Teaching in Colorado in 2016: Debate intensifies over how to find, keep and pay good teachers

An urgency to improve teaching and attract more people to the profession grew this year as schools and districts increasingly had trouble finding teachers for some jobs and debates continued about performance pay and how to increase teacher diversity.

The discussions started early this year at the legislature with a bill that was passed to help rural districts recruit more teachers by hiring a statewide coordinator and by providing stipends to students wanting to go into teaching.

This year’s annual report from the state showed the shortage does start in college and the numbers of students enrolling in teaching programs dipped once more. Superintendents from several school districts discussed the problem at an annual forum and said teachers need to get paid more but must also feel respected.

Officials in rural districts have also said this year that their big challenge in recruitment is often salary, but they are directing some efforts to find teachers who are drawn to the benefits of being in a small town.

Even in the larger urban districts, improving teacher pay and experience was a topic of discussion this year. The advocacy nonprofit A-Plus Colorado released a report in September with suggestions to improve the performance pay model in Denver Public Schools.

Denver teachers did get a slight raise this summer under new agreements with the teachers union, as did some teachers in Jeffco Public Schools.

Besides looking at pay, Denver schools are also getting a chance to expand a coaching program for teachers after voters passed a bond measure in November. DPS is also looking at the possibility of providing affordable housing for teachers, as some districts are already doing.

Another group looking to increase the number of teachers is the Relay Graduate School of Education, which opened an office in Denver this year and started a local teacher residency program.

The city of Denver also stepped into the field by joining DPS to target teacher recruitment to increase diversity in the classrooms where the majority of students are racial minorities but most teachers are white. Among the new teachers that joined DPS this fall, that didn’t change much. Three of the teachers that participated in the targeted recruitment from DPS, and were still working in the district this year, shared the experience of being recruited with Chalkbeat.

Next year, discussions about recruitment, diversity and improving teacher quality are sure to continue. One decision to look for is a state Supreme Court ruling on teacher job guarantees under the 2010 teacher evaluation law. Educators will also be watching the legislature and other advocacy groups as they look at solutions to teacher shortage issues through school funding changes.