Despite KSDE decision, superintendents prefer licensed teachers

Despite the Kansas State Board of Education’s recent vote to allow people without proper teachers’ li­censes to teach in Kansas schools, district administrators in Jackson County’s schools say they prefer to have people who are properly trained and licensed teaching their students.

Earlier this month, the state board voted to approve the Coali­tion of Innovative School Districts’ request to implement a specialized teaching certificate that would al­low the six schools participating in the coalition to hire non-licensed professionals or licensed profes­sionals in areas outside of their area of licensure in order to fill hard to fill teacher vacancies.

But superintendents of Jackson County’s three school districts — Holton’s Dennis Stones, Jackson Heights’ Adrianne Walsh and Royal Valley’s John Rundle — agree that while allowing the issu­ance of specialized teaching certifi­cates may help districts to alleviate teacher shortages, the teacher’s job is not for everyone.

“There are a lot of bright people out there who are skilled in math and science and English, who could go in and know their subject and teach it very well. But can they handle the kids?” Stones asked.

Walsh agreed, expressing a be­lief that the classroom time and ex­posure that people receive in their training to become properly li­censed teacher is “invaluable when a person starts their own class­room.”

“With some individuals, it could be a workable situation,” she said. “There are those who think that everybody can teach, but it’s defi­nitely not for everybody.”

Rundle also noted that the issue of unlicensed teachers may come into play on a wider basis if the state board of education would ex­pand the possibility to schools out­side the coalition.

“I would hope that it’s only used in a very few select situations, be­cause I very much believe that ap­propriate teacher preparation is es­sential to classroom instruction,” he said. “Could a situation where the right person pops up and you couldn’t find a properly licensed person to fill it? It’s possible, but I would look to the licensed side first.”

The Coalition of Innovative School Districts was created in 2012 in response to “educators’ de­sire to decide what was best for their students, and who felt they knew best how to accomplish their goals,” according to the coalition’s Web site. Six states have success­fully applied for the “innovative district” designation, including Marysville, Blue Valley, Concor­dia, Hugoton, Kansas City and McPherson.

The state board of education earlier this month voted 6-4 to al­low those districts to hire unli­censed teachers to fill vacated po­sitions through the issuance of a special certificate that would allow unlicensed instructors to fill those positions for one year. Successful candidates must hold either a rele­vant college degree or professional certification for the position, it was reported.

Supporters of the designation have said that allowing unlicensed people to teach would help ease teacher shortages. On the other hand, the Kansas National Educa­tion Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said that doing so would compromise the education process and exacerbate the problem of teachers leaving the field of edu­cation, whether through retirement, moving out of state or just quitting altogether.

Last week, Marysville superin­tendent Bill Mullins announced that even though his school district is now allowed to issue special certi­ficats for unlicensed teachers, the district will stick to hiring teachers through the normal channels.

“I take the job of hiring teachers and staff very seriously,” Mullins said in an open letter to Marysville district patrons. “I place a high value on the traditional teacher preparation programs and I will continue to do so in the future.”

Stones said he believes that even though schools may receive the “innovative district” designation, they, like Mullins at Marysville, will also continue to hire teachers who have been properly licensed.

While the unlicensed teacher policy is limited to the six schools with the “innovative district” des­ignation, the state board of educa­tion could take action in the near future to allow more districts to ap­ply for and receive that designation. However, Stones said what hap­pens with the designation and the unlicensed teacher policy depends on what happens with those first six schools that have received the des­ignation.

Stones also noted that he does not see the Holton district applying for the designation anytime soon, and Rundle said Royal Valley officials “have not had that conversation yet.” Walsh noted that while some members of the USD 335 Board of Education have expressed some interest in applying for the designation, no formal action has been taken.