheryl Cotton, the superintendent for West Contra Costa.

Pasadena Unified, in Southern California, filed about a dozen applications for H-1B visa sponsorships in 2024. Now the district, facing a $27 million , will require those applying for H-1B visas to pay for it themselves, according to district spokesperson Hilda Ramirez Horvath. She said foreign employees will also no longer receive other types of financial support, including legal or filing fees related to immigration processing.

Language programs benefit from international teachers

District officials are also worried about the cultural costs of losing international educators. Educators on H-1B visas make dual-language public schools possible, giving families in California a unique multicultural education that sticks with their children for life.

Kelleen Peckham, a mother to two children in West Contra Costa, said she chose to transfer her daughter to Washington Elementary School in Richmond because it has a dual-language immersion program that teaches students to speak and read Spanish.

Peckham also plans to send her son, who will start kindergarten next year, to the same school even though it takes the family an extra 15 minutes to drive there.

鈥淢y husband’s family is from Mexico, and so [their] grandmother, on one side, only speaks Spanish,鈥� Peckham said. 鈥淚t’s important for [them] to be able to communicate with [their] family and extended family.鈥�

She said if the dual-language immersion program at Washington Elementary doesn鈥檛 survive, she would consider transferring her children back to the school in their neighborhood.

Fee spells 鈥楰eep Out鈥� to foreign workers

Within weeks of the fee鈥檚 , a coalition of international worker groups, unions and religious organizations the Trump administration, alleging the fee would inhibit staffing in education, medicine and ministry services.

鈥淚t鈥檚 essentially a giant 鈥楰eep Out鈥� sign for prospective individuals looking to utilize the visa process to be able to come to the United States and fill these roles and provide these services,鈥� said Laura Flores-Perilla, an attorney with the Justice Action Center, a Los Angeles-based immigration litigation group representing the coalition in its lawsuit.

鈥淚t’s not just going to hurt these individuals who have this pathway to do this, but it’s also going to hurt employers within the United States,鈥� Flores-Perilla said.

Although the fee , many international teachers are feeling less welcomed to work and live in the states. A.F., an international elementary school teacher in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, said many teachers are still concerned the federal government will announce new policy changes that could force them to leave the U.S.

鈥淚 feel like it’s a form of discrimination to impose [a] $100,000 fee for teachers,鈥� A.F. said.

A.F., who is currently on an H-1B visa, asked to only give his initials because he fears speaking publicly will affect his ability to receive a green card in the future. He immigrated from the Philippines to California five years ago on a J-1 visa before transferring to an H-1B visa at the beginning of 2025. J-1 visas allow visitors to temporarily stay in the U.S. to participate in certain programs, including teaching, studying, conducting research and more, according to .

A.F. said the district previously paid for all of his immigration costs for his H-1B visa, which amounted to more than $3,700 for processing fees and an immigration attorney.

The future is uncertain for H-1B visa hopefuls

H.R., a physical education teacher in West Contra Costa who works on a short-term J-1 visa, said he moved his family from Mexico to the U.S. three years ago to work at one of the district鈥檚 high schools because he felt it would be safer to raise his daughter in the U.S. H.R. requested to use only his initials because he doesn鈥檛 want to jeopardize his ability to apply for the H-1B visa in the future.

鈥淢y biggest reason [for moving] is my daughter,鈥� he said. 鈥淢e and my wife decided that it would be a good chance for her [and] a big opportunity to learn the language and to grow up in a different environment.鈥�

H.R. can鈥檛 apply for the H-1B visa because he missed the deadline and West Contra Costa Unified is now unlikely to pay for his immigration fees. After his visa expires in June 2026, H.R. will move back to Mexico with his family and reapply for the J-1 visa in hopes of returning to California.

鈥淓verybody says here that they need teachers in California 鈥� but they don’t want to do anything to [help us stay] here,鈥� H.R. said.

At the Los Angeles Unified School District, spokesperson Christy Hagen said in an email to CalMatters that the recent visa changes have not yet impacted the school鈥檚 hiring of educators on H-1B visas. Hagen said the district鈥檚 immigration experts were 鈥渟till evaluating the effect of this order.鈥�

Maria Miranda, a representative for United Teachers Los Angeles 鈥� the union for Los Angeles Unified teachers 鈥� said the district had, as of mid-November, not provided any guidance to its educators or schools on how H-1B visa hopefuls would be supported.

Flores-Perilla, the attorney bringing the lawsuit against the Trump administration, says no hearings have been set in their case yet. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has now also brought a over the $100,000 fee, arguing that the proclamation overrides provisions of the and harms U.S. employers.

For now, districts will have to wait on the results of either lawsuit to potentially see some relief in immigration costs.

鈥淚t’s absolutely unfeasible to be able to pay this fee [and] to be able to actually bring in prospective employees in their fields and industries, so it’s going to hurt everyone,鈥� Flores-Perilla said.

Sophie Sullivan and Alina Ta are contributors with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was and was republished under the license.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at

Mayor Eric Adams鈥� shakeup to elementary school reading curriculums had a clear goal: to align instruction with the 鈥渟cience of reading,鈥� the catchphrase for a longstanding body of research.

But in the , some literacy experts worried that there wasn鈥檛 enough emphasis on the basic theory and research behind the . As hundreds of schools transition away from , many teachers have craved guidance.

A free training program available to New York City teachers aims to fill that gap, helping thousands of educators parse the fundamental principles of the science of reading. The program, now in its second year, was developed by , a nonprofit launched by Katie Pace Miles, a Brooklyn College professor.

鈥淚 wanted to make sure that it wasn鈥檛 just about the how鈥氣�� Miles said. 鈥淣o matter what curriculum they have, they鈥檝e got to know: What are the tenets that actually move the needle for readers?鈥濃��

Miles underscored that the training could also help address a long-term challenge: Curriculums often come and go during a teacher鈥檚 career. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who will take control of the city鈥檚 schools on Jan. 1, has , though he has indicated teachers should have more flexibility around how to implement it in their classrooms.

The emphasizes phonics 鈥� how students learn the relationships between sounds and letters 鈥� a . Other segments cover vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and reaching neurodivergent learners. Video footage from three New York City public schools is woven throughout the training to show how teachers are using the science of reading in real-world classrooms.

The introductory course has free slots for nearly 1,200 New York City teachers for the remainder of this school year (it is also free for all CUNY students). When the slots are filled 鈥� or for teachers outside the city鈥� the cost is $25. Of the 2,800 people who took the course last school year, more than 2,000 were from the city鈥檚 public schools. (The course is funded by the Benedict Silverman Foundation, which , and the Heckscher Foundation for Children.)

Experts say the training could help fill gaps for teachers who did not receive adequate instruction in their teacher preparation programs about how children learn to read, as schools of education for failing to embrace the latest research on reading. New York State officials have said they鈥檙e working .

Cut to the video: Recorded literacy lessons inspire change

At P.S. 189 in Washington Heights, Principal Johanny Grullon has embraced the additional training, setting aside time during the school鈥檚 existing Monday training blocks.

Now, virtually all of the school staff are taking Miles鈥� science of reading course, including art, music, and gym teachers.

鈥淓verybody plays an important role in teaching students how to read,鈥� Grullon said. 鈥淭he gym teachers aren鈥檛 gonna take out flashcards 鈥� but I want them to think about: What can I do in my daily routines as kids are warming up to develop vocabulary?鈥�

The science of reading intro course has won attention from other states. Last school year, P.S. 189 showed off the training program to the governors of Rhode Island and Colorado, along with a representative from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul鈥檚 office.

Julia Rosa, the library teacher at P.S. 189, was one of the first educators at the school to complete the training and helped convince her colleagues it was worth the time.

The video footage from other New York City classrooms helped persuade her to shift some of her approaches 鈥� and try new ones. When her students ask her to spell words during writing exercises, she used to reflexively give them the answers, worrying that veering into spelling exercises would district from the lesson. But videos of students making confident spelling guesses help convince her to change.

In another video, Rosa saw a phonics lesson that involved students using their fingers to trace out letters in blue sand. That activity seemed like it would make a mess in a room with over 20 children. But soon, she was off to the dollar store to buy tupperware containers to try it herself.

鈥淪eeing it done 鈥� it gives you more confidence to try it,鈥� she said.

Education Department officials said they hope the training will help teachers reluctant to change their practice and give them a more solid foundation as they deploy the new curriculums.

Staten Island鈥檚 superintendent is encouraging educators to take the training, and nearly 1,000 teachers in the borough are enrolled. Allison Angioletti, a district achievement and instructional specialist in the Staten Island superintendent鈥檚 office, said she hopes the training helps teachers tailor their lessons and navigate curriculums that are often packed with more content than can fit in a traditional literacy block. On Staten Island, teachers are required to use Into Reading, the .

鈥淚 want them to be good decision makers,鈥� said Angioletti. 鈥淚 want them to keep the parts that are most helpful to kids about how they learn how to read.鈥�

Literacy experts said the relatively short course was unlikely to spur major changes in student achievement by itself. But Tim Shanahan, a former Chicago Public Schools official who oversaw that district鈥檚 training efforts, said it is still important.

鈥淭here are lots of things that need to happen to raise reading achievement,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd one of them is professional development.鈥�

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Since January, K-12 education has undergone sweeping policy changes at the federal level. Hundreds of executive orders and the passage of the 鈥溾�� have led to the cutting of thousands of programs and a reduction in federal funding for schools. 

The U.S. Department of Education has been streamlined, Title IX regulations have been rewritten, and federal protections for LGBTQ+ have been scaled back. Immigration enforcement has increased in communities, leaving many students and teachers feeling unsafe on campus.

Fewer college students may be discouraged from pursuing careers in teaching. Yet, aspiring K-12 educators interviewed by EdSource reveal a continued commitment to the profession. 

Despite these challenges 鈥� alongside longstanding issues such as low pay, low morale and unruly students and parents 鈥� many remain dedicated to ensuring children across the state continue to have opportunities for learning in safe environments. They want to ensure they have access to safe learning spaces that promote growth, a love of learning, and guarantee that their basic needs are met, from dual-language to special education resources.

Determined to push onward

Peter Leonido, a first-generation education and sociology major who graduated from UC San Diego, said that as someone who believes in the success of his students, the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education was a full-circle moment for him. In high school, he was surrounded by mentors and teachers who believed in him. 

He said that what happens at the federal level impacts how students learn in school.

鈥淓ducation is political because teaching students to be able to read, write and think critically will inherently have them question and challenge the status quo,鈥� Leonido said. 鈥淏y defunding it, by bashing on it, you create an uneducated generation that is doomed to fight back.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

He is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in education at UCLA this fall. Still, he has taught high school and middle school students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including lower-income and Latino students, in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Leonido said that teaching English and ethnic studies is especially important for students of color and immigrants to understand how to 鈥渞ead between the lines of everything they consume,鈥� whether that鈥檚 on social media, local or national news, and even entertainment. This, he said, will 鈥減rovide them the tools to empower and defend themselves鈥� during President Donald Trump鈥檚 second administration. 

Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household, David Beam always recognized the power and complexity of the language. He was inspired to pursue a related degree in college so he could teach Spanish in grade school or high school. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish with a minor in Spanish-English bilingual education from UC Irvine, and is now pursuing a master鈥檚 in the university鈥檚 teaching and credential program.

鈥淚 want to inspire other students to love the language and appreciate the language and grow in the language,鈥� Beam said. 

Beam is focused on combating achievement and opportunity gaps that exist within education. Given Trump鈥檚 approach to eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, along with his threat to shut down the federal Department of Education, he said he is frustrated with the widening gaps. 

Tatum White, 22, a Long Beach State alumna who has completed multiple-subject and education specialist credentials, agreed with Beam鈥檚 assessment regarding the importance of diversity in classrooms. 

鈥淎s someone who really prioritizes inclusion and supportive environments and love and nurturing future minds and nurturing spaces that include everyone, that鈥檚 always going to be something that I really strive for and really appreciate in every environment,鈥� White said. 鈥淲ith the current administration and with current happenings around the world, I feel that is being threatened and that is unfair to a lot of people, and especially with identities that occupy the majority of our classrooms.鈥�

鈥業 feel like I can instill hope in students鈥�

Both Beam and White say these roadblocks will not deter them from becoming teachers.

鈥淚 know that I can make more of a difference inside of the classroom and by being an example to students and teaching them,鈥� Beam said. 鈥淥f course, it鈥檚 difficult to approach those controversial topics [such as DEI], but I really want to teach students to develop that sense of empathy or develop that sense of understanding.鈥�

Similarly, Christine Tran, a recent graduate from San Jose State, witnessed the effects of inequitable education firsthand. Tran, a Bay Area native, said she attended an underfunded middle school and often struggled with English due to a lack of support.  

鈥淗eading into high school, I was not at the same level as my peers,鈥� Tran said. 鈥淚 felt super behind. There were a lot of times where I felt like maybe I wasn鈥檛 smart, or maybe I wasn鈥檛 good at English.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

It was Tran鈥檚 eighth grade English teacher, however, who sparked her passion for both the subject and education. Tran said that her teacher introduced her to new books, and now she has an English degree and is preparing for a teaching career. 

Tran is currently an English teacher at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing college access in underserved communities. She attended a similar program in high school. 

鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e always wanted to teach on paper, but now, actually interacting with the kids, teaching them lessons every day, it鈥檚 really eye-opening,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like I have already grown so much [as an educator].鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

However, she also fears for the safety and future of her students, many of whom are Latino. Many of her students feel defeated and have lost motivation to further their education, she said. 

鈥淚 think that teachers are the cornerstone of a student鈥檚 success,鈥� Tran said. 鈥淚 feel like I can instill hope in students.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The hits to education keep coming

On July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court  to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and fire 1,400 members of the department鈥檚 staff can move forward.

鈥淲e will carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to ensure resources are directed where they matter most,鈥� Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a press statement. 鈥淎s we return education to the states, this Administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy.鈥�

In addition to the constantly shifting policies, the Trump administration has left California school districts scrambling to fill funding gaps in K-12 classrooms. 

Further, the U.S. Department of Justice is attempting to dismantle decades of protections for undocumented students with the reversal of the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe,  The  held that 鈥渄enying undocumented children access to free public K-12 education鈥� violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. 

In California, approximately 15% of K-12 school districts and 45% of the state鈥檚 student population are in urban areas, according to the , where a majority of the students are not white, a concern Anna Ortiz, the dean of the College of Education at Long Beach State, said is exacerbated by the Trump administration鈥檚 continued threats and actions against DEI programs in classrooms. Ortiz worries that progress toward making education more equitable and students feeling represented is falling apart under Trump.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e afraid of going backwards because we鈥檝e made a lot of progress in serving students from diverse backgrounds,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淲hether they have come from immigrant backgrounds or from different cultures, whether they have different languages as their first language at home.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Most of the layoffs in the Department of Education were in the , which handles disability and discrimination cases in school districts. Without this office handling these cases, Erika Hope, a first-year special education high school math teacher, is concerned that the 7.5 million students with disabilities in K-12 could face increased discrimination and abuse.  

鈥淚 had a stepbrother who had [an] intellectual disability, and he was secluded and put into a home at a young age. And I hate the idea that that is where we鈥檙e heading, where we鈥檙e not talking about inclusion of all people into classrooms,鈥� said Hope, who added that she is afraid special education could be privatized and wouldn鈥檛 be free for all people.

The joy of teaching

Despite the challenges that future educators face, even in these difficult times for education, the future remains bright. 

Beam said he hopes there will be greater respect for the process within schools, enabling students to graduate as well-informed individuals with the skills to discern different viewpoints and formulate their own opinions. 

鈥淚 was not going to let the current challenges that exist in education stop me from achieving or executing this kind of dream,鈥� Beam said. 鈥淥r realizing this dream that I have always had for myself.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

 Leonido added that he wants to ensure students can be the ones making change.

鈥淟earning the histories and social patterns of social justice movements, the movements of people of color and other marginalized communities, and the political patterns and impacts of U.S. imperialism on national and global politics will plant a seed for this next generation of youth,鈥� Leonido said. 鈥淭o challenge the status quo, to be proactive and make change in their communities.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

For Ortiz, it鈥檚 simply a matter of reminding students about their passion for becoming educators, even when things can be difficult. 

鈥淚 think the most important thing is to remember why you wanted to be a teacher and always try to channel that purpose and that joy in teaching,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淎s long as you focus on what鈥檚 in your classroom and try to let this noise not get you down, then I think you鈥檙e going to have a better experience, and you鈥檙e going to persist in the profession.鈥�

OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� An Oklahoma signing bonus program, intending to fill a in public schools, will reward 151 special education teachers up to $20,000 this school year.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education announced Tuesday the program will award signing bonuses to 34 experienced special education teachers who came from out of state and to 117 new teachers who recently became certified for the first time.

The program exceeded the agency鈥檚 initial goal of recruiting 110 special education teachers to work with students with disabilities. About 17% of public school students in Oklahoma are receiving services for a disability, .

Out-of-state teachers coming to Oklahoma were eligible for a $20,000 signing bonus this year and another $5,000 in the 2026-27 school year if they remain in the same district. 

Newly certified special education teachers qualified for a $10,000 signing bonus and a potential $2,500 retention bonus next year.

The initiative attracted educators from at least 17 states and Japan, the Education Department reported. Seventy-nine Oklahoma districts are participating.

Recipients of the signing bonuses are moving from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas, the agency said.

Agency spokesperson Madison Cercy said signing bonus recipients coming from California have been instructed to take an 鈥淎merica First鈥� assessment. The Education Department developed the test with the conservative media entity PragerU to weed out educators with 鈥渨oke agendas鈥� who relocate from progressive states.

The agency also sent the notification to teachers moving from New York, Cercy said, though that state wasn鈥檛 one the Education Department initially listed in its announcement of the signing bonuses.

Another state agency that oversees teacher certification testing, the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, has . 

mandates that the Oklahoma State Board of Education 鈥渟hall issue a certificate to teach to a person who holds a valid out-of-state certificate.鈥� Oklahoma statutes require no further assessment besides a criminal history check for teachers who are already certified and moving from out of state.

The state Education Department , saying at the time it had budgeted $1.875 million from the federal fund IDEA Part B, which supports students with disabilities.

This is the agency鈥檚 third round of signing bonuses for teacher recruitment under state Superintendent Ryan Walters.

Walters has leveraged hefty signing bonuses to attract hundreds of certified educators to return to teaching after having left the profession or to move to Oklahoma from other states.

In 2023, his administration offered between $15,000 and $50,000 to early elementary and special education teachers. The effort , though .

The second wave of signing bonuses granted up to $25,000 to educators who accepted hard-to-fill math and science positions in rural middle and high schools. That initiative last year.

鈥淭hrough investing in our educators and rewarding excellence we are making sure every child in Oklahoma has the opportunity to succeed,鈥� Walters said Tuesday.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com.

Veronica Alvarez was 4 when her family came to the U.S. from Cotija in Michoac谩n, Mexico, a small town famed for its cheese. Her father picked avocados amid the scorching heat in the San Fernando Valley, while her mother cleaned houses. One of nine children, she learned how to scrimp and save, how to work hard and how to dream big.

鈥淲e were so poor, I knew not to ask for much,鈥� said Alvarez, 52, now executive director of Los Angeles-based , one of the state鈥檚 leading arts education advocacy organizations. 鈥淟ooking back on those years now, I don鈥檛 know how my parents did it. I have a white-color job and two sons, and I can barely afford it.鈥�

Her sunny disposition belies a steely resolve. She remembers well the sting of being an undocumented immigrant in the age of Gov. Pete Wilson, an era when some felt ashamed to even speak Spanish in public. She brings that fire to her arts education mission. 

鈥淚 believe access to the arts is a social justice issue,鈥� as she puts it.

鈥淯nfortunately, students that have the most need do not get equal access and opportunities.鈥�

Her chops as a fighter, someone who doesn鈥檛 give up on a cause, are part of what makes her special, arts advocates say.

鈥淰eronica is an inspiring and dedicated arts education advocate and leader,鈥� said Merryl Goldberg, a veteran music and arts professor at Cal State San Marcos, who also serves on the Create CA board. 鈥淗er commitment to equity and lifting student voices is front and center.鈥�

Alvarez didn鈥檛 become fluent in English until about the fourth grade, but she instinctively understood that education was the key to escaping poverty. 

The only one in her family to graduate from high school, for her, school was always a matter of sink or swim. She chose to dive deep. She paid her way through college working at Chuck E. Cheese, where she honed her chops in engaging children.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been pretty driven,鈥� said Alvarez, a mother of two boys with a doctorate in education and a master鈥檚 in ancient history. 鈥淓ducation was my path out of poverty. That was always my thing. I loved school.鈥�

She also loved to walk to the library. It conjured an oasis of calm amid her raucous household.

鈥淚鈥檇 come home with bags of books and sit in a corner to read and immerse myself in the world created by the author,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淭hat love of reading has lasted to this day.鈥�

At first, she wanted to be an artist, but her fourth grade teacher said she lacked talent. 

鈥淚 loved making art as a child,鈥� said Alvarez. 鈥淏ut I had always been taught to respect your elders. I didn鈥檛 think it was my place to question it.鈥�

So, she stopped trying to make art, channeling her drive into academics. Determined to graduate early, she took every AP class she could in high school and found her happy place in art history. A self-professed nerd, she always felt drawn to the world of books and ideas.

鈥淭o be able to sit and read and learn always seemed like a luxury to me,鈥� she said. 

As a child, she was first entranced by Caravaggio and Bernini, and later became beguiled by the works of Frida Kahlo and Graciela Iturbide. 

鈥淚 loved Bernini鈥檚 鈥楧avid鈥� because of his teeth biting his lip; he looked vulnerable and intense 鈥� along with the fact that he was mid-motion as he threw the rock at Goliath,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淭he 鈥楤arberini Faun鈥� made me blush. A big piece of marble made me blush.鈥�

She鈥檚 a full-fledged museum addict and a politics junkie with a passion for the place of women in antiquity, particularly Greek and Roman history. That expertise is what led her to the Getty Museum, where she helped launch the Getty Villa. 

鈥淢y parents would鈥檝e never dreamed of taking us to museums; that was not a place for us,鈥� said Alvarez, who later became the director of school and teacher programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 鈥淢y passion has always been about access and equity, making a place for everyone.鈥�

While at the Getty, she worked on an English learners program with migrant workers who often start work at 4 a.m., which means language classes happened at all hours of the day and night. It was a struggle to convey the meanings of words until she landed on using the visual realm. 

鈥淲hen you learn a new language, you learn 鈥榤anzana鈥� means apple, and then you see a picture of an apple,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 thought, why don鈥檛 we use C茅zanne鈥檚 鈥楽till Life with Apples鈥�? And the conversations suddenly got so much more interesting. We got the students to really engage, centered around the artwork.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

That obsession with making sure everyone, not just the lucky few, can feel the transformative power of the arts is why she feels right at home at Create CA, which has been helping schools navigate the rules around Proposition 28, the state鈥檚 arts education mandate. 

The organization has long fought for expanding access to arts education and helped advocate for arts educators and teaching artists in the classroom. One of the biggest challenges facing the organization now is making sure Prop. 28 funds are spent as they were intended, as well as pushing for more funding.

鈥淲ith the passage of Prop. 28 and dedicated funds for arts education, people may think we have solved arts education,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, while a billion dollars may sound like a lot of money, we have 6 million students in CA. When we parcel out what that means to individual school districts, especially in rural areas, sometimes the funds aren鈥檛 sufficient to hire one art teacher.鈥�

Alvarez is known for her poise and her ability to keep the peace amid intense personalities.

鈥淚鈥檝e been struck by her powerfully calm demeanor and her openness to advocacy as a ground-up endeavor versus a top-down activity,鈥� said Goldberg. 鈥淏eing an arts leader can be challenging in so much as there are many voices in the mix and they don鈥檛 all agree.鈥�

Alvarez has the polish to be diplomatic in a deeply divided world, partly because she puts the cause first. 

鈥淪he brings a worldly and positive energy to the discussions, and she strikes me as very much always in the problem-solving and equity-centered mode,鈥� said Letty Kraus, director of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative. 鈥淚 also have experienced her as hands-on, participatory, and collegial in her approach.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

For Alvarez, art is the tether that connects us to our shared human heritage. It鈥檚 a bridge to the past that all should be encouraged to cross. 

鈥淗uman beings are unique,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ut of all the animals, we have the ability to create art, to connect across time and culture. That鈥檚 why I love the arts so much. The craftsmanship of the human hand, the human eye, is so important to me.鈥�

As an educator, the elusive nature of cognition 鈥� why the human mind absorbs some concepts while discarding others 鈥� also fascinates her. 

鈥淭o me, what you have to teach is the love of learning,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow does the mind retain information? It鈥檚 all about making connections. You learn something in history, and then you apply it in English. It鈥檚 about providing the full context; that鈥檚 how you retain information.鈥�

If something truly moves us, she suggests, we may remember it forever. That鈥檚 why the arts can push us to transcend boundaries and grasp universal truths. 

鈥淭he arts are essential to students鈥� creativity,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen students can鈥檛 access the traditional curriculum, the arts allow them to express themselves, their feelings, and tell their stories. The arts are essential to our well-being.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

For the first time on Monday, some New York City families and educators commuting to school by car faced a $9 toll upon entering a swath of Manhattan.

The toll 鈥� a result of the congestion pricing program 鈥� charges drivers who enter Manhattan at or below 60th Street in order to help finance public transit improvements. (Most drivers must pay the $9 toll during 鈥減eak鈥� hours 鈥� between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays, as well as between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends 鈥� and a reduced $2.25 during all other hours).

That program, which has been in the works for years, went into effect on Sunday.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

For decades, environmental and transit advocates have sought to enact a congestion pricing program, looking to it as a means of reducing gridlock and pollution while raising revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

But the program has also sparked concerns from some, including the city鈥檚 teachers union.

Last year, the union against the plan in partnership with the Staten Island borough president, seeking to halt its implementation. Some pro-congestion pricing teachers bristled at the legal action, but on Monday, union officials noted the lawsuit remained ongoing.

鈥淥ur lawsuit continues because the congestion pricing plan that is now in effect puts the financial and environmental burden on communities least able to pay, and the last to see improved air quality or less congestion,鈥� said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, in a statement.

Josh Millis, a parent at The Neighborhood School in Manhattan, said he supports public transportation and the broader aims of the congestion pricing plan, but takes issue with the lack of exemption for public school parents. Millis, who lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, about a mile from the nearest subway station, said it鈥檚 not always feasible to take his three kids to school on public transit.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 mind walking a mile,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut my kindergartner is not going to do that in December, at 6:30 in the morning, when it鈥檚 13 degrees out. That鈥檚 just an impossibility.鈥�

Some school districts fear long-term effects of congestion pricing

Robert Murtfeld, a member of the Community Education Council for District 1 in Manhattan, said about 25% of families in his district commute from upper Manhattan or another borough. He worries that congestion pricing could threaten the district鈥檚 ability to retain teachers, with educators who currently drive to school potentially looking to transfer. Meanwhile, families who live in public transportation 鈥渄eserts鈥� outside of the district could be burdened by the high cost of the tolls, he said.

Families and educators who choose to drive into Manhattan would pay more than $1,600 in tolls across the 180 school days in each academic year, Murtfeld said.

The District 1 CEC has called on state officials to carve out exemptions or reduced tolls for students traveling to and from schools within the congestion pricing zone, as well as teachers and other school staff commuting into the district.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 make a commentary on whether congestion pricing is good or bad,鈥� Murtfeld said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just saying, if this thing gets implemented 鈥� which is a fact, as of midnight [on Sunday] 鈥� we will be affected.鈥�

Millis, the parent at The Neighborhood School, said his family has been looking into other options to cut down on costs, like carpooling with others at the school, as well as reconsidering at what age his children can start taking public transit on their own. But in the meantime, he鈥檒l keep driving them to school, he said.

鈥淭hat $9 a day is a big hit,鈥� Millis said. 鈥淭o make an exemption for our families for the purpose of public school education is not even pennies in the couch of the MTA. It would not even be missed. But it makes all the difference to us. All the difference.鈥�

Toll鈥檚 impact on Manhattan school commutes remains unclear

MTA officials estimate the toll will result in entering the zone every day. And though fewer drivers on the road could in theory help some school buses 鈥� which are exempt from the toll 鈥� arrive earlier, the broader effects of congestion pricing on school commutes for now remain unclear.

Sara Catalinotto, founder of Parents to Improve School Transportation, said the possibility of shorter bus routes 鈥渨ould be a welcome positive side effect,鈥� but added that the Monday snowfall made it difficult to gauge the immediate impact of congestion pricing on school commutes.

To Catalinotto, the longer-term impacts on students with disabilities could be complicated. Though many students with disabilities rely on school bus services, parents and advocates have for years issued complaints about delayed, overcrowded, or missing buses.

Individuals with disabilities can from the congestion pricing toll, but Catalinotto worries families could still face financial hardships.

鈥淲hen the school bus or paraprofessional is out for the day or longer, and families of students with specialized busing have to use the so-called 鈥榬ideshare alternative鈥� to get the student to school in a car which is not exempt, tolls will be charged,鈥� she said.

In some cases, the city offers families prepaid rideshare vouchers when school buses aren鈥檛 available 鈥� including when specialized staff aren鈥檛 available to accompany a student with a disability who requires them. But Catalinotto noted not all families are registered for such services, and others will be 鈥渃ompelled to pay for a cab out of pocket or use their own vehicle, at higher cost if in the congestion relief zone.鈥�

And though parents can seek reimbursement for transportation costs when school buses fail to arrive, , leaving families shouldering the cost in the meantime.

鈥淭here are varying views in the disability community on the Congestion Relief issue but I think everyone agrees that the MTA has to become fully accessible by some means,鈥� Catalinotto said. 鈥淧erhaps taxing the billionaires or Wall Street transactions to achieve that would have been less stressful than this.鈥�

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

The California Department of Education is partnering with  Disaster Relief Fund to provide assistance for students, teachers, and school staff impacted by the devastating fires blazing through Southern California. 

The wildfires, which have burned nearly 27,000 acres, killed five people and destroyed at least a thousand structures, have also closed 335 schools in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and San Diego counties and impacted at least 211,000 students, according to the CDE. 

Three schools in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles have had significant damage, according to CNN Weather.

鈥淥ur school communities desperately need our assistance as these horrific wildfires rage across Southern California,鈥� said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. 鈥淚n times of crisis, Californians consistently demonstrate their resilience and generosity as we continue to deal with the effects of climate change. Let鈥檚 continue to unite and support those in need as they work to stay safe and rebuild.鈥�

The California Department of Education will work with the disaster-relief fund to distribute resources to school communities impacted by the wildfires, according to a press release from the department. Donations are tax-deductible. 

School leaders at schools that had to close because of wildfires can submit J to the CDE that will allow them to continue to collect attendance-based funding. 

The CDE released  last year to help school district and charter school leaders navigate decisions about whether to close schools or remain open. The department also has additional resources for emergencies on its .  

More than 150 people submitted opponent testimony against a bill that would require school districts to allow students to be released from school for religious instruction.

Opponents argued religious release time programs disrupt the school day, create a divide between students who participate and those that don鈥檛, and interfere with religious freedom.

鈥淢y concern with religious release time programs during the school day is the rights of the children who do not participate in those programs,鈥� said Rev. Vicki Zust, rector of Saint Mark鈥檚 Episcopal Church in Upper Arlington.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

Three opponents were able to give their testimony during last week鈥檚 Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee meeting and committee chair Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, had to remind those in attendance to be quiet during testimony.

鈥淲e are not applauding. 鈥� We remain silent,鈥� Manning said.

The three opponents specifically spoke about experiences they have seen with , a Hilliard-based religious instruction program that enrolls . LifeWise, a non-denominational Christian program that teaches the Bible, is in .

鈥淒uring proponent testimony in June, it became clear this bill is not about religious pluralism,鈥� said Christina Collins, executive director of Honesty for Ohio Education. 鈥淚t is about one, very well-funded program wanting to push its brand of Christian nationalist beliefs on a captive audience during the school day.鈥�

Nearly 120 people submitted proponent testimony in June.

Ohio law currently permits school district boards of education to make a policy to let students go to a course in religious instruction, so these bills would strengthen the law by requiring a policy. A set of companion bills would require school districts to create a religious release time policy and change the wording of the existing law in the Ohio Revised Code from 鈥渕ay鈥� to 鈥渟hall.鈥�

 was introduced earlier this year by state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, who is now a state senator. Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, introduced this summer.

鈥淭o be honest with you guys, I think this might be the easiest piece of legislation before you this General Assembly,鈥� Cutrona said during a recent Senate Education Committee meeting. 鈥淲hy? Because there鈥檚 only one word change in this bill, and so we鈥檙e just moving it from may to shall. 鈥� The intent of this bill is to leave the decision to participate in religious release time programs up to the parents, not the school boards.鈥�

鈥淒espite the fact that it鈥檚 only one word, it鈥檚 a huge word,鈥� said State Sen. Catherine D. Ingram, D-Cincinnati.

The United States Supreme Court upheld released time laws during the 1952 case, which allowed a school district to have students leave school for part of the day to receive religious instruction.

鈥淲hile LifeWise claims that the process of leaving and returning to school is smooth, anyone who has ever tried to organize first graders for a field trip knows it is far from seamless,鈥� said Jaclyn Fraley, the mom of a first-grader in Westerville Schools.

Westerville City Schools Board of Education recently that allowed LifeWise Academy to take public school students off-campus for Bible classes during school hours.

鈥淥ne parent in my group (Westerville Parents United) shared that her daughter was told in class that she and her mothers were 鈥済oing to hell鈥� because they belong to an LGBTQIA family,鈥� Fraley said. 鈥淎nother parent described how their child was told they didn鈥檛 鈥榬eally believe in God鈥� because they are not Christian.鈥�

Elementary school students who do not attend LifeWise in Defiance Schools in Northwest Ohio are sent to study hall and are called 鈥淟ifeWise leftovers,鈥� Fraley said.

Zust said parents in her congregation who choose not to allow their children to participate in the program are mocked and threatened.

鈥淭his creates a hostile environment for the children of my congregation as well as children of other denominations and faiths,鈥� Zust said. 鈥淭hat is a violation of their First Amendment and educational rights.鈥�

Opponents argued there are other ways students can learn about religion outside of school time.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have these programs,鈥� Fraley said. 鈥淥ur parents took us to church. Our parents took us to temple. Our parents took us to mosque. Our parents took us to the places where we went to learn those religious beliefs.鈥�

State Rep. Jodi Whitted, D-Madeira, asked how these programs accommodate students with Individualized Education Programs, but Collins explained there can鈥檛 be an exchange of information with programs like LifeWise since IEPs remain within the district.

鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about students with special needs who are being sent off campus to people that are ill-equipped to work with them, with no built-in caveats for necessitating being able to meet those needs,鈥� Collins said.

State Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna, asked how districts accommodate students with fixed prayer times.

鈥淭hey simply leave, do their prayers and come back,鈥� Collins said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a leaving the campus, coming back with stickers and candy kind of event.鈥�

State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, said his office has received nearly 200 emails against H.B. 445 and less than 20 in support of it.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. 鈥� Lindsey Johnson and Yesenia De La Rosa were taking different approaches to teaching the same English lesson on silent letters as they sat at opposite ends of this first grade classroom in West Elementary School. On this March afternoon, Johnson, the classroom teacher, was reading a story with the 6- and 7-year-old children who were fluent in English. The students of bilingual aide De La Rosa were still learning the language, so while she read the same story, she went slower, translating words, acting out emotions and showing them pictures on her iPhone.

Valentina, 6, wearing a black T-shirt with a gold Nike logo and leggings, had arrived less than two weeks earlier from Guatemala. She sat on the floor near De La Rosa鈥檚 chair, her cheek almost touching her teacher鈥檚 leg. De La Rosa worked with her individually because she didn鈥檛 know any letters or numbers, in Spanish or in English. When Valentina went to kindergarten in her home country, all she did was color. 鈥淪o when she came here, that鈥檚 what she thought she was going to do. Just drawing,鈥� De La Rosa said. 鈥淏ut here it鈥檚 different.鈥�

The Russellville City school district created De La Rosa鈥檚 position in early 2021 as part of a larger effort to help educate its growing population of students who speak English as a second language. Many of the English learners, as they鈥檙e called, have parents from Mexico or Guatemala who work at a nearby poultry plant and in local manufacturing and construction jobs. Today, in the district, 60% of children are Hispanic/Latino and roughly a third are English learners.

Without De La Rosa, Johnson said she wouldn鈥檛 be able to communicate with more than half of her students, or understand the challenges they face. Johnson knew that Yeferson, an English learner from Guatemala, was one of the smartest children in the class, already reading more than 100 words, well above the goal of 60. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a sponge, he soaks everything up,鈥� Johnson said. She learned from De La Rosa that he鈥檚 doing well in spite of his many responsibilities at home: His mom works night shifts, so Yeferson does the laundry, washes the dishes and looks after his younger siblings. Said Johnson: 鈥淗aving a bilingual aide makes a world of difference.鈥�

Russellville may not seem like a community that would be home to investment and innovation for immigrant students. It鈥檚 a politically conservative city in northwestern Alabama of about 11,000, where 72% of voters chose Donald Trump in the last presidential election. When the poultry processing plant opened in 1989, the Latino population was about 0.5%. By 2000, it had grown to 13%, and in 2020, it was almost 40%. The school district, like many around the country, struggled early on to accommodate the rising numbers of English learners, who were dropping out at high rates, being pushed into special education classes and showing little academic progress. Yet their success matters: Today in the U.S., are English learners and, at a time when overall public school enrollment is falling, they are among the country鈥檚 fastest-growing groups of students.

In early 2015, when its superintendent announced his retirement, the district recruited Heath Grimes, then superintendent of the nearby Lawrence County school system, for the job. A self-described Southern conservative and man of faith from rural Alabama, Grimes, 48, set about overhauling instruction for English learners, establishing culturally relevant extracurriculars and reaching out to the Latino community. Those efforts had an impact: The share of Latino students taking Advanced Placement classes and dual enrollment courses at a local community college went up. Parental involvement increased. And Grimes led an effort to lobby lawmakers for a change in the state funding formula for English learners, boosting the state鈥檚 allocation more than eightfold, to $18.5 million. The district and Grimes won state and national recognition for their efforts with English learners.

鈥淎ny district with a significant English learner population has looked to Heath because he鈥檚 been ahead of the game,鈥� said Ryan Hollingsworth, the executive director of the School Superintendents of Alabama, which represents the state’s 150 school districts. 鈥淚t is just amazing to see what he鈥檚 been able to do in a small district with not a lot of resources.鈥�

But as Grimes鈥� star rose statewide, according to local educators and residents, his relationship with city leadership started to unravel. Then, in mid-May 2023, a member of the school board told Grimes that it would not be renewing his contract, which was to end in June 2024. He agreed to retire when his contract ended the following year in exchange for a bump in his final year鈥檚 salary. Starting in November, I tried to talk with school board members, the mayor and City Council members about the school district and Grimes, but they did not respond initially to my interview requests. (When I introduced myself to the mayor, David Grissom, on the street in Russellville, he told me 鈥渘o comment鈥� and walked away.) But over the months, I was able to talk to more than 60 state officials, local administrators, teachers, former school board members, community leaders and residents, including people I met in businesses and on the street in Russellville. Those interviews suggest that the decision to force out Grimes as superintendent stemmed from a tangle of small-town politics, deep-rooted antipathy toward immigrants and a yearning for the city Russellville used to be.

鈥淗eath Grimes put students first. And this ultimately may have hurt him,鈥� said Jason Barnett, superintendent of the Guntersville City Board of Education in northern Alabama and one of dozens of district leaders in the state who worked closely with Grimes. Approximately 18 educators and community leaders in Russellville, many of them with knowledge of the events, told me that Grimes鈥� support for the growing English learner population was key to his loss of support among top city leadership. Many asked not to be quoted for fear of retaliation or straining relationships in this small community. One school administrator, who did not want to be identified for fear of losing their job, said of Grimes: 鈥淢any folks said the increase in the undocumented population was because he made Russellville schools a welcoming place that immigrants wanted to live in. People didn鈥檛 like that.鈥�

In early July I went back to Grissom, school board attorney Daniel McDowell, and Gregg Trapp, who was until recently school board president, with my findings from months of reporting and a detailed list of questions. McDowell and Grissom replied with written statements that said that Spanish-speaking students had thrived in the district long before Grimes鈥� arrival and denied that the superintendent鈥檚 commitment to English learners had led to his departure. 鈥淚mmigrants from Latin American countries have been moving to Russellville for the past 25 years and have always been welcomed into the city and the student body,鈥� wrote Grissom. 鈥淟ooking back, our high school has crowned a Latina Homecoming Queen, as voted by the student body and has recognized the first Latino Valedictorian. Those events took place long before Dr. Grimes came to Russellville.鈥�

IMMIGRANTS NOT WELCOME

Before Grimes arrived in Russellville, state lawmakers in 2011 had passed , widely considered the harshest anti-immigrant law in the nation. It gave police authority to stop individuals they believed did not have legal documents to live in the United States, and made it a crime for businesses to knowingly hire, and landlords to rent to, those who lacked documentation. Public colleges couldn鈥檛 admit students without immigration documents and, even though, under federal law, K-12 schools are required to serve students regardless of citizenship status, the Alabama legislation also called for school districts to collect information on their students鈥� citizenship status. While parts of the law were later struck down by a federal court, the message was clear: Immigrants weren鈥檛 welcome.

So when Greg Batchelor, then president of the Russellville City school board, was looking for a new school superintendent in 2015, he knew things would get controversial. The city鈥檚 Hispanic population was 22% and growing. Some longtime 鈥淎nglo鈥� residents, as members of the white population call themselves, derisively referred to the city鈥檚 downtown as 鈥淟ittle Mexico鈥� and complained about hearing Spanish spoken and seeing the colorfully painted houses they associated with the Latino community.

Batchelor and another former school board member, Bret Gist, recalled hearing from longtime residents who were enrolling their children in private schools or leaving Russellville because they didn鈥檛 want their kids to be 鈥渢he minority.鈥� Others worried that the English learners would drag down test scores and hurt their school district鈥檚 reputation. At that time, only five districts in the state had an English learner population above 10%; Russellville鈥檚 was the second highest, at 16%.

Batchelor, also chairman of the board of CB&S, one of Alabama鈥檚 largest community banks, said he knew the city鈥檚 future economy depended on the next school leader: 鈥淚f our community survives and does well, it鈥檚 only going to be as good as we educate our kids.鈥� He also said he believed that the town鈥檚 Latino students deserved the same chance as their peers, and he was deeply influenced by his , who鈥檇 served on the Russellville City school board for 20 years. 鈥淢y dad used to say everybody puts their britches on the same way, one leg at a time,鈥� Batchelor recalled.

At the time, Grimes, a former special education teacher and football coach, was in his sixth year as Lawrence County superintendent. In his first four-year term, he had because of falling enrollment and a budget shortfall he inherited. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very unusual in Alabama for a superintendent to close schools in a county and then be reelected 鈥� and he was reelected,鈥� said Batchelor. 鈥淚 felt like he鈥檚 not afraid to make tough decisions.鈥� Gist, the former school board member, remembers the excitement the board felt after Grimes鈥� interview. 鈥淚 was ready for him to come in and make a big impact,鈥� Gist said.

On May 11, 2015, Grimes was voted in unanimously as Russellville鈥檚 new school superintendent. 

NEW APPROACHES

Kristie Ezzell, who from Russellville schools in 2022 after 31 years under four superintendents, saw the transformation firsthand. As a second grade teacher in the 1990s, she taught one of the district鈥檚 first English learners. Ezzell remembers a little girl who kept trying to communicate, but Ezzell couldn鈥檛 understand her. 鈥淪he started crying and then I started crying and we both stood there and hugged and cried,鈥� Ezzell recalled. 鈥淭he language barrier between us was just heartbreaking.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The rapid increase in the English learner population had taken Russellville educators by surprise. The entire district had just one teacher certified to teach English as a second language, no interpreters and very little by way of professional development. 鈥淲e had students come in that don鈥檛 speak a lick of English, their parents don鈥檛 speak a lick of English, and we鈥檙e expected to educate them,鈥� one teacher, who asked not to be named to avoid repercussions, told me. 鈥淎nd I didn鈥檛 even know whether they are asking to go to the bathroom or are they hungry.鈥� The situation was also unfair for the English-speaking students who missed out on learning time because their teachers were preoccupied, she said. 鈥淚t was just a mess all the way around.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Grimes, who does not speak Spanish and had little experience with English learners in his previous roles, said the first thing he heard was: 鈥淗ow are you going to fix this?鈥� 鈥淚 think they thought I was going to somehow make the English learner population go away,鈥� he told me. 鈥淎nd I was like, 鈥楴o, we鈥檙e not going to do that.鈥欌�� Instead, he asked educators to 鈥淎ccept, Embrace, Celebrate.鈥� 鈥淵ou first have to accept that your district is changing. And when we embrace that change, we鈥檙e going to see some very positive changes that we鈥檒l be able to celebrate,鈥� he recalled telling them. 鈥淎nd every bit of that has come true.鈥�

By then Ezzell was principal of Russellville Elementary School. She recalled Grimes鈥� first meeting with teachers, where he presented student test scores broken down by school. 鈥淚 sunk down in my seat and tears came to my eyes because our data was not very good,鈥� she told me.

His message, according to Ezzell, was simple: 鈥淣o more excuses. Our teachers are not going to say anymore, 鈥榃ell, they鈥檙e English learners.鈥� That鈥檚 not OK. They are going to grow just like everybody else.鈥� As he laid out his expectations, teachers started looking around nervously, she recalled. Some cried and one had to leave the room. A few worried that Grimes was criticizing their competence; others dismissed him as an outsider. But she says one thing was clear. 鈥淲e knew he meant business,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e was very empathetic for everything we were dealing with, but he said, 鈥楾his cannot continue.鈥欌��

When Ezzell went home that evening, she couldn鈥檛 stop thinking about the meeting. She knew how hard her teachers worked. 鈥淭hey were never not teaching,鈥� she said. But the dismal statistics proved to her they weren鈥檛 focusing on the right things. From then on, Ezzell told me, she was on a mission to find better ways of educating her students: 鈥淚 dedicated my life to it.鈥�

Grimes said the prevailing attitude was that English learner students were a burden, similar to perceptions of the special education students he once taught. So he brought in a professor and education consultant, Tery Medina, who explained that immigrant children were district students under federal law. A Cuban refugee herself, she led discussions with teachers on similarities between Latino and Southern culture. 鈥淭hey love family. They鈥檙e hard workers and many have faith in Christ. It was all these things that everyone could relate to,鈥� Grimes recalled. For her part, Medina said she was impressed with Russellville鈥檚 embrace of these learners. Under Grimes, 鈥淩ussellville was a little gem,鈥� she said, 鈥渨here English learners were not seen as a burden.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The district also invested in professional development for teachers, ensuring that it happened during work hours, said Ezzell. Experts, books, videos, detailed lesson plans 鈥� to teachers at the time, it felt like a blur of continuous learning. Slowly, educators began sharing strategies and co-teaching classes. 鈥淵ou know the saying, 鈥榃hen you know better, you do better?鈥欌�� Ezzell told me. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happened.鈥� Teachers experimented, made their lessons more hands-on and followed the latest research. Some teachers created what became an in three languages: English, Spanish and Q’anjob’al, a Guatemalan dialect. 鈥淲e were making time for them to go and learn best practices. And it benefited all students, not just English learners,鈥� Ezzell said.

Not everyone in the district bought into the change. Grimes remembers meeting with one teacher who led a class in which 30% of students were failing. She didn鈥檛 see it as a problem, Grimes said: 鈥淚t was like, 鈥業鈥檝e been doing this for 20 years and you鈥檙e not going to tell me different.鈥欌�� She retired soon after, Grimes said; some other teachers resigned.

But teachers who stayed said they could see that students were beginning to respond to the new approaches. English learners began participating more in class, no longer sitting at the back of the room. More started taking AP exams, as well as dual enrollment classes at nearby Northwest Shoals Community College. 鈥淲e pushed them. And when you push with love, you鈥檙e going to have success,鈥� said Ezzell. 

The district began to accrue accolades. Several of its schools . Since 2021, Russellville High has been named one of the top 25 schools in Alabama . In 2022, it was the only majority-minority district in Alabama to receive an 鈥淎鈥� grade in the state report card; in 2023, Russellville was one of only two in the state named a 鈥淪potlight District鈥� for reading and literacy, and its high school was named an , a designation given by a nonprofit contracted with the state education department to maximize college readiness.

Core to Grimes鈥� strategy, along with building cultural understanding and professional development, were bilingual educators. Early on, Grimes placed interpreters at each school to help with day-to-day translation, but he knew teachers needed more help in the classroom. A national shortage of bilingual educators, though, required creativity. Grimes decided to focus on recruiting bilingual aides, who earn half the pay of teachers. He reached out to the Rev. Vincent Bresowar at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Russellville to help spread the word about the positions. 

Bresowar鈥檚 congregation had ballooned in size as immigrant families moved to Russellville; his church had recently built a new $4.5 million building to accommodate the increase.

His parishioners, meanwhile, worked long, irregular hours, struggled financially and often carried trauma. 鈥淭he suffering is very intense and can be very difficult,鈥� he told me. In addition, he knew how the language barrier could exacerbate misunderstandings. Bresowar says his own understanding and appreciation for the Latino community changed once he learned Spanish and spent time with them. 鈥淚 think a lot of people are scared because they can鈥檛 communicate and it makes it harder to bridge the gaps,鈥� Bresowar said. 

He connected Grimes to parishioners, and in 2021, using pandemic funds, Grimes hired a dozen bilingual aides from that community. At the same time, he connected them to an apprenticeship program, run by the nonprofit , so they could simultaneously train to become teachers. 鈥淚t was a game changer,鈥� Grimes said about that additional school help. 

Elizabeth Alonzo was one of those bilingual aides. She joined the staff at West Elementary in 2021, where she worked mostly with second graders in small groups, as well as interpreting for school activities and communicating with parents. As she walked down a hallway on a recent school day, Latino girls from other classes broke out of their lines and ran to give her a quick hug. 鈥淎t first it was like, 鈥極h, you speak Spanish?鈥� Their face just lights up, you know?鈥� said Alonzo, who was born and raised in Alabama by immigrant parents. Last December, she completed the coursework to become a teacher and hopes to stay on at West. 

If she does, she鈥檒l be the sixth Latino teacher in the district, up from just one when Grimes arrived. The level of resources for English learners is very different from when she was in school. Her cousin was pulled out of first grade class to interpret for her when she was in kindergarten in a county school, she recalled. 鈥淎nd then when I was in first grade, I would be pulled out of class to help my younger brother.鈥� Alonzo attended Russellville schools from 2008 to 2013. 

Another Russellville teacher, Edmund Preciado Mart铆nez, also remembers feeling isolated as a student in Alabama in the late 1990s. He sometimes confused Spanish and English words, he said, so was often too embarrassed to talk in class. 鈥淚t landed me in special education because they thought something was wrong with me,鈥� he recalled. 

He was a teacher in a nearby district when he heard about the changes Grimes was making in Russellville and decided to apply for a job. Six years ago, he was hired to work with English learners at Russellville High School. 

Every year, he says, teachers choose a slogan to unite around, like #whateverittakes, or #allin. The camaraderie is very different from stories he鈥檚 heard from counterparts around the state, who talk about their colleagues complaining about English learners and even referring to them with derogatory language and slurs.

鈥淲henever we need something, we simply ask for it and they do their best to get it for us,鈥� Mart铆nez said of his district鈥檚 leadership. 鈥淎nd even if they can鈥檛, they find alternatives that we can use.鈥�

鈥楻OOM FOR ALL OF US鈥�

Grimes also focused on involving Latino parents in their kids鈥� education. Many were too intimidated or embarrassed to speak to educators, he realized; in their home countries, it was sometimes seen as disrespectful to question a teacher or even ask about their child鈥檚 progress. So he set about building relationships by patronizing Latino businesses, meeting with community leaders and translating into Spanish all announcements on the district website and its Facebook account.

Those efforts changed the school experience of parent Analine Mederos. She鈥檇 dropped out of school in Mexico in seventh grade, and was desperate for her children to get a good education. But when her eldest daughter enrolled in Russellville schools in 2006, Mederos says she wasn鈥檛 involved in her education at all. 鈥淚 was not interacting with the teachers because I didn鈥檛 speak very much English. I was afraid to talk most of the time,鈥� she told me. She felt school employees looked down on her because of the language barrier, and she didn鈥檛 see a point in speaking up. 鈥淚f you have questions, who鈥檚 going to help you?鈥� she said. 鈥淪o whatever they say, I was like, 鈥極K, fine.鈥欌�� 

But with her second child, now a 10th grader, it鈥檚 been a completely different experience. 鈥淕rimes has done a huge, I don鈥檛 even know how to say like a big impacto, especially with the Hispanic community,鈥� she told me. Her daughter loves school, she said, and her son in middle school can鈥檛 wait to try out for the soccer team. When she sees Grimes in the community, she said she feels comfortable enough to talk to him about her children: 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to listen. He鈥檚 not going to act like he鈥檚 listening. No, he does listen.鈥�

Mederos finds it easier to follow school meetings now. Just a few years ago at West Elementary, there was just one interpreter for 600 children, which meant the school could schedule meetings with parents only when a child was in trouble or failing. Now, with six bilingual aides, school staff can have one-on-one meetings with every family at least once a year, and they also offer two full days of programming annually for parents in English and Spanish. Parents know there will be an interpreter in the room and that sends a clear message. 鈥淥ur parents know we鈥檙e embracing them and we appreciate them,鈥� Principal Alicia Stanford told me. 

A Hispanic Heritage Month event that Grimes started in Russellville High School has now grown into a , where students learn about different cultures and traditions, perform dances, read celebrated authors and research historical figures. But a soccer program Grimes started has received perhaps the biggest response. Students had lobbied for the program before Grimes鈥� arrival with no success, but he understood that it was a beloved and important part of Latin American culture. 鈥淭hey wanted something that was theirs,鈥� he said.

He didn鈥檛 have funds for a new soccer field, so he had the football field re-turfed, and students began playing in 2017. In 2021, when the Russellville Golden Tigers soccer team played in the state semifinals, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic families turned out in droves. 鈥淓veryone was cheering, 鈥�S铆, se puede,鈥� 鈥榊es, we can,鈥欌�� recalled Grimes when we met in his office this March. The school鈥檚 logo is a torch like that on the Statue of Liberty, and there鈥檚 a school tradition of holding up clenched fists to show unity and pride. 鈥淭he whole Latino community stands up with their torches raised,鈥� he added, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e chanting, 鈥楻uss-ell-ville, Russ-ell-ville.鈥� That was very, very powerful.鈥�

Grimes鈥檚 office wall was decorated with sports trophies from events like these, along with framed academic credentials including his doctorate degree. He was the first in his family to attend college. There were also photos of his family and past students, along with a well-worn Bible on his desk.

Batchelor, the former school board president, says that, while the process was sometimes challenging, through Grimes鈥� sustained efforts and example, families of all backgrounds gradually saw that improving the outcomes of English learners meant that the entire school system was better. 鈥淚 think the community has embraced the fact that there鈥檚 room for all of us,鈥� he said. 

Not all of Grimes鈥� ideas worked. Early on, he separated English learners from other students during academic classes, but scrapped it after teachers told him it wasn鈥檛 working. Now schools do a combination of teaching English learners in small groups and with the entire class. After a back-to-school event took hours longer than expected because he asked for every sentence to be interpreted, Grimes decided to hold separate but simultaneous school meetings, where parents could choose to listen in Spanish or English.

And it hasn鈥檛 been easy to sustain all of the gains. Between 2019 (when the bilingual aides were hired) and 2021, English learners in some grades recorded big increases on language proficiency tests. For example, proficiency levels for second graders went from 46 to 84%, and for third graders, 44 to 71%. But the growth since then hasn鈥檛 been consistent, and proficiency levels in 2023 for some grades fell below 2019 numbers. Administrators say that is because the number of English learners continues to increase while the number of educators has not, so children are receiving less individualized attention.

But the goodwill Grimes generated from embracing Hispanic families has paid off in unexpected ways. In 2018, the district needed roof work on school buildings but didn鈥檛 have the money to complete it, Grimes said. Someone in the Latino community called Grimes, he said, offering to do the work for free. 鈥淭hey volunteered their time, their efforts, their energy and their materials, and they completed those buildings,鈥� he told me.

Today, Latino businesses dominate the downtown area of a few blocks, which until recently was full of deteriorating, vacant buildings. There are three Mexican bakeries, two Latin grocery stores, three barber shops, nail salons and a 肠补谤苍颈肠别谤铆补, or butcher shop. Business owners make it a point to support the school system, said Yaneli Bahena, who graduated four years ago from the Russellville school district and now owns a business called The Ville Nutrition. 

A Mexican restaurant catered a 200-person back-to-school event, bakeries often donate bread and treats, and some salons provide free haircuts before school starts. The soccer field is ringed by banners from local Hispanic businesses that have sponsored the team. Bahena herself sponsors meals for school events and donates backpacks and school supplies. 鈥淪chool gave me a sense of hope,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had really good teachers. Everyone cared about me.鈥� In high school, she noticed that, unlike in years past, the students were included on field trips and encouraged to take electives. Bahena said some of her classmates stayed in school instead of dropping out to work because educators 鈥減ushed help.鈥� She, too, credited Grimes: 鈥淓verything they put into these kids would not be possible without the superintendent.鈥�

ADVOCATING STATEWIDE

In 2019, eager to find partners and support for his work with English learners, Grimes began chatting with other district leaders facing similar challenges and discussing what it would look like to advocate for those students statewide. Nationally, about are English learners and most of them speak Spanish at home. But even though most are U.S. citizens, they rarely get the support they need, in part because their education has become politicized, according to , a former superintendent and assistant U.S. secretary of K-12 education in the Obama administration. 鈥淧eople see the world (in terms of) a limited amount of resources. And so they feel, 鈥榠f you鈥檙e giving them that amount, then you鈥檙e taking away from me,鈥欌�� she said.

In part as a result of that attitude, experts say, reading and math scores for English learners nationally are among the lowest of all student subgroups, their lag behind, and they are less likely to go to college. 鈥淲e need these kids and we need them educated,鈥� said Patricia G谩ndara, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA and an expert on English learners. 鈥淭hey represent a very large part of the future of this country.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The next year, in 2020, Grimes founded a coalition of superintendents called Alabama Leaders Advocating for English Learners, under the umbrella of a state operation, Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools. 鈥淗is passion was evident and he was not going to stop,鈥� said Hollingsworth of the School Superintendents of Alabama. 鈥淚f you keep knocking on the door, knocking on the door, eventually somebody鈥檚 going to open the door. And that鈥檚 kind of what happened.鈥�

The superintendents coalition led by Grimes successfully pressed the Legislature for more funding for English learners, to $150 per student, from about $50 to $75 in 2015. Districts with an English learner population above 10% receive $300 per student. For Russellville, that meant a fourfold increase to $400,000, at a time when city funding declined. Grimes received a for his 鈥渞emarkable contributions and tireless advocacy for English Learner funding in Alabama schools.鈥� Thanks in part to his advocacy, the state now has instructional support for districts, 12 coaches and a state director of English learning. Grimes also advocated for English learners鈥� test scores to count on the state report card only after they鈥檝e been enrolled for five years (approximately the time it takes for students to learn a new language). That law, , went into effect last year.

Barnett of the Guntersville City Board of Education said Grimes鈥� efforts with English learners helped persuade other district leaders that they could do the work too. 鈥淩ussellville is a great place, but there鈥檚 nothing special there that it can鈥檛 happen anywhere else,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing in the water. It certainly can be replicated.鈥�

For seven years, Grimes and the Russellville school board worked well together, he and former board members said. But discontent among other city leaders surfaced early on, several people told me. Grimes had started to clash with the city鈥檚 mayor, David Grissom, who was first elected in 2012, about funding. A Russellville resident close to the workings of city government who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation says Grimes had angered Grissom and some City Council members early on when he noted publicly that his schools budget was $200,000 less than that of his predecessor. (McDowell, the school board lawyer, wrote in his email to me that Grimes was made aware of this cut after he took office and had agreed to it.) City Council members 鈥渄id not take kindly to having their feet held to the fire or being made to look bad. So from then on, Grimes was marked,鈥� the resident told me. Grimes also angered Grissom when he declined to publicly support the mayor鈥檚 choice for a City Council seat in 2020, preferring to stay neutral, several people told me. 

In his response to me, Grissom did not comment on those specifics but wrote that he 鈥渉ad interviewed and have been interviewed by several hundred people of all races and ethnicities” about Grimes鈥� performance and that some of those he spoke with were dissatisfied with the superintendent. He posed questions about whether Grimes had been in his office every day, treated employees differently, and spent too much district money on conferences. Grimes said that he sometimes traveled around the state for his work, that the conferences were for professional development and approved by the board, and that as a leader he did sometimes have to make decisions that displeased people because he was weighing different perspectives and needs. He said he was shocked by the mayor鈥檚 statements because neither the mayor nor anyone else had previously brought such concerns to him. Gist and Batchelor, the former school board members, said they had never heard any such concerns from anyone in their roughly eight years of working with Grimes. 鈥淣ot one word,鈥� said Gist. Grimes鈥� personnel file did not contain any information indicating concerns with the superintendent鈥檚 performance. Neither the mayor nor the school board lawyer would provide any clarification about why, if such complaints existed, Grimes was not notified.

As Grimes continued to invest in efforts to help English learners, their numbers rose every year, doubling in size during his tenure, to 33%. After the 2020 City Council election, in an effort widely seen as intended to remove Grimes as superintendent, Grissom and City Council members began replacing members of the appointed five-member school board that had supported Grimes. (In his email, Mayor Grissom wrote that the council has the right to replace board members and had done so prior to Grimes鈥� tenure as well.) In May 2023, Greg Trapp, the school board member, informed the superintendent they would not renew his contract when it expired the following year.

Gist, the former school board member, said that while he was shocked at first by the City Council鈥檚 decision to replace him and others, it made sense given the Council鈥檚 antipathy toward Grimes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 small-town politics. In order for them to control the system, they had to get rid of the school board members that were doing it right,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only way they could remove him.鈥� What upset him was knowing the decision wasn鈥檛 driven by what was best for students. 鈥淚f they wanted to replace me with somebody better, that is fine,鈥� he told me. 鈥淏ut when they did it for a personal reason, that bothered me.鈥� (I reached out to Trapp at least three times, as well as to other board members, and they did not respond to my requests for comment.) Batchelor, who was replaced soon after he voted in favor of keeping Grimes, also said the board鈥檚 majority decision was a mistake: 鈥淚 think he’s the best superintendent in the state of Alabama.鈥�

In March 2024, the district named a new superintendent, Tim Guinn, a former Russellville High School principal, who was also a candidate for the superintendent position when Grimes was chosen. Most recently he鈥檇 worked as superintendent of the Satsuma district. Guinn did not respond to repeated interview requests.

PROGRAMS UNRAVELING

Already, some of the programs and practices Grimes put in place appear to be unraveling. As of June, most of the bilingual aides, whose salaries are paid for by pandemic aid that expires in September 2024, had not been rehired. In addition, some bilingual teachers did not have their contracts renewed. The board has not indicated if it has plans to move ahead with improvements Grimes planned for middle and high school English learners. A dual-language immersion charter school, which Grimes had advocated for and the board had approved, was set to open in 2025. It has been scrapped. (McDowell did not comment in an email on the district鈥檚 plans for English learners. Regarding the bilingual aides, he wrote that some of them were not rehired because the federal grants had expired. Grimes said he had planned to pay for their salaries using a combination of district reserves and funds he would save from teachers retiring: 鈥淵ou make decisions based on what your priorities are.鈥�)

Grimes and the board had agreed for him to stay on until the end of the 2023-2024 school year as the district searched for a replacement. But a week after my March visit to Russellville, McDowell, the school board lawyer, accused him of intimidating people into talking to me, according to Grimes, and told the superintendent that he could not be on school property or speak to district employees unless it was in his capacity as a parent. At that time, Grimes stepped down from the day-to-day responsibilities of his job, but he will remain in the community while his 14-year-old daughter finishes high school. His wife also remains a teacher in the district. (In an email and in an interview, McDowell, said that he had never accused Grimes of intimidating anyone nor banned the superintendent from school grounds.) Also after my visit, more than a dozen educators I spoke with in Russellville told me that they were no longer comfortable being identified for fear of losing their jobs. The Hechinger Report/palabra agreed to delay publishing this piece until Grimes received his last paycheck on June 30.

In July 2024, Grimes started a full-time position with Reach University, the nonprofit that trains the bilingual aides as teachers, as its regional director of partnerships in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. 

The past six months have taken a toll. Grimes has said little publicly about his departure and has told most people in the community that he鈥檚 retiring. When we were having lunch together at a local restaurant, El Patron, other diners kept stopping by to wish him well. Two of them joked about how he looked far too young to retire. Grimes laughed and played along, but after they left, his shoulders slumped and he blinked away tears.

鈥淚鈥檝e spent my career very invested, very committed to doing what was best for kids,鈥� he told me quietly. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel like I deserved for it to end this way.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

He said he doesn鈥檛 regret the changes he made for English learners in the city. 鈥淛esus loved the people that everybody else didn鈥檛. And that was part of his message 鈥� you love your enemies, you love your neighbors, you love the foreigners, you love the sinner,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 see God in those children.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Rebecca Griesbach of contributed reporting.

This story about Russellville schools was produced by , an initiative of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, along with .

Delta State University has launched a new to help STEM teachers in the Delta.

The Collaborative for Rural STEM Education program provides resources and professional development. Its comes from a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

This year’s program has 22 teachers from 12 districts, including Clarksdale Municipal School District and the Holmes County and Sunflower County Consolidated school districts.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

Each teacher receives specialized training and resources based on a needs assessment. They鈥檒l also receive support throughout the year and stipends for travel and lodging each summer.

鈥淭he need for STEM teachers in the Delta is crucial due to their relevance in today’s society and workforce,鈥� project director Jessica Hardy聽 said in a statement.

Teachers and instructors spoke highly of the program and its potential.

鈥淭he power of this program is in the growth of teachers and their capacity to develop and enhance not only STEM content, but also STEM dispositions and skills in students,鈥� said faculty instructor Daphne Smith.

Said Yazoo County Middle School teacher Melanie Hardy: 鈥淚 am honored to have been selected to study alongside so many outstanding Mississippi Delta educators, and I look forward to implementing all of the resources provided by the CRSE into my middle school math and science classes.鈥�

The program will run throughout the year until summer 2025.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

, the Supreme Court decision that desegregated public schools, stands in the collective national memory as a turning point in America鈥檚 fight for racial justice. But as the U.S. observes its 70th anniversary, Brown also represents something more somber: It ultimately led to thousands of Black teachers losing their jobs.

OMAHA 鈥� Three Nebraska K-12 school districts are planting future teachers this spring in a new pilot program the Legislature seeded last year with $1 million.

North Platte Public Schools, Lincoln Public Schools and Westside Community Schools in Omaha are joining with higher education institutions and the state to ease the path from para-educator to teacher.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

Passing Legislative Bill 705 was one of several small steps the Legislature took in 2023 to give local school districts more tools to address an ongoing shortage of classroom teachers.

Once accepted, program participants 鈥� the classroom aides or educational assistants 鈥� can cut the cost and time it takes to complete a tailored teacher education program.

Credit for classroom work

The program鈥檚 higher ed partners at Chadron State College, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Midland University will grant college credits to paras for some of their classroom experience.

Organizers call it the 鈥渁pprenticeship model.鈥� Paras are paired with mentor teachers in their schools who serve as co-teachers and offer feedback to the paras and college faculty.

State Education Commissioner Brian Maher announced Westside as the state鈥檚 third pilot district Wednesday at Westbrook Elementary School, where ed assistant Shelly Sip helps kindergartners with reading.

Sip said she participates in a district-funded precursor to the state program. That program pays for an undergraduate teaching program at Midland at night while she works full-time during the day.

The 15-year ed assistant said she and many other para-educators want to be teachers but could not afford to attend a teacher education program without financial help from the district or the state.

鈥淚 wanted to be in the front of the room,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to make the lesson plans. And I found out that Westside is doing the program 鈥� and the district will pay for my education.鈥�

She said she has benefited from seeing classrooms in her role as an education assistant. She helps lead reading groups, helps with math and walks kids to recess and lunch.

She said she attended the district, sent her kids to the district and now wants to teach there.

鈥淚鈥檓 here, and I鈥檝e been here since kindergarten, and I will be here for probably ever,鈥� she said.

Another tool for school hiring

Andrea Haynes, Westside鈥檚 assistant superintendent for human resources, said the new program would reduce the time that paras spend outside of the classroom preparing to become teachers.

She called the program a 鈥済roundbreaking partnership鈥� that shows the district and the state鈥檚 commitment to 鈥渘urturing talent and fostering a strong educational community.鈥�

She said it helps address the teacher shortage by 鈥渂uilding a sustainable pipeline of amazing educators right from our own classrooms.鈥�

鈥淲e believe this innovative model not only accelerates their path to becoming certified teachers, but it also empowers them to elevate their impact,鈥� Haynes said.

Mary Ritzdorf, dean of the Walker School of Education at Midland, said the university and Westside were still working out specifics of how many credits paras could earn while at work.

Traditional students in teaching programs don鈥檛 get into classroom settings regularly until their final year of college. In this, officials said, paras have an edge.

The apprenticeship model would likely, among other things, help accepted paras to stay working in their schools through their student teaching, reducing the need for substitutes.

More certified teachers needed

Nancy Christensen, the associate professor of education who runs Midland鈥檚 teaching programs for ed assistants and paras, said the goal is getting more qualified teachers certified.

The Westside district alone has 200 or so ed assistants, Haynes said, including many serving as helpers for special education teachers, general ed teachers and as hall monitors.

Using existing para-to-teacher programs, Westside expects to graduate about seven to eight paras this spring and 10-15 a year, she said. Each agrees to work five years in exchange for the aid. The length-of-service commitments vary from district to district.

Districts statewide are exploring higher pay, bonuses and benefits to lure new teachers and retain those they already employ, officials said Wednesday.

Maher said he understands they are 鈥渞obbing Peter to pay Paul鈥� by finding new teachers among the ranks of also difficult-to-hire paras.

鈥淲e need to fill both buckets, quite frankly,鈥� he said.

LB 705 set aside $1 million a year for the program from the Education Future Fund. When asked whether he thought the Legislature might find more funding if the pilot program was successful, Maher said it appears more likely that school districts would fund such programs if they help find and hire teachers.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on and .

In 1983, a special commission organized by the U.S. Department of Education released , an unapologetic critique of America鈥檚 public schools. Its publication prompted both a firestorm of public response and a seismic shift of policy and practice reforms at every level of the education system, permanently altering the policy landscape that has shaped today鈥檚 public schools. 

The report directed many pointed barbs at the teacher workforce and those tasked with preparing them. It concluded that both the quality of current teachers and the quantity of available talent to fill teaching roles in schools were sorely deficient; both dimensions needed immediate intervention to achieve educational excellence. What the report failed to do, however, was reconcile the inherent tensions in simultaneously pursuing both higher quality and quantity, or offer a strategy to systematically develop the teacher workforce that was desired. 

Consequently, as A Nation at Risk unleashed a wave of education reform, the initiatives focused on teachers were both expansive and incoherent. In my essay, 鈥�,鈥� recently published in the Hoover Institution鈥檚 series (edited by Stephen L. Bowen and Margaret E. Raymond), I recount the divergent approaches to reforming the teacher workforce that developed over time. 

This post highlights some of the lessons learned from looking back at the 40 years of reform and research on the teacher pipeline since the report鈥檚 publication.

Teachers: Part of both the problem and the solution

In the late 1970s and early 1980s leading up to the report鈥檚 publication, the public seemed to be losing confidence in the nation鈥檚 public schools. , , and desegregation efforts were widely perceived as .

The teacher workforce was also viewed as a depreciating asset. The professional workforce was opening for educated young women, and as a career. The starting in the late 1960s, and public sentiment turned decidedly anti-union under the Reagan administration, with unions often perceived as stymying public schools鈥� ability to serve students. 

It was into this downtrodden atmosphere that A Nation at Risk鈥檚 scathing critiques were published. Yet instead of arguing for divestment from public schools, the report offered a laundry list of recommendations to promote comprehensive reform. Policy recommendations regarding teachers, and the pipeline leading to the classroom featured prominently in this list, including compensation reform, student grants or loans for those who commit to becoming teachers, and alternative certification.

The report鈥檚 authors clearly felt that the teacher workforce had problems with both the quality of the workforce and the quantity of people signing up for the profession, and both needed to be remediated. However, the report failed to acknowledge that quality and quantity are inherently in conflict鈥攆or example, as far as the teacher pipeline is concerned, prioritizing quality will limit the quantity of people who can meet the higher expectations. 

Improving the teacher pipeline on either dimension would have been challenge enough, but to address both teacher quality and quantity simultaneously would be a Herculean feat.

Two approaches to reform teaching, frequently in conflict

Some teacher policy actions started immediately in the wake of the report鈥攆or example, four states had by the following year. Other initiatives incubated for a bit before reaching maturation, including the establishment of the (NBPTS) in 1987.

Looking back at the various approaches to shoring up the teacher pipeline, I categorize these policy actions into two types. Actions that seek to shore up weak points in the teacher workforce and recruit more into the profession I call 鈥渙utside-in鈥� reforms, as they see the primary challenge of teaching as a failure to attract and retain the best talent (think of alternative certification or loan forgiveness policies). Another approach sees the failure to support and develop talent within the workforce as the primary challenge. I call these 鈥渋nside-out鈥� initiatives (think of NBPTS or career ladders). 

These two approaches are not inherently in conflict, but they take different stances on the relative importance of teacher quality versus quantity. The 鈥渙utside-in鈥� approaches lean heavily on teacher quantity first (through recruiting to high-need settings, say) and then assume policies will follow that enable school systems to be more selective to ensure teacher quality. The 鈥渋nside-out鈥� approach reverses that prioritization, focusing on developing quality within the workforce first (through demonstrating mastery through NBPTS certification, for example) and assuming that elevated role will attract new supplies of teacher candidates. 

With limitations on both funding and public attention, these two approaches often find themselves in conflict within the education policy space. Moreover, these diverging approaches have attracted different sets of advocates and public champions over time (for example, think of philanthropic megadonors often representing the 鈥渙utside-in鈥� approach and teacher unions as representing the 鈥渋nside-out鈥� approach). These groups frequently engage in conflict over teachers鈥� role (or blame) for past failures and offer contrasting views towards school improvement. Conflicts like these are at the heart of why teaching has earned the ignominious label of 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Strategically deploying different strategies, based on school context

Despite these conflicts, both policy approaches offer good ideas that have been borne out in the evidence, though they also come with limitations. And neither set offers enough to ensure a sufficient supply of effective teachers accessible for all students, a . If only we could deploy these policies in complementary ways, then we can make headway on some of the real staffing challenges facing schools. 

What this looks like in practice is that we develop a systematic plan about workforce management that is sensitive to workforce needs on the ground. The most important context here鈥攖he one conspicuously omitted from A Nation at Risk鈥攊s school settings that serve high-need student populations. We must recognize that these schools have a unique difficulty attracting and retaining quality teachers. Consequently, these schools spend disproportionate amounts of money and time recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding new teachers. Even if they could invest in building teacher quality, the high levels of turnover lower the expected return on that investment. In other words, these schools have a problem with teacher quantity first.

I propose that policymakers and school leaders prioritize efforts that build and sustain teacher quantity in these settings; in other words, the 鈥渙utside-in鈥� options are those most readily applicable. For example, monetary bonuses for teachers or generous service scholarships conditioned on working in high-need settings would be an excellent way to shore up the workforce. This does not mean that we ignore quality in these schools entirely, but we should only look to building quality once policies prioritizing a robust supply of qualified teachers are firmly in place, avoiding the unfortunate (but too common) scenario in which disadvantaged schools are seen as mere training grounds for novices before moving to greener pastures. Thus, the quality-developing 鈥渋nside-out鈥� reforms come second.

Outside of these high-need settings, where teacher supply is not nearly such a pressing need, these schools should emphasize building teacher quality first. Thus, the 鈥渋nside-out鈥� options come to the foreground. Further, as they develop and sustain these approaches, they can in turn offer a supply of high-quality teachers to support higher-need settings.

The state of the teacher pipeline continues to challenge schools

The state of public schools now is, on the surface, very different from that in 1983. We have just recently witnessed schools shutting down for months on end to limit the spread of COVID. Schools have also become new battlegrounds in culture wars. 

These developments have impacted the teacher workforce. First, teachers became frontline workers aiding children鈥檚 learning recovery, and increased burnout and elevated turnover in the wake of the pandemic. Second, the culture wars appear to have had on teachers. These challenges are layered on top of a teacher pipeline that was already weakened before the pandemic hit, prompting some experts to warn of a 鈥溾�� forming in the teacher labor market. 

The pipeline into teaching is objectively worse than any point in recent memory, with nearly of teacher training programs in 2020-21, a decline of over 40% from the (284,000 completers). These teacher graduates are now serving a student body that is more than than it was in 1970. The growing cost of college is also a widely perceived barrier for entry into profession, especially for who are have fewer financial resources and are more burdened by debts to get through school. Yet, are on the decline, offering little hope for a resurgent teacher pipeline. 

Under the surface, though, I also observe parallels between then and now. In 1983, like today, student achievement was tapering off after a period of high growth, and there was growing dissatisfaction with the . Also, student enrollments were dropping, as some families began opting for non-public school options. It was clear then, as it seems now, that our public schools are far from returning to that level of performance in our recent past.

Another fascinating parallel comes from a 2022 study by . Looking at historical trends in teacher prestige, interest in the profession, teacher preparation, and teacher satisfaction, the authors conclude that the teacher workforce is now near or at historic lows. In fact, the last time we were in this position was in the early 1980s, right before A Nation at Risk. Afterwards, there was a quick upsurge in public support for and interest in the teaching profession, though the authors could not pinpoint exactly what the catalyst was back then. Perhaps part of this turnaround was new messaging about the nobility of the teaching profession (championed by those reforming from the 鈥渋nside out鈥�). Perhaps part of the new interest in teaching was due to easier access into the profession and visible pay reform efforts (thanks to the 鈥渙utside-in鈥� reformers). 

Regardless of the source, what it suggests to me is that a much-improved prognosis for the teacher workforce and pipeline may not be far around the corner. We don鈥檛 need to think of new solutions. We just need to deploy the ones we have with more strategy and purpose.

社区黑料 is partnering with Stanford University鈥檚 Hoover Institution to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 鈥楢 Nation At Risk鈥� report. Hoover鈥檚 spotlights insights and analysis from experts, educators and policymakers as to what evidence shows about the broader impact of 40 years of education reform and how America鈥檚 school system has (and hasn鈥檛) changed since the groundbreaking 1983 report. (See our full series)

A group of Hunter High School students and educators welcomed first lady Jill Biden in a visit to the school, part of her whirlwind trip to Utah on Tuesday.

The majority of Hunter High students were dismissed in the afternoon, but some, including choir group The Madrigals and student council members, stayed to perform or to shake the first lady鈥檚 hand, sporting school T-shirts and jackets.

At the high school, Jill Biden, who is also a teacher, highlighted educator wellness in one of Utah鈥檚 most diverse areas, in front of 140 Hunter High employees in the school鈥檚 commons. Posters with teacher appreciation messages decorated the walls.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

In a quick visit to the Beehive State, Biden visited Hunter High School in West Valley City with Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, and Abby Cox, Utah鈥檚 first lady. She was also scheduled to attend .

鈥淭oday first lady Cox and I are here to tell you that you are not alone,鈥� Biden said, 鈥渢hat we understand, that we are working to honor this profession to give you the support that you deserve.鈥�

Sometimes it feels like the weight to educate people across the country 鈥渋s too heavy to carry,鈥� Biden said, especially after the pandemic as students have needed support for more issues in addition to academic performance.

She praised the president鈥檚 initiatives to address mental health and academic needs of students, including passing a bipartisan gun safety law and a student loans forgiveness program.

鈥淏ut he can鈥檛 do this alone. And here in Utah, he doesn鈥檛 have to, thanks to the work of your governor and your first lady,鈥� Jill Biden said, adding that Utah has taken 鈥渁 big step鈥� to ensure that teachers are properly compensated.

Jill Biden also highlighted the work of Utah鈥檚 first lady, Abby Cox, also an educator, to address exhaustion and burnout among teachers and school staff.

Educator wellness is one of Cox鈥檚 . As some educators in Hunter work with children in the foster care system and those with intellectual disabilities, the state is working with these communities to ensure their success.

鈥淒r. Biden and I have this passion for educators in common. She has been an advocate for teachers for as long as she鈥檚 been a teacher, and it鈥檚 been a long time,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淪o I love this opportunity that she and I have to come together in a shared purpose and a shared goal of uplifting our educators making sure that you have the tools and resources that you need to be successful.鈥�

Biden touched down on a cold Salt Lake City day and hurried to her motorcade Tuesday afternoon. She arrived an hour later than scheduled, a delay she later attributed to an inch of snow in Washington D.C., a fact she could laugh at in Utah.

Biden was greeted by first lady Abby Cox and her 17-year-old daughter, Emma Kate. Temperatures at the private hangar off Salt Lake City International Airport hovered around freezing at Biden鈥檚 arrival, attended by local media.

Following her visit to Hunter High School, the first lady was scheduled to attend fundraising events in Park City.

鈥淚t鈥檚 super special that we were chosen,鈥� Jordan Martinsen, an English teacher at Hunter High, said during the school event. 鈥�(The fact) that she鈥檚 a teacher herself makes it a more genuine message because she鈥檚 kind of been there and done that.鈥�

While she was receptive to the message, she鈥檚 still waiting for more action from the state to address educators鈥� wellness, she said.

鈥淚 love this school, and I love this district. So I鈥檓 not going anywhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey talked about a lot of really nice, lovely things. Sometimes that鈥檚 not the day-to-day reality, but I did like the message and I think it鈥檚 nice to be reminded that there鈥檚 people on your side.鈥�

Parallel to West Valley City, which according to the is a minority-majority community, Hunter High鈥檚 school body is predominantly composed of students of color, which make up 66% of its population 鈥� 50% of them are Hispanic 鈥� according to 2022 data.

About 48% of students were also reported to be economically disadvantaged, according to the Granite School District.

鈥淐ompensation is a part of meeting teachers鈥� needs, but it鈥檚 also about instructional support,鈥� Granite School District superintendent Rich K. Nye said on Tuesday. 鈥淲hat does it look like to have, say, a literacy paraprofessional in the room, or an interventionist in the room, or a school psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker to be able to meet the needs of the students?鈥�

The district has grown its mental health resources available for teachers through insurance plans or its own wellness clinics, Nye said.

The district has also prioritized strategies to address teachers鈥� retention concerns, prioritizing the recruitment of educational support professionals, and taking into account their interests and that they represent the communities鈥� demographics.

Biden, according to her , has championed different educational initiatives to open up more opportunities to all students, such as universal preschool and more affordable higher education chances, including free community college.

In her , Biden walked through Glendale Middle School, located on Salt Lake City鈥檚 west side and also known for its, where she met with students and spoke about her commitment to raise teachers鈥� compensations and recruit more staff of color.

The first lady was set to depart Utah Tuesday night for San Francisco, where she鈥檚 scheduled for additional fundraising events for the Biden Victory Fund and other community meetings. Jill Biden will visit San Francisco and Healdsburg in California, in addition to Columbus, Ohio.

McKenzie Romero contributed to this report.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: info@utahnewsdispatch.com. Follow Utah News Dispatch on and .

Jennifer Church, the lead special education teacher at Pelham Ridge Elementary School in Pelham, knows how much her colleagues do before stepping into a classroom.

鈥淭he referral meetings, eligibility meetings, IEP (individualized educational plan) meetings, the parent contacts just to organize all of that,鈥� she said. 鈥淲riting the IEPS 鈥� providing the services to the students each day and then also helping with any general education assignments that need to be helped with in the classroom.鈥�

And to keep special education teachers in place, the Alabama State Department of Education is asking the Legislature for a little bit more.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

The department鈥檚 budget request includes a call for a stipend for special education teachers in the hopes of recruiting new teachers and retaining existing ones in areas with shortages.

Michael Sibley, spokesman for the department, said over email that the stipend amount requested is $5,000 and 20% ($1,000) benefits for each teacher.

A new teacher in Alabama with a bachelor鈥檚 degree would make A new teacher in Mississippi at a would make A new teacher in Georgia with a would make the base teacher salary in Tennessee is $42,000.

Special education is a term that covers a range of specialties, and special education teachers work with students with a range of needs. Some of those specialties have greater shortages than others. But the department for now but, for now, they are looking at a flat stipend across the board for special education teachers.

Mackey said the goal is to convince people to become special education teachers.

鈥淭his year, the Legislature provided a $1,000 stipend but it only went to special ed teachers who were paid for out of the state budget, foundation program budget,鈥� he said.

This year鈥檚 request would cover teachers paid for by federal and local funds, as well. His goal is to provide the stipends for every special education teacher in the state.

Both Mackey and special education educators across the state have said that it鈥檚 important that specially trained teachers are the ones who work with special education students.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a parent of a child that has these really severe needs, then you want to make sure you have the most qualified teacher working with them,鈥� he said.

Akeliah Palmer, a collaborative resource and special education teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Selma, said that she has about 30 students on her caseload.

She said that special education is hard to staff, so she hopes the stipend might help in recruiting.

鈥淔or them to keep the stipend would be a great idea because it may recruit more workers to come over to [special education],鈥� she said.

Church said that forging personal relationships is also important for her role as a special education teacher.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one blanket plan for the children,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 individualized to each child. So we write these for their strengths, their weaknesses, the services that they need. It also has to be legally defensible.鈥�

Cynthia Rysedorph, special education department chair at Mountain Brook High School, said that she thinks a stipend could encourage teachers to stay in the classroom.

鈥淚t was somewhat empowering, I think, just to feel recognized,鈥� she said about this past year鈥檚 stipend..

Retention is critical, Mackey said, because of the volume of work special education teachers do.

鈥淏ecause of special ed is obviously an area that鈥檚 intense focus, there is a lot of additional paperwork because the significance of some federal rules around that, so we often hear teachers say, 鈥榊ou know what, I鈥檓 going to leave teaching special ed, and just teach fourth grade, because it鈥檚 the same pay,鈥欌�� he said.

Mackey said that the department is targeting teachers trained and certified to teach both special education and elementary general education. Some of those teachers might have gone to general education, and he wants the stipend to encourage them to come back to special education. He said those teachers are certified under collaborative special education.

For now, he said, the department is looking at a flat stipend, but Mackey left open the possibility of offering more in areas with particular shortages.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 something certainly could be discussed,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike, you know, the Legislature comes back and wants to talk about, 鈥榃ell, what if we do a different amount for a child, for a teacher who has students with learning disabilities versus one with students who have medical disabilities?鈥�

Last year, the Department asked for $68 million and received $4.6 million for special education stipends. This year, the department has requested for $34 million. House education budget chair Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, said in October he did not have any information about the funding this year going up as he has not seen the request or had discussions.

The Alabama State Board of Education鈥檚 budget request goes to the governor鈥檚 office. The governor makes a recommendation of her version that then goes to the Legislature who will approve their version of the budget.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Charlene Williams is about a month into the monumental job of leading a state education department in the wake of COVID.

She鈥檚 recently moved into the same office as her predecessor, Colt Gill, whose tenure as director of the Oregon Department of Education was defined by the public health threat of a lifetime and the challenge of getting 30,000 teachers and 500,000 students out of school buildings and onto computers for more than a year.

Williams鈥� tenure is likely to be defined by how she helps those teachers and students regain some of what they lost during that time.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

In Oregon, students who were already deemed behind by measurements of credits, assessment tests and attendance before the pandemic, fell further, according to state data. More than 60% of first-time teachers who started in 2020 did not return to their posts the following year, exacerbating educator shortages in certain subjects and areas of the state.

As the newly appointed head of the state education department 鈥� the state Senate is expected to confirm her as director in September 鈥� Williams, 52, said she will unite the state鈥檚 197 school districts around priorities that include growing and diversifying the teacher workforce, improving outcomes for students furthest behind and boosting literacy rates, attendance and student mental health.

Williams has already proven she can do that work, according to those who鈥檝e worked with her in Portland Public Schools, where she spent the bulk of her education career before leading the state education agency.

Her career has been defined by serving students furthest behind, and who other adults and schools have given up on.

During her 17 years in Portland, Williams helped adults earn their high school equivalency diplomas, taught at and led an alternative high school and became principal of what was the city鈥檚 highest-need, lowest-performing high school, turning it around within four years.

Williams, who was born and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, by her father and grandparents, said that her family valued school, but there wasn鈥檛 much pressure for her to attend college or choose any specific career. Her grandmother had a third-grade education, her grandfather left school after sixth grade, and she was inspired to see her dad earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree as an adult.

It wasn鈥檛 until Williams started talking with her high school math teachers about her future that she felt she was set on a career course that led her to the highest education office in Oregon, serving as its first Black director.

鈥淚 see as exceptional the work teachers do every day to inspire students like myself who may not even know all the options that are available, but who saw fit to inform me, to love me enough, equip me enough, and to pour into me the way they did,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 just trying to pay that forward.鈥�

Disrupting inequities

Williams鈥� high school math teachers challenged her to think about how her talents could be applied to disrupting inequities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. They got her thinking about college.

Just when she thought she鈥檇 made up her mind to become an engineer, she was thrust into teaching. During a math class senior year, a substitute who was supposed to teach calculus for the week did not in fact know any calculus. Williams taught the class instead, and loved it.

鈥淎fter that week, it solidified for me that if I really wanted to disrupt inequities, it was really about time to go into education,鈥� she said.

She earned undergraduate and masters degrees in math education at North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University, and spent her first four years out of college teaching high school math in Greensboro, North Carolina, in a struggling district with high teacher and administrator turnover. The principal she worked under became her model for leadership, she said.

He brought parents, community leaders, teachers and school staff together regularly to share ideas and strategies for improving the school, which eventually made great gains, Williams said. It taught her that leadership was not about making decisions in isolation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have a range of perspectives that inform your decisions so that you can truly have the community and the school behind what you鈥檙e trying to do,鈥� she said.

Then, in 1998, her husband got a job in Portland for what he and assured her would be a three-year journey before they鈥檇 go elsewhere, but they stayed put in the Northwest.

Turning Roosevelt around

After several years teaching adults at Portland Community College, Williams started in 2002 to teach math at Rosemary Anderson High School, a private alternative school in North Portland that鈥檚 a sort of 鈥渓ast chance high school鈥� for students who鈥檝e been expelled or dropped out of other schools.

The seven years she spent there were among the most formative of her career, she said. She learned that students are always listening and internalizing the labels given to them by adults.

Williams recalled giving a pep talk to students preparing to take a math assessment one day when a student of color interrupted her to say that everyone already expected her and her peers to fail.

鈥淭hat was a moment where I decided for myself, like, no more of this,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have students believing that they are the problem.鈥�

Jenni Villano, a retired educator and mentor to Williams, met her in 2006 when Williams was at Rosemary Adams. Alternative schools like Rosemary Adams often seem to be little more than 鈥渃redit factories,鈥� Villano said, where teachers give students credit just for showing up to class.

鈥淐harlene was going to have none of that,鈥� Villano said. 鈥淐harlene created an environment of true learning. She wanted her students to have true options and a future.鈥�

Williams ascended to the school鈥檚 director of education while continuing to teach math in the mornings. In 2010, she took a job as principal for one of three small high schools that collectively made up the campus of Portland Public Schools鈥� Roosevelt High School.

The state had considered Roosevelt an underperforming school since the early 1980s. It had high turnover, and students scored well below state averages in reading and math. It served the highest proportion of high schoolers from low-income families in the district, and nearly 80% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Roosevelt was also among the most diverse schools in the district. About one-third of students were Latino 鈥� the largest proportion of Latino students in the district 鈥� about one-quarter were African American and another third white.

As the three smaller schools within Roosevelt鈥檚 campus prepared to combine into a single high school, Williams helped apply for funding under an Obama-era program to help the lowest-performing schools in each state and brought in nearly $8 million. She was promoted to principal of the combined high school.

With the money, she was able to pay for new computers and technology, hired six nonacademic employees to help with college and career readiness and outreach to families and brought on a behavioral health coach. She also used some of the money to hire more teachers, so that high-performing teachers could spend part of the day coaching their peers one-on-one and in groups.

To boost enrollment and support from the neighborhood families, many of whom had sent their kids to other schools in Portland given Roosevelt鈥檚 reputation over the years, she held frequent community informational meetings and organized events to hear about families鈥� concerns.

People who most vehemently opposed or questioned Williams were invented to meet with her regularly in the school to talk, Villano said.

鈥淲hen there鈥檚 pushback and your views and strategies are questioned, most people don鈥檛 handle that well,鈥� Villano said. 鈥淚n fact, Charlene brings that person onto her team so that they can see what鈥檚 really happening as opposed to making assumptions.鈥�

When Williams took over as principal in 2010, there were about 700 students enrolled at Roosevelt, and just 39% graduated on time, according to data from the Oregon Department of Education. By the time Williams left in 2014, enrollment had grown by 30% to more than 900 students.

The on time graduation rate rose to nearly 64% for the class of 2012, but dropped to 53% in 2014, still nearly 15% higher than when Williams assumed the role of principal. The overall completion rate 鈥� anyone who earned a regular or alternative diploma or GED within five years of entering high school 鈥� was 77% by the time she left.

Alison Taylor, a teacher at Roosevelt High School, said Williams also worked hard to get buy-in from teachers at the school, who were used to administrators who would come in, shake things up and leave quickly.

鈥淲hat happens is that teachers say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to leave in two years so I just have to wait you out.鈥� But she didn鈥檛. She was there. She stayed,鈥� Taylor said.

Williams was promoted to the Portland Public Schools鈥� central office as senior director of school performance, where she continued to make improvements at Roosevelt and model similar changes across several other schools. During that time, she also earned a doctorate in education leadership from Lewis & Clark College in Portland.

After more than 14 years in Portland Public Schools, Williams left to become assistant superintendent of the Camas School District in Camas, Washington, and then deputy superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Washington, where Williams now lives.

Getting to work

Earlier this year, Williams was contacted by a head-hunting agency that Kotek鈥檚 office hired to find candidates for state education director. Williams said she was surprised to be among those contacted. The people who鈥檝e worked with her are not.

Elisa Schorr, a former Roosevelt vice principal who worked under Williams, said students will benefit if Williams can do what she did in Portland for the state.

鈥淚f she can pull that off for all these different districts, that all kind of have their own thing going on, to be powerful for kids, I think we鈥檒l be in a great place,鈥� Schorr said.

Craig Hawkins, executive director at the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators, said Williams wasn鈥檛 on his radar until her name surfaced as a potential candidate for education director. He talked with people he knew in Washington who knew Williams from Vancouver and Camas and felt confident she鈥檇 be good for the job.

鈥淓verything about those conversations leads me to believe that she鈥檒l be committed to the success of each and every kid in Oregon,鈥� he said.

After meeting with her, he鈥檚 impressed by her ability to ask good questions and to listen. He hopes she sticks around the education department for several years, as Gill did. The five years Gill was director was exceptionally long compared to his predecessors, none of whom stayed in the office for more than three years during the last decade.

鈥淚鈥檓 really rooting for Dr. Williams to be there five years or more,鈥� Hawkins said. 鈥淚t just helps in terms of having the relationships, that trust that actually speeds things up and allows you to do more.鈥�

It will also help as schools stare down years of turning around learning setbacks from COVID.

Williams, who earns about $250,000 a year, will continue on a statewide tour of districts this year to build relationships with school leaders, teachers, parents and kids and to talk about plans for the years ahead.

鈥淭he pandemic was a punch in the gut, and we are recovering and we鈥檙e learning how to take those deep breaths,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have to get back up and lean into the urgency of our students, learning what they need to learn to be successful.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on and .

A coalition of professors from across Idaho have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the state alleging a law prohibiting the use of public funds to promote or counsel in favor of abortion is 鈥渟weeping and unclear鈥� and violates their constitutional free speech and due process rights.  

It is the fourth lawsuit filed against Idaho for abortion-related laws, with three others challenging the details of the state鈥檚 near-total ban on abortion and a so-called 鈥渁bortion trafficking鈥� bill that restricts adults from taking minors out of state to obtain abortion care. Tuesday鈥檚 lawsuit targets the , which passed in the 2021 session of the Idaho Legislature and prohibited public funds from being used to 鈥減rocure, counsel in favor, refer to or perform an abortion.鈥� Since public schools are largely funded by the state government, the law applies to faculty and staff at colleges and universities, including the largest schools of Boise State University, the University of Idaho and Idaho State University. Violations of the law include penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony with prison time of up to 14 years, along with termination of employment and restitution of the public funds.

鈥淭he NPFAA therefore leaves Idaho鈥檚 public university educators with an impossible 鈥� and unconstitutional 鈥� choice: avoid any speech that could be construed as favorable to abortion in course materials, lectures, class discussions, student assignments and academic scholarship, or risk imprisonment, loss of livelihood and financial ruin for violating the law,鈥� the complaint says.

The lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge David C. Nye to issue a preliminary injunction that would block enforcement of the law.

States Newsroom has reached out to Idaho Attorney General Ra煤l Labrador鈥檚 office for comment.

The Idaho Family Policy Center, a state-based organization that has pushed for anti-abortion legislation since 2020, drafted the bill in conjunction with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a national religious organization that wrote the model legislation used to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Blaine Conzatti, president of the policy center, said in a press release Tuesday that the challenge is 鈥渕eritless鈥� and he believes it won鈥檛 be successful.

鈥淭he First and Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution do not provide carte blanche legal protections for higher education faculty to advocate or engage in criminal behavior on the taxpayer鈥檚 dime,鈥� Conzatti said in the release. 鈥淭he 鈥楴o Public Funds For Abortion Act鈥� simply does not infringe on academic speech protected by the First Amendment, including classroom discussion on topics related to abortion.鈥�

Professors have significantly altered courses for fear of prosecution, complaint says

The complaint was filed by the , the University of Idaho Faculty Federation and six individual professors: Aleta Quinn, Casey Johnson, Markie McBrayer, Zachary Turpin and Kathryn Blevins of the University of Idaho, and Heather Witt of Boise State University. The national and Idaho chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union are representing the plaintiffs, along with local law firm Strindberg Scholnick Birch Hallam Harstad Thorne.

Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told States Newsroom some plaintiffs reached out to the Idaho branch of the ACLU independently and others contacted the union to express their concerns. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 vital for Idaho鈥檚 public universities to have autonomy in fostering vibrant debate on their campuses, free from government interference,鈥� said Leo Morales, executive director of the ACLU of Idaho, in a press release. 鈥淚daho鈥檚 abortion censorship law directly undermines that autonomy, attempting to restrict educators鈥� free speech and stoke fear of retaliation for such speech in our state.鈥�

The complaint states the professors and the faculty within the two union groups teach about abortion across a diverse array of disciplines and say the law has placed a 鈥渟traitjacket upon the intellectual leaders鈥� of the state鈥檚 public universities.

鈥�(The law) has stifled free and open academic inquiry about abortion across Idaho鈥檚 public universities,鈥� the complaint states. 鈥淧rofessors who previously taught, discussed or wrote about abortion no longer do so. 鈥� The threat of prosecution continues to hang over professors as they plan for the upcoming school year, renewing their dilemma about how to structure their courses, teach their students and pursue their own research.鈥�

A professor of philosophy removed an entire section of her biomedical ethics course that discussed human reproduction out of fear of prosecution, and professors of history, sociology, journalism, political science and social work have significantly altered course content as well, according to the complaint. Professors have also made changes to lectures and halted classroom discussion, stopped assigning, evaluating and giving meaningful feedback on student research and writing, and refrained from pursuing or sharing some scholarly and academic work because of the law, it said.  

Martin Orr, president of the Idaho Federation of Teachers and a sociology professor at Boise State University, said professors have told him they have felt 鈥渙n edge鈥� during classroom discussions that veer into the topic of reproductive issues and students have reported feeling frustrated by the limitations placed on course content and professor instruction. The lack of clarity around the meaning of the law makes some teachers wonder if even talking about the law is perceived by some as 鈥減romoting abortion.鈥�

鈥淭his interview might constitute a violation of that law,鈥� Orr told States Newsroom. 鈥淔or a faculty member, just being accused of a violation could lead to termination, so it鈥檚 not like we would necessarily get our day in court before there were severe consequences.鈥�&苍产蝉辫; 

Orr said the stress of avoiding legal consequences is a distraction from the work and time that could be given to students, and it can interfere with the types of exercises typically used in a classroom setting. 

鈥淪tudents are not infrequently assigned to argue a position they don鈥檛 agree with, it helps us think critically and communicate more effectively,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淐an we suggest, even as devil鈥檚 advocate, that students argue in favor of reproductive rights? There are all sorts of fundamental teaching tools that start to look very dangerous in this context.鈥�

Attorneys argue law does not provide adequate definitions

The attorneys also argue the law violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits vague laws, in part because the law does not provide definitions for words like referring or counseling in favor of abortion. Because the law is unclear, it allows police and prosecutors to arbitrarily and discriminatorily enforce the law and 鈥渄raw their own lines between permissible and prohibited speech,鈥� according to the complaint. 

In March, portions of an art exhibit  at Lewiston鈥檚 Lewis-Clark State College because it included depictions of abortion pills and taped interviews with women who had abortions for various reasons. The college鈥檚 spokesperson cited the section of code with the No Public Funds for Abortion Act and said after obtaining legal advice, some of the proposed exhibits could not be included.

At the beginning of the University of Idaho鈥檚 fall semester in 2022, the school鈥檚 general counsel  to all employees advising them not to provide any reproductive health counseling to students and prohibiting the dispensing of any drugs classified as emergency contraception except in cases of rape. The memo also said the language of the law was unclear and because violations could result in a felony, the attorneys were taking a conservative approach.

Following the memo, Idaho Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced a bill in January to withhold sales tax revenue from cities that declined to enforce abortion laws, and that bill included language stating the law should not be interpreted to include classroom discussion of abortion, but it did not advance. The version that  into law, , did not include that language.

The story was originally published at .

The Brazosport Independent School District is always in need of more teachers 鈥� and for a long time, it wasn鈥檛 able to find enough.

Located about 60 miles south of Houston, the 11,500-student district doesn鈥檛 have a big college of education nearby to churn out new teachers. It鈥檚 hard to compete with larger districts in the region for talent or convince educators to move to the small town of Clute, where Brazosport ISD is based. Over time, classroom sizes grew as vacancies stayed open.

That鈥檚 why the district created its own pipeline. Last August, it launched a unique 鈥渢eacher apprenticeship鈥� program that allows aspiring teachers to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree and teacher certification 鈥� at no cost. In return, the teachers have to work in the district for at least three years. The plan includes a paid residency program in which apprentices are paired with a teacher mentor and work with them in a classroom for a full school year.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

鈥淲hen the first bell rings for Brazosport ISD next [school] year for these folks, they鈥檙e going to be considered a rookie, but they鈥檙e not a rookie. We say it’s not Day 1. It’s actually Day 181 for our teacher residents,鈥� said Becky Hampton, a senior education specialist working with the district.

Public education advocates are following the program with high hopes, believing it could become a blueprint for other Texas districts as they look for ways to stem the state鈥檚 critical teacher shortage.

Kristi Kirschner, chief human resource officer at Brazosport ISD, said the program started with 67 apprentices ranging from high school students with less than 30 college hours to participants with bachelor鈥檚 degrees.

Twenty-five teachers graduated from the program in time for the upcoming school year. Without these homegrown teachers, the district would have had to hire close to 60 teachers 鈥� now it needs to find just 35 more.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something we smile about often,鈥� Hampton said.

About 42% of those participating in the program this past school year were already district employees like warehouse workers or teacher aides. Apprentices are paid anywhere between $19,000 to $30,000 a year 鈥� depending on how far along they are in the program 鈥� and have their college tuition and fees paid for as a result of a partnership with Brazosport College and Inspire Texas, a teacher certification program. All of the participants are from the area.

The district loses nearly 130 teachers at the end of every school year and has a hard time staffing bilingual and special education teachers. But with this apprenticeship program, Kirschner said the district can train new teachers to fill roles that have been historically hard to staff.

There are across the state, but most are partnerships between districts and universities in which students work in a classroom only during their last semester or year of college. What makes the Brazosport ISD program unique is that high school students can start the process of becoming teachers while still in school and, in some cases, it can be much more affordable than earning a four-year college degree.

Texas鈥� teacher shortage crisis

Teacher preparation has been in the spotlight since last year as Texas looks for better ways to recruit and retain educators.

Texas has year after year, and it got worse after the pandemic. Health and safety were top concerns for teachers, and their salaries largely stagnated while basic necessities got more expensive. More kids are in each school classroom as a result; in some cases, children are spending days without a teacher.

A task force formed last year by Gov. to study the root causes of the state鈥檚 teacher shortage that the state fund programs like the one Brazosport ISD is running.

鈥淩esearch shows that teacher residency models increase teacher retention, effectively place teachers in hard-to-staff areas, and positively impact student outcomes,鈥� the task force report said.

According to the National Center for Teacher Residencies, 86% of teachers who go through such programs are still teaching in the same school after three years of employment.

These residency programs help teachers stay in the profession longer because participants are usually paired with a mentor to guide them and, in most cases, they gain a deeper understanding of what challenges teachers face and how to overcome them, according to the Learning Policy Institute. The schools that employ them also have a chance to prepare them directly, the institute said.

鈥淩esidencies are a promising long-term solution to meeting district hiring needs, allowing districts to play a direct role in training their future workforce,鈥� a Learning Policy Institute report says.

A failed legislative effort

During the Texas Legislature鈥檚 regular session this year, lawmakers tried passing a teacher preparation bill that would鈥檝e given school districts funds to establish programs like Brazosport ISD鈥檚. Most notably, , authored by Rep. , D-Houston, would have partially funded residency programs and offered teachers a slew of other incentives like free pre-K for their own children. , authored by Sen. , R-Conroe, would have also funded similar programs.

But after political fallouts between the Texas House and Senate. SB 9 failed after House Democrats stuffed their version of the bill with some of their priorities, like better pay for bus drivers and increases to school funding. HB 11 never made it out of a Senate committee.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that many of the best approaches to address record teacher vacancies, including paid residency pathways, got stuck in the red zone at the end of the regular legislative session,鈥� said Jonathan Feinstein, state director for Texas at The Education Trust.

鈥淭hese strategic investments have support in both chambers and are urgently needed to prepare and keep highly qualified teachers in our classrooms.鈥�

To pay for its apprenticeship program, Brazosport ISD freed up money in its budget, got financial help from the nearby community college and applied for grants to make up the rest. But finding the resources to establish such a program might not be as easy for other school districts across the state that are looking to fix their own teaching shortage woes.

With Abbott expected to announce a special session on education soon, educators and school administrators are hopeful that lawmakers will not only raise teacher wages but also provide funding to establish similar residency programs.

Dutton said he plans to file a bill similar to HB 11 and will name it after Tamoria Jones, a staffer in his office who recently died and had a fiery passion for education.

Creighton also plans to include language from his earlier teacher preparation bill into whatever public education package the Senate ends up proposing.

Kirschner said lawmakers should incentivize districts to start their own residency programs.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 solve the [state鈥檚 teacher shortage] here in Brazosport ISD,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we do think that we have a really great solution that a lot of school districts are wanting to understand and going 鈥榟ow can they do this?鈥� 鈥�

Dreams and second chances

For some participants of Brazosport ISD鈥檚 program, the apprenticeship has provided them with a chance to pursue a long-held dream.

Jennifer Martinez said going back to college wasn鈥檛 in her plans until she heard about Brazosport ISD鈥檚 program. She had been a teaching assistant at the district for the last five years but never thought she鈥檇 one day be leading the classroom.

Martinez teared up when talking about the opportunity the district gave her. She鈥檒l be a full-time teacher in two years 鈥� and have more financial flexibility because of it.

She knows being a teacher in Texas might mean being underpaid 鈥� and in some cases, underappreciated 鈥� but that didn鈥檛 stop her from pursuing a place in the profession. For her, knowing she can have an impact on kids makes up for everything else.

鈥淭he kids love being there with you and make you feel like you鈥檙e worth a million bucks,鈥� Martinez said.

Cody Scarborough, another aspiring teacher, has just finished his yearlong residency and will lead his own classroom in the upcoming school year. He said he would not have become a teacher if it weren鈥檛 for the free tuition and support that Brazosport ISD鈥檚 program offered. Scarborough said he鈥檚 been able to learn about different methods of teaching from his mentor and fellow cohort members.

鈥淚n Texas, apprenticeship programs are growing and people are seeing what鈥檚 happening at other school districts and trying to learn and grow,鈥� Scarborough said. 鈥淭his is the future.鈥�

Alexis Burse, an apprentice who still has a year left, was a stay-at-home mom who could not afford to go back to college for a teaching degree. She said the program gave her a second chance at becoming a teacher.

鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 almost to the point where I feel secure, where I can just kind of just breathe and know I will always have a good career,鈥� she said. 鈥淭eachers are going nowhere.鈥�

Disclosure: Brazosport College and Education Trust have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

This article originally appeared in , a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

This includes a student who writes Sonneborn every year on the anniversary of his death to let her know that her dad, John Hammerback, is the reason she earned a Ph.D.

Sonneborn鈥檚 father鈥檚 legacy is why she co-founded , a website where students and families nominate teachers for a public tribute.

鈥淒on’t wait … Tell them now how much they changed your life while they’re still there, Sonneborn said, 鈥渋t can make for such a beautiful cycle.鈥�

Sonneborn and her partner Katherine Boone wanted to create an easy, fun and meaningful way to provide positive feedback to teachers, finding over the years that it 鈥渞eally does make a strong and significant impact.鈥�

All nominees are added to the site’s 鈥淗onor Roll鈥� 鈥� and each month since 2017 the organization one to be profiled and the subject of a photoshoot. 

鈥淲e really thought about a lot of different models,鈥� said Sonneborn, 鈥渁nd in creating the Honored model we realized it was something that really wasn鈥檛 out there already.鈥�

From charter school teachers on the east coast to district school teachers on the west coast and everywhere in between, Honored has celebrated 70 teachers recognizing each monthly honoree with a $5,000 award and $1,000 to donate to another teacher of their choice.

The organization also partners with photographers and of Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and bestselling authors, who profile the honorees in hopes of widely sharing their inspiring stories. 

鈥淒uring teacher appreciation week you can bring a gift card or something, but there wasn鈥檛 an easy way to really express,鈥� said Sonneborn 鈥� 鈥渢hat gratitude we as parents have for our wonderful, life changing teachers,鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 a term that鈥檚 thrown around for teachers, that they鈥檙e 鈥榰nsung heroes鈥� and I really think that鈥檚 accurate,鈥� she said. 鈥� 鈥� they鈥檙e literally changing the future of our communities and our children but without a lot of attention and appreciation.

The profiles reveal and recognize the ways educators go above and beyond just teaching students curriculum, like Teshawn Leslie, a human resources management teacher at PSJA Sonia M. Sotomayor P-TECH High School in Pharr, Texas, an early college high school for pregnant and parenting teens.

The student who Leslie told Nadra Nittle, an Education Journalist at The 19th News she wanted to give up on her future, but because of Leslie, she now strives to succeed.

鈥淲e really try to seek out those unique stories of all different types of teachers,鈥� Sonneborn said.

One story she loves to shine a light on was Jon Anderson, who teaches at a wilderness school in Colorado for teens who have challenges in traditional school settings.

鈥淭he student who honored him said that he just had no idea where he鈥檇 be in his life without this teacher 鈥� he actually said he might not even be alive,鈥� said Sonneborn, discussing the range of heartfelt stories she鈥檚 heard over the years.

鈥淥ur model is consistent recognition for teachers … so every week is Teacher Appreciation Week at Honored.鈥�

Sonneborn feels her organization’s work has become more important than ever since the pandemic.

鈥淭here have been several teachers that mentioned how it鈥檚 been tough the last couple of years, but that the recognition has encouraged them to stay in the classroom,鈥� Sonneborn said.

Honored noticed an uptick in nominations during the pandemic. In May of 2020, they published a special edition profiling several teachers called

鈥淭he last several years have been probably some of the hardest years that teachers have faced and so the more we can uplift them 鈥� the better,鈥� she said, noting that they saw a bump in nominations during COVID, highlighting teachers that went 鈥渁bove and beyond.鈥�

Honored surveyed their nominated teachers and found 90% of their nominees say that they鈥檙e more likely to continue teaching for the next five years. 95% feel more inspired in their teaching practice after being nominated; and the vast majority said they are compelled to continue focusing on relationship building after being nominated.

The site shares a statistic from that teachers who receive recognition plan to keep teaching at their schools for nearly twice as long. However, 71% of teachers say they have not recently received recognition, according to .

鈥淭eachers aren鈥檛 going into the profession for the money. They鈥檙e going into the profession to make an impact on the kids,鈥� Sonneborn said, 鈥淪o to provide this feedback to them that they are making a difference and that they are appreciated is so important.鈥�

Meet 2023鈥檚 Honorees and a teacher today:

In late 2021, fast food restaurants in the Bridgeport, West Virginia area announced they were hiring at a starting salary of $12, $13 or even $14 an hour 鈥� far higher than the state鈥檚 $8.75 minimum wage. 鈥淵ou know the economy is changing and you have to keep up,鈥� Trippett, the director of Cubby鈥檚 Child Care Center, said.

Like the rest of the country, she is struggling to hire staff and is actively working to boost morale and retention. Before COVID, she could hire for $9 or $10 an hour and expect to have some stability. Now she offers $11-$13 hourly 鈥� straining what the families who use her center can afford to pay 鈥� and still having trouble retaining employees. Trippett鈥檚 staff has been under enormous stress the past three years, she explains, but it has recently shifted. At first staff was worried about the transmission of Covid. Now, the pressure is financial.

鈥淚鈥檝e had some staff leave recently because they can鈥檛 afford child care for their own children at my center,鈥� said Trippett. 鈥淢ost of my staff that has left recently left to stay home with their kids, or go to work in the medical field where they can work nights鈥nd not have to pay for child care.鈥� Trippett used to offer a steep discount for staff members enrolling children at her center, but the rising costs of keeping her business afloat meant she had to make changes. She estimates half of her staff rely on WIC or SNAP government benefits to make ends meet.

What鈥檚 happening at Trippett鈥檚 center is evidence of the bleak picture for early child care educators and workers, a situation that has helped fuel a spike in depressive symptoms.

A published in January on by researchers Daphna Bassok, Isabelle Fares and Anna Markowitz tracked the pre- and post-COVID psychological well-being of educators at 100 child care centers across Virginia. Researchers found that depressive symptoms jumped from 19% to 32% between 2019 and 2022. Teachers were more likely to endorse every symptom of depression (across seven items of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale) in 2020, 2021 and 2022 than they were pre-COVID, with the highest rates of every symptom reported in 2022.

Half of the respondents had some evidence of food insecurity and were worried about running out of money before being paid again. A third were unable to sleep well because of financial worries, and 20 percent responded that many of their bills are past due.

鈥淲e wanted to look at the major issues affecting child care providers in the field,鈥� said Anna Markowitz, one of the authors of the study and an assistant professor of education at UCLA. Over 100,000 child care workers have left the profession since the pandemic started, and the field has . While many child care workers, like those who work with Trippett, did receive a pay increase, Markowitz and her team found that most of the adjustments made between 2020 and 2022 did not keep pace with inflation.

Providers鈥� inability to offer a substantial wage increase is one reason people do not want to return to these jobs. The increase in educators’ and caregivers鈥� level of depression 鈥渨as notable and substantial,鈥� said Markowitz, and can affect the level of care provided. 鈥淎 depressed caregiver may not be as quick to have those one-on-one interactions that we know are necessary to help kids grow,鈥� she said.

The United States has historically treated child care as a separate entity from K-12 education, where paid sick leave, retirement benefits and wage growth are considered the norm nationally. Some of that separation is due to child care鈥檚 evolution as being a primarily custodial intuition, . Another factor is America鈥檚 intense cultural narrative surrounding the stay-at-home mother, even though the majority of homes in this country . But research , both for kindergarten readiness and overall lifetime learning.聽Even after child care received national attention during the Covid pandemic as a necessary part of a functioning economy, partisan gridlock killed the Build Back Better bill in 2022, which would have been a significant boost to the beleaguered industry.

The economics of child care make things difficult for any center to operate with profitable margins. Very young children require more staff, parents have limited resources to pay for full-time care, and child care workers rarely have enough income or benefits to support themselves, much less a family.

鈥淐ovid allowed people to say, 鈥業鈥檓 done. I鈥檓 not going back to deal with all this stress. I need to get away from this,鈥欌�� said Ayelet Lichtash, founder and executive director of the Alef Bet Montessori in Rockville, Maryland.

Lichtash found child care worker recruitment to be challenging in the post-Covid job market. She looked into ways to improve employee morale and solicited feedback from her staff members on how to make their jobs more manageable. She listened to the educators鈥� feedback and shortened the length of the day, contracting with another after-school program to watch children during the late afternoon hours so her teachers could be done earlier. Lichtash gave a seven percent raise across the board and hired an extra teacher so that staff could take days off without fear of coverage needs. Once a week, she hosts a team building meeting and makes time to celebrate monumental life events. Lichtash also schedules one-on-one meetings with her staff three times a year.

鈥淢y door is open,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd they can come in and say anything they want.鈥�

Part of the reason Lichtash can make these accommodations is due to Maryland鈥檚聽, which provides nearly full tuition for bilingual children, children with a disability or children with parents whose income falls under the poverty line. She explained the paperwork is so time-consuming, she had to work on her own time over the weekend to finish it. The extra financial support has been crucial in allowing her staff to feel supported and sustained in their roles.

Lichtash also benefits from the surrounding community: her聽child care center is located in a zip code where median home values are just shy of half a million dollars; she can call upon parents and the local community for fundraising support. But Lichtash鈥檚 fundraising and grant writing efforts cannot be easily scaled to other child care providers, particularly without additional state and federal investment.

鈥淚t鈥檚 clear in the wake of COVID, we have not made the investment to change the conditions of this workforce. There is a baseline need for their emotional and financial stability that hasn鈥檛 been met, and until we meet this need, we will be dealing with these same staffing and wellbeing issues over and over again,鈥� said Markowitz. She estimates that the well-being of child care providers is likely to get worse as the Covid recovery dollars evaporate since through the American Rescue Plan Act need to be spent or liquidated by September 2023, and the child care supplemental funds need to be spent or liquidated by September 2024.

The lack of an investment in a child care workforce is a 鈥渄ouble deficit,鈥� Markowitz said. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 giving the kids the start they need, and we are not paying the providers. We have built a system that is designed to facilitate an opportunity gap. By letting this workforce flounder, we are setting ourselves up for more inequalities down the line.鈥�

With the back to school honeymoon now officially over, seasoned educators have taken to the social media platform to share their best classroom tips with hashtags like #teachertwitter, #badteacheradvice, and threads from newbie teachers looking for a little direction.

鈥淚t鈥檚 that time of year,鈥� one teacher, @heymrsbond posted. 鈥淭he honeymoon has worn off鈥ace yourself. Celebrate the wins loudly.鈥�

Between pleas to ignore the now infamous advice 鈥溾�� was a reminder not to sweat the small stuff. 

鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 best to let the small things go,鈥� tweeted Anne-Marie Longpre, a teacher from Toronto. 

What if a student comes to class unprepared every day, continually dipping into a dwindling classroom supply of yellow Ticonderoga pencils? Should the teacher reprimand the student?

鈥淛ust give him the bloody pencil,鈥� Tweeted Ms. Chris Robinson, a teacher from Northern England. 

 Showing students their teacher is human was strongly recommended.

 鈥淟et your kids see you mess up,鈥� offered Se帽ora Campbell, a Spanish teacher in Texas.

Whether they鈥檙e new to the classroom and wondering how coworkers manage being on their feet all day, when the best time to eat lunch is, or they鈥檙e just looking for a boost in morale, here鈥檚 what Teacher Twitter recommends to new educators:

1. New teachers don鈥檛 have to figure everything out on their own. Find a mentor:  

Find a mentor. That person doesn’t have to be at your school or teach your grade, but should be at your level–elem, middle, or high. Spend an hour or so over a beverage & just talk about being a teacher: joys, fears, & maybe some practical tips. Know you someone for support.

鈥� 饾敾饾暎. 鈩濔潟狆潟擆潟栶潟ｐ潟ヰ潟� (@elainej)

2. Opponents of 鈥淒on鈥檛 smile until Christmas鈥� say smile away:

My mentor teacher told me the infamous 鈥渄on鈥檛 smile until Christmas鈥� line my first teaching. I was miserable. I didn鈥檛 like teaching until I could be my whole self doing it

鈥� Sarah 鈥淢ili鈥� Milianta-Laffin (@MiliLaff)

3. Minimize distractions with this trick: 

4. Check yourself 鈥� before you overstress yourself: 

5. Students won鈥檛 remember every lesson, but they will remember how you made them feel: 

6. If a student comes to class unprepared, there may be more to the story: 

7. Invest in good shoes 鈥� and an emergency supply drawer full of snacks:聽

8. Don鈥檛 react to everything:

9. Lunch is a protected time that should not include work:  

10. Make space for classroom surprises: 

11. Makes friends with all of your colleagues, not just other teachers:  

12. Teachers are human. Mistakes will be made:

Covering the actual cost of care may sound like a no-brainer. But even for subsidized child care, most states instead pay based on what local, private-paying parents manage to cobble together for their own child care. Because most working families cannot afford the true price of care, which by law requires heavy staffing, this results in , one that is rarely enough to pay teachers a living wage. More than half of the nation鈥檚 child care workers rely on .

As Dan Wuori, senior director of early learning at the Hunt Institute , this means that even when it comes to government-funded care, the cost gets subsidized with the low wages of its workforce, one that is disproportionately women of color. Low wages, in turn, , damaging program quality.

鈥淭he current financing of the child care system is broken for providers trying to keep their doors open, parents struggling to pay for care, and educators scrambling to provide for their own families,鈥� explains Simon Workman, principal of , in a recent for the .

In that report, Workman points out that basing subsidy payments on market rates can also mean that programs in the poorest areas receive the least funding, deepening inequities for vulnerable children during the time when brain development is most rapid and intense.

It鈥檚 for these reasons that even as President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration has pushed for sweeping child care reform through the Build Back Better bill, it is also urging states to reform subsidized child care. In June, the federal Administration for Children and Families of basing subsidy payment amounts on the broken market system, saying it 鈥渦ndermines program quality important to child development, leads to an insufficient supply of care, produces an underpaid workforce, creates an unstable sector and undercuts the employment of working parents.鈥�

The Administration recommends that states follow the lead of D.C., New Mexico and now Louisiana: Stop basing subsidy payments on the deceptively low rate of what local parents can afford, and instead pay for the cost of child care that pays teachers fairly.

States have had this option to pay based on cost since 2014, and several have tested the waters with and models that help to quantify the vast gulf between what decent care costs and what providers actually get paid. which developed an interactive cost estimation tool, found that the true cost of licensed child care for an infant is 43 percent more than what states reimburse programs for subsidized care.

In a field historically neglected by policy- and market-research, these tools provide valuable insight and data regarding which configurations, business models and quality incentives do and don鈥檛 work for child care. They put into numbers, for example, why child care programs serving children of different ages are more financially sustainable than programs for babies-only, and how some financial incentives for quality don鈥檛 even cover the costs of meeting quality benchmarks. This creates what Workman calls 鈥渁 disincentive to invest in quality.鈥�

D.C. was the first to pay based on cost of care, and has since seen a significant impact on the pay to lead teachers. The average salary of a lead teacher in a center , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics鈥攆rom just under $29,500 in 2018 to over $37,000 in 2021.

New Mexico鈥檚 new rates went into effect last year, so it鈥檚 too early to tell how they will impact teacher pay, but advocates are hopeful.

Workman warns that pay increases for teachers are not an automatic outcome of raising subsidy rates. Most subsidized care is offered by private providers who set their own teacher pay scales and cannot be forced to raise pay. Also, many child care programs cobble together a combination of tuition and subsidy payments, enrolling families paying out-of-pocket along with those paying with vouchers. In a program that has, say, only 20 percent of its children receiving subsidies, a bump in the subsidy payment may not be sufficient to raise teacher pay.

Then there鈥檚 the question of how states will afford to pay for more costly subsidies, when already there鈥檚 a dearth of government funding for child care. children eligible for a child care subsidy receive it.

To help pay for their increased subsidy rates, Louisiana will be tapping newly available funds designed for child care programs recovering from the pandemic. 鈥淪ome of those grant dollars are specifically to raise wages, but the worry is the grant dollars are only for two years,鈥� says Sonnier. Sonnier is concerned that without a long-term solution, fewer families may receive funded child care.

To most policymakers, the overarching solution is clear: For child care to pay a living wage or better, government-subsidized care must be way more widely available, and programs must be paid what decent care actually costs. The Build Back Better bill languishing in Congress would accomplish all of this, and more.

In the meantime, states can look to reform the way they pay for the small number of families receiving subsidized care 鈥� an act Sonnier says is as important symbolically as it is economically. 鈥淲e know 90 percent of brain development happens by age 4,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e really factoring the true cost of care, you鈥檙e factoring in what it costs to recruit and retain really talented people who like children and know what to do with them.鈥�

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona doesn鈥檛 expect to see more enrollment loss in public schools this fall, but said educators must 鈥渨ork twice as hard鈥� to rebuild the trust of some families after a year of remote learning and reopening delays.

鈥淚 am confident that everyone wants to return back to school and that schools are doing their best to get students back in. I know in some places it wasn鈥檛 quick enough for some families,鈥� the secretary said last week in a brief conversation with 社区黑料. 鈥淲hat we have to ensure is that we鈥檙e following the guidelines to make sure that our schools are safe and that we鈥檙e engaging our students and families in ways that we haven鈥檛 in the past.鈥�

Cardona said he recognized the challenges districts are facing in trying to make up for lost instruction. While he鈥檚 encouraged by what he鈥檚 seen during his recent visits to summer learning programs, he added that some districts will need to work harder to strengthen connections with other organizations so students can get the 鈥渁ccelerated support鈥� they need to overcome the pandemic鈥檚 impact.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen examples of it already 鈥� where schools are really stepping up to give students a good opportunity to engage socially and academically,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 expecting with full, in-person options for students that the sense of community and the sense of family that our students and families are longing for, that they鈥檙e going to get it.鈥�

Schools, Cardona said, also need to be specific with parents about what safety precautions they鈥檒l be taking this fall.

鈥淚 know some schools had major issues they had to address in terms of ventilation systems or ensuring that the environment was safe,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, this is a health pandemic. We want to make sure that schools are safe for our students and our staff.鈥�

And they should be clear about the opportunities they鈥檙e offering to help students make up for instruction they missed last school year, he added.

But the pandemic and learning loss aren鈥檛 the only reasons some parents have grown dissatisfied with schools over the summer. some parents want to see different learning options for their children when school starts this fall. And others are outraged over how districts are addressing issues of race and equity in the classroom, with debates dominating school board meetings from coast to coast.

Reiterating what he鈥檚 told House members during recent budget hearings, the secretary said the topic has become politicized. But he sympathized with administrators facing pressure over the issue and said he wants to shift attention to the resources schools now have to make school improvements.

Superintendents, 鈥渉ave shown tremendous leadership reopening schools during a pandemic,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey did their best to make sure that our students got the support that they needed. I don鈥檛 just mean a laptop and broadband access, which is in itself a challenge, but making sure our students were fed, making sure that they had the social and emotional support. We owe it to our education community to stand behind them.鈥�

In recent weeks, the secretary has visited summer learning programs in Los Angeles, New Jersey and Oregon, and said even though some districts to find enough staff to work over the summer, he said he鈥檚 seen strong examples of schools and nonprofit organizations sharing the responsibility for summer learning.

At the virtual reopening summit Cardona held in March, he said he 鈥渏okingly鈥� warned educators that he didn鈥檛 want to see students doing any 鈥渄itto鈥� sheets this summer and that he hoped for engaging programs that interest students while shoring up some of the academic skills they鈥檝e missed over the past year.

While he said he saw some students writing words on a whiteboard in a classroom in Portland, he said he was happy to report, 鈥淚 have not seen any worksheets.鈥�

Chris Riback:聽 Judy, welcome to the studio.

Judy Jablon: Thank you, Chris.

Chris Riback: So could we go right into the controversial stuff.

Judy Jablon:聽Why not?

Chris Riback:聽Why not? Why is training not always, or not necessarily, the best way, or the sufficient way to prepare people for the hard and important work of educating children?

Judy Jablon:聽Equity has been a challenge in early learning from the get go. It’s the challenge that we’ve all been trying to tackle.

Chris Riback:聽Yes.

Judy Jablon:聽You know the issues around wages. You know the issues around staff retention. What training does is it immediately sets the situation up where some people are in the know and some people are not. Someone’s the keeper of the right idea, and someone isn’t. And therefore-

Chris Riback:聽In the club, not in the club?

Judy Jablon:聽In the club, not in the club. And think about the power dynamics there. What we are trying to do in our work is shape a professional learning model that draws from some of the business sector’s greatest strengths around facilitation, around elevating the wisdom of the group and really creating an inquiry based setting where one person learns from another. And we are seeing, in early results, that as people feel this sense of shared power, they build more trust and the result is that there’s greater buy-in, more motivation, a sense of I can do this, I have a purpose. Most of us have at least 18 years of experience in education, where we experienced a didactic approach.

Chris Riback: Yes.

Judy Jablon: So now we’re asking the people in the lives of children up to five, that period of incredible brain development, we’re asking them to provide experiences for children that many of them haven’t even had themselves. And then the way we’re delivering the methodology is by standing and delivering Power Point presentations. A tenet of our organization is, how we show up with our participants has to in every way model best practices for children.

Chris Riback: Yes.

Judy Jablon: Whether it’s in how we build relationships and form trust with our partners, whether it’s the physical and emotional climate that we create in the learning space and the nature of the learning experiences, they have to be quintessentially mirroring the practices that we’re asking people to do with children. What our participants say is that thy feel almost like they laugh and they say, “So wait a second, we just learned how to shape a learning experience by doing one.” To me that’s a win-win.

Chris Riback:聽So tell me, how does your program work and who do you engage with? You engage at the state level, local, with the organizations? How does it work? Who do you engage with?

Judy Jablon: With Leading for Children’s approach, we basically enter a community that invites us. And we work either at a state agency level or if it’s a more local level, it’s a large agency that has many programs as part of it. And like Early Learning Nation, we’re building communities. We’re bringing together everybody in the young child’s ecosystem, the van driver, the parent, the cook, the teacher, the director, the coach.

Chris Riback:聽They’re all part of it.

Judy Jablon:聽They’re all part of our learning network. And what’s amazing is right from the get go, people say, “I’ve never been in the same room with these people.” And so, this sense of collective endeavor, of shared purpose, we’re breaking down the silos that have yielded competition across roles and really forging partnerships.

Chris Riback:聽You’re working with communities across the country.

Judy Jablon:聽We are.

Chris Riback:聽And I assume that those programs then get evaluated. How do they evaluations look? What do they look like?

Judy Jablon:聽Well, we’re a new organization. We’re just finishing our third year. Our early impact studies are sort of mind-blowing.

Chris Riback: Wow.

Judy Jablon:聽Mind-blowing. People are talking about a sense of agency they’ve never had. People are talking about the why of their work with incredible coherence. I’m making this decision for children because it will help them learn. To me, that’s the greatest impact we can have. Program climate is improving because as the adult/adult relationships get stronger, the tenor, the tone in the building is nicer, friendlier and children’s challenging behavior go down. So we’re really cultivating the social emotional skills of the adults. We’re also cultivating them as leaders and their sense of purpose is coming through in our early evaluation material. It’s quite exciting.

Chris Riback:聽I would like to close by asking you about leadership and you have several frameworks. One of them is the 鈥渇ive commitments of optimistic leadership.鈥� I love that 鈥渙ptimistic leadership.鈥�

Judy Jablon:聽Thank you.

Chris Riback:聽Run through the five commitments if you would like 鈥� you don’t have to. But overall, what is that concept? What does it mean to be committed to optimistic leadership?

Judy Jablon: Well I think, in my work, one of the things that I know I didn’t learn about in graduate school and in 35 years or more of practice, the word commitment is actually not a conversation. It’s not part of the early learning sector. And yet, all the research on leadership is about being committed and staying committed and in getting others to be committed. So the notion of commitment, to me, feels different from habits. It’s something that we actively do every day and the concept of optimistic leadership is future thinking. It’s not Pollyanna. It’s not positive. It’s really saying if we hang in here, there’s a future for these children that’s unbelievable. Why do I believe that every adult who touches the lives of children birth to five needs to be a leader?

Chris Riback: Yes.

Judy Jablon: Because I believe that the future depends on people feeling a sense of their own agency, their own capacity, to make good decisions and leaders make good decisions.

Chris Riback: And talk about modeling, your point earlier. I would only assume that if that is something that the educators are modeling for the children, that translates. I really hear you talking about the how. How one acts, how one engages, can have as much if not more difference than what one knows or what one does. Is that-

Judy Jablon:聽At our first convening, toward the end, in Mississippi, one of the participants raised her hand and she said, “In this field, I think we’ve always talked about the what and how, but we haven’t talked about the why.” So we got into a whole discussion and we’ve been really talking a lot about why. But then, in the second convening with the same group of people, they said, “It’s not what you do, it’s how you show up,” and your why drives how you show up.

Chris Riback: There’s a lot there. Judy, thank you. Thank you for coming by the studio.

Judy Jablon:聽My pleasure.

Chris Riback:聽Congratulations on what you’re doing and great luck with it.

Judy Jablon:聽Wonderful. Thank you.