Teacher Retention & Recruitment: A Stronger Maryland Can Do Better

“While other states are moving forward, with leaders who bring people together to solve problems, Maryland is adrift. We suffer under an administration that does the minimum allowable for K-12 education, is making higher education unaffordable for many of Maryland’s students, fails to adequately fund school construction, and denies much needed pension benefit increases.”

“Every time an experienced teacher leaves Maryland, our students lose an inspiration, and our taxpayers lose an enormous investment. You and I know a stronger Maryland can do a better job of retaining and recruiting teachers.” – Martin O’Malley

IMPROVING TEACHER RETENTION

According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, almost half of all new teachers leave their schools within five years of entering the classroom. The Commission has concluded that “[t]his churn has adverse consequences for student learning and for school success, but its financial costs are largely hidden from administrators and policymakers. As a result, scarce financial resources are lost.” In Maryland, this problem has been exacerbated through a stingy pension system that pushes away our most experienced educators. In order to provide the best education for our students, Martin O’Malley will work to end the exodus of our veteran teachers.

•Offering Fair Pension Benefits For Educators

Maryland’s teacher pension system is the worst in the country. The current system provides the average teacher just 38% of his or her salary in retirement, while Pennsylvania pays almost double that amount. This is unacceptable and unfair. In order to remain competitive and attract quality teachers to Maryland, we must shrink this gap and significantly increase the percentage of salary that our teachers and education support personnel receive in retirement. As a candidate for governor, Martin O’Malley will make an improved pension plan for teachers and education support personnel a key part of his education platform.

•Improving the Learning Environment: More Construction, Smaller Classrooms, and Safer Schools

National research tells us that safe, healthy, and uncrowded schools are a basic ingredient of a good educational program. More specifically, when teachers work in well-designed and highly functional school buildings, they are able to be more effective than when they must teach in inadequate facilities. The Maryland State Teachers Association points out that state funding for public school construction has funded less than one-third of the requested projects during the past two years, the lowest levels in over a decade. The current governor has failed to adequately fund school construction, and our children our forced to spend their days in trailers and crumbling classrooms. As governor, Martin O’Malley use the state’s AAA bond rating to fund school construction at least to the level recommended in the Kopp report, work to make class sizes more manageable, and improve school safety in order to provide the best possible learning atmosphere.

•Boosting Efficiency, Accountability, & Compensation – More Dollars in the Classroom

As governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley will make certain that every dollar of education spending intended for the classroom actually makes it there. This is a solemn commitment we owe to taxpayers, as well as to children and parents. Just as Baltimore’s CitiStat has gained national attention for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of government, so too should Maryland eliminate unnecessary administration, red tape, and bureaucracy that eats up funds better spent for supplies and equipment. In addition, the smart use of education dollars will ensure teacher salaries in Maryland will be competitive with the best in the nation.

INCREASING EDUCATOR RECRUITMENT

Attracting new teachers doesn’t start in college – it begins in high school and earlier. The State of Maryland must begin recruiting our best and brightest high school students by instilling in them the value of education and the unique rewards of being an educator. As governor, Martin O’Malley will place an emphasis on recruiting new teachers by encouraging our students to choose education degrees in college, putting forth greater efforts in job fairs in Maryland and neighboring states, and working to ensure that more education students become teachers.

•Attracting Education Degree Graduates

Currently, half of the college graduates in Maryland do not put their education degree to work in our classrooms. The state must target these graduates. They have already taken one step toward the classroom. We must take that extra step toward them. As governor, Martin O’Malley will stress the need to attract these graduates to the teaching profession.

•Reviewing Loan Repayment Programs

Maryland has had some success recruiting educators through loan assistance programs which provide financial awards toward student loans for some Maryland graduates entering the teaching field. As Maryland’s next governor, Martin O’Malley will conduct a comprehensive review of Maryland’s programs to ensure that we are using each dollar in the most effective way, and determine what more we can do.

•Giving Support To New Teachers

We must ensure that we do everything in our power to make new teachers’ jobs meaningful and rewarding. Maryland should make certain our first and second year teachers have the level of preparation and support they need when challenges arise. We must guarantee that Maryland’s teacher mentoring program is second to none. We also must do a better job of keeping our newest educators teaching within their areas of expertise and diminish the practice of disproportionately placing new teachers in troubled schools – which pushes them toward other careers. Easing the first year or two for new educators will help ensure they will be around for a third, fourth, tenth, or fifteenth year. As governor, Martin O’Malley will invest the effort and resources to make sure our newest teachers have the support they need and deserve.

NOTE: To view the original handout that Martin O’Malley distributed to the MSTA on October 22, 2005, click here.