Getting More Great Teachers In Texas Classrooms

‍Commit has been honored to collaborate with D Magazine on a series of reports about key topics in our public education system. Our latest discusses “Getting More Great Teachers In Texas Classrooms.” Read the full report, as well as our executive summary.

Think of an educator who changed your life for the better.

For me, more than one comes to mind. Debbie Prihoda at Kelly High School, Adrian Anderson and Ralph Wooster at Lamar University. The list goes on.

Now think of your own kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews; any of the young people you may have in your life. And imagine another set of engaged Texans are being asked this same question in a generation’s time.

Will any of those young people you thought of have the chance to change someone else’s life in the same way?

This report is about removing roadblocks to careers in education, and one of the biggest – if not the biggest – is perception.

The perception is: the pay is lousy, the benefits are limited, and support is nonexistent.

But Texas is bucking each of these trends.

I should know. My time as a teacher proved to be a launchpad for a career in central administration, elected office, and now nonprofit leadership at the Commit Partnership. None of it would have been possible without what I’d learned in the halls of Thomas C. Marsh Middle School from my principals, fellow teachers, and especially the students themselves.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Right now, in Dallas County, if you are an educator who can demonstrate mastery of your craft, you can earn a six-figure salary. That’s thanks in part to forward-thinking legislation passed by our state lawmakers. It’s also thanks to our local school leadership being willing to implement these policies with fidelity. (And, yes – Commit is proud to play a supporting role in both arenas.)

Still, we continue to face significant challenges as a state. 19% of teachers – nearly one-in-five – left the classroom last year. Due in part to these staffing shortages, 12% of teachers across our state lack any sort of certification. That’s over 42,000 classrooms being led by an instructor who, unfortunately, is significantly less likely to help their students remain on grade level than their peers who were properly prepared.

So, what do we do to continue strengthening the education profession? How do we, as it says on the cover, get more great teachers in Texas classrooms? We propose focusing on five key topic areas:

1. Perception: How do we get more young people interested in the profession?

2. Preparation: How do we ensure more teachers enter classrooms ready?

3. Certification: How do we remove  barriers while preserving quality?

4. Retention: How do we keep our best teachers in the classroom?

5. Affordability: How can we address cost-of-living issues for teachers such as housing and child care?

Our school systems here in Dallas County are providing innovative examples of how to address each of these key questions, and we at Commit feel that by cultivating them locally, and them scaling them statewide, we can step closer to a future in which every child has an effective educator, changing their lives for the better.

If you want to be a part of that future, join us. If you are in public education and want to learn more about how you can affect these changes in your school system, please reach out to us. If you are a civic leader or business owner who wants to take part in legislative change, we’d love to have you in our advocacy coalition. If you want to be sure to stay up to date on the latest in student-centered policy and practice, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and social channels.

But any- and everyone reading this letter can at least do this: Think back to that teacher you had who changed your life for the better. And then find some time to tell the young people in your life about them.

Perception is, again, perhaps the trickiest of any of these issues to address – because it’s the one that is dependent on us all working together to write a new story.

So please remember: The pay is great. The benefits are, too. And the support is there – and it’s growing, each school year, thanks, in part, to you.

In gratitude,

Miguel Solis

President, The Commit Partnership