Tag: teachers
Maryland’s teacher shortage: Will the Blueprint’s plan for better pay, training do enough?
The U.S. Department of Education keeps a Teacher Shortage Areas database — and it found that for the current school year, Maryland was short of teachers in 28 subjects, which the state defines as “areas of certification.” That’s up from 17 five years earlier. Some teacher certification areas — such as English as a second language, health science and special education — are short on teachers from pre-K through the 12th grade.
Read MoreUnion seeks to make all Md. teachers pay union fees
Maryland teachers statewide could be required to pay union fees even if they are not members, according to legislation expected to be introduced this session in Annapolis on behalf of Maryland State Education Association (MSEA). The “fair share” fee is a top priority of the teachers union that represents about 70,000 people – or 80% of school employees.
Read MoreBlog: Teachers have bigger stake in pension cuts
The teachers’ union has taken the lead role in the fight against cuts in state pension benefits, an understandable position, since teachers have more at stake.
The Maryland State Education Association has more members than any other union in the fight. Its members make more money on average than other government workers. And because of higher pay, they get higher pension benefits, according to figures from the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System.
Read MoreReplacing staff at failing schools doesn’t always attract and keep good teachers, report says
Failing schools in Maryland that replaced most of their staff in an effort to improve have not been able to attract and retain effective teachers, according to a new report.
The report by the Advocates for Children and Youth organization followed 13 schools that implemented a plan to replace most of their staff, called zero-basing, and found “no evidence” that these schools were following the practices that make the zero-basing policy effective, particularly holding on to effective teachers.
Read MoreHouse committee rejects teacher pension shift, other Senate budget actions
The House budget committee roundly rejected a Senate proposal to hand off half of the state’s responsibility for teacher pensions within five years, one of a series of decisions that will lead to difficult negotiations between the two chambers.
The House Appropriations committee unanimously rejected the change, and also scaled back a plan to divert state and local highway money toward general expenses. Those changes were two major components of the close to $32 billion spending plan the Senate passed this week.
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