Why California’s Teacher Credentialing Discussion Is Important for Every State in the US

You may have heard recently that there is a teacher shortage. You may also have heard that this shortage is leading some states and their districts to take drastic measures to fill classrooms.

This has prompted many state and federal agencies to revise their teacher certification qualifications. For example, some states offer other certifications, while others hire people without certifications, helping them get certified while on the job. It has always been a hot topic of debate in academic circles and still is. Some argue that one of the biggest benefits of providing alternatives is that it helps districts hire a diverse teaching force. I agree. In fact, the benefit of having a variety of teaching strengths, as a result of promoting other certification programs, was an idea I recently shared on the Edsource podcast, Education Beat.

But other authentication methods have drawbacks. The data clearly shows that when uncredentialed teachers are hired, they teach disproportionately in communities of color, in low socioeconomic areas like where I teach. Nationwide, for example, there are 40% fewer teachers in Title 1 schools than in charter schools. Unqualified teachers are also disproportionately high in rural areas. For a 28-year veteran teacher and former parent of children in a Title 1 school here in southeast San Diego, this data is shocking to me and the community I care about. But not for the reasons you might think.

Why? Because that data hides some trends about our education system that any parent in San Diego or any other US city should understand. Here is the reason.

Recent data shows that large districts like SDUSD have little or no disparity in credentialing except for a 40% disparity statewide. Here in San Diego for example, 94.4% of schools in the wealthiest communities in SDUSD have qualified teachers, while 92.2% of the poorest schools have qualified teachers. In fact, in large districts across the country, this is common. Exceptions exist, like in Oakland Unified for example. But even in LAUSD, the state’s largest school district, there are more teachers with degrees in poor neighborhoods than their wealthier counterparts.

Considering that over the years, large districts like SDUSD and LAUSD have had huge disparities in credentialing, one might be tempted to think that the credentialing gap is gone, or that we’ve at least made significant progress.

I will beg to differ.

To understand why accreditation is still a problem in communities like where I teach, you have to understand that some things have not changed in our school system for decades and others have not.

What has not changed is that veteran public school teachers often leave during administrations from poor schools to high schools, and they do. in abundance. Larger districts like SDUSD and LAUSD provide an ideal location for this migration simply because of the number of other employment options within the district. Here in San Diego for example, the data over the years confirm what my colleagues and I have called the “Northern Flight of 8 Planes.” This explains the historically predictable migration of veteran teachers from southeast San Diego to teach in wealthier areas north of the 8 Freeway.

So, despite the fact that schools like mine have the same ratio of qualified teachers as those affluent schools north of the 8 Freeway, schools like mine still have very little veteran staff. And while veteran teachers continue to leave high-poverty schools, the data no longer support the notion that teachers here are less certified than those in high-income schools elsewhere in SDUSD.

So where are all the unqualified teachers?

Here’s a hint: As recently as 2019, there were 1100 of them in California charter schools.

Because what has changed in California is that charter schools are working closely with public schools, especially in communities of color. This practice is that spreading throughout the country now, too.

And when they open a store, they don’t hire close enough highly qualified teachers. In fact, more than 25 states do not even require charter schools to hire a majority of teachers with degrees in the first place.

My biggest concern is not that my particular public school will receive an influx of uncertified teachers. And I don’t want to block ways to promote other credentialing programs, especially for teachers of color and people from communities who want to work as teachers. We need them more than ever.

But what worries me the most is my neighborhood, the families and children I don’t serve who choose the roll the will they have had an influx of unqualified teachers to some charter schools that open and close around us every year. Most of the schools that compete with us here at my Title 1 public school right now are advertising on billboards, advertising on the radio, so much so that sometimes their marketing partner brags about their success. One school, Altus, even spent half a million dollars on AI robots. These ads are endless. On a recent trip to lunch with teacher friends, we met three boards, heard Hillary on 91x promote an online charter school, and drove past two charter schools in a strip mall and a former public school, respectively. I know firsthand how these pull students out of the public school system with promises that can never be kept. I also know that it costs a lot of money to advertise on billboards and radio, money that could be used to hire qualified teachers, instead.

Unless we start a real conversation nationally about what this organization is really doing in our underserved communities, like mine here in Chollas View in southeast San Diego, these charter schools will continue to bring in many teachers who don’t come close to validating what I do, only to see them move to more prestigious schools after gaining valuable experience.

Why are confirmation hearings important? Because every child in the US deserves a qualified teacher. But they also deserve someone who wants to stay and be their teacher where they live first.