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COMMUNIQUÉ A PUBLICATION OF THE IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – FEBRUARY 2017 – Vol. 54, No. 4 IN THIS ISSUE: OPINION Keeping Focus Your License I'm an Educator because... 3 5 8-9 Set it... Set it... and forget it! and forget it! EFT AVAILABLE NOW! EFT AVAILABLE NOW! The coming teacher shortage is already here Twenty-five years ago the U.S. Department of Education warned Iowa public schools were falling short in recruiting qualified teachers in four key areas: Health, Reading, Spanish and Special Education. Today, there are more than two dozen areas of shortfall including all Sciences, all Foreign Languages, Special Education and even, perhaps oddly in a state that takes great pride in its farming heritage, Agriculture. Meanwhile, enrollment in Iowa's teacher preparation programs continues to slide as students who once may have chosen teaching go into alternative areas of study. "Not having enough highly qualified educators to prepare the future citizens of Iowa and our nation is very concerning," Iowa State Education Association President Tammy Wawro said. "We should all worry, education is the foundation of democracy and supports not only a better world holistically but for a workforce that is prepared to meet the needs of all our communities. This isn't something we should leave to chance or take lightly." Educator Pay Wawro, a National Board Certified teacher on release from the Cedar Rapids School District, knows the shortage is an effect of a number of causes. She works with local ISEA leadership and potential allies, such as the National Parent Teacher Organization, the Iowa School Board Association and the School Administrators of Iowa to determine and address those causes. For students considering college majors, teacher pay can be a consideration, especially when loan repayment comes into the equation. Students in other majors with comparable workloads can simply expect to make more upon graduation. "In 2015, public school teachers' weekly wages were 17.0 percent lower than those of comparable workers— compared with just 1.8 percent lower in 1994," an August 2016 study by the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank that focuses on labor FOLLOW US ON: This is what you can do to help solve it see SHORTAGE on page 4 Iowa State Education Association members from Davenport, North Scott, Pleasant Valley, Bettendorf, Area Education Agency 9 and Scott Community College pack a January 21 forum with Iowa legislators who represent parts of Scott County at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport. The forum was sponsored by AUW, the Working Iowa Neighbors of the Iowa AFL-CIO, the Scott County Farm Bureau, the Iowa State Education Association, the Quad City Realtor Association and the Business and Professional Women of Davenport. You can find a list of local forums every week at www.isea.org and linked to the ISEA Hotline. Teacher shortages Statewide teacher shortage areas in Iowa 2016-17 according to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education August 2016 report. Regular Education Agriculture (Grades 5–12) Business (Grades 5–12) English as a Second Language (K–Grade 12) Family and Consumer Sciences (Grades 5– 12) Foreign Language (All) Industrial Technology (Grades 5–12) Mathematics (Grades 5–12) Professional School Counselor (K–Grade 8 and Grades 5–12) Science (Grades 5–12) All Science (Grades 5–12) Basic (Grades 5–12) Biology (Grades 5–12) Chemistry (Grades 5–12) Earth Science (Grades 5–12) Physics (Grades 5–12) Speech Communication/Theatre (Grades 5– 12) Talented and Gifted (K–Grade 12) Teacher Librarian (K–Grade 8, K–Grade 12, and Grades 5–12) Special Education Early Childhood Special Education (Pre-K– K) Instructional Strategist I Mild/Moderate Instructional Strategist II Behavior Disorders/Learning Disabilities Instructional Strategist II Mental Disabilities Instructional Strategist II Physical Disabilities Itinerant Hearing Impaired (Birth–Age 21) Itinerant Visually Impaired (Birth–Age 21) Pre-K–Grade 3 Regular/Special Education (Serving in Special Education or in Early Childhood Inclusive Classrooms)