Notes from the September 13, 2021 meeting of the Missouri Advisory Council of Certification for Educators Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
MNEA representatives on MACCE include the following:
Alison O’Very, MNEA member from Pattonville was elected MACCE chairperson for 2021-22. Other MNEA representatives on MACCE are Jenna Adkins (Raytown NEA), Kyla Ward (Park Hill NEA), Jacqueline
McGill (Hazelwood NEA), Rachelle Banhart (Lexington), Amy Taylor (Lee’s Summit).
Certification standard changes
Margery Tanner, DESE Office of Educator Quality, shared updates and modifications to several
certificates, effective 9/1/21:
- Counselor K-12: All counselor candidates must meet K-12 requirements that include a 3- semester hour internship, which includes both elementary and secondary experience.
- Library Media Specialist: Candidates who already hold a certificate to teach must complete four content courses in addition to passing the Missouri Librarian Content Assessment.
- Business Education: Changes to the Business Education 9-12 requirements will be open for public comment in October. The proposed amendment will combine the course of Implementing Business Education Programs and the course of Coordination of Cooperative Education into one course, Administration of Business and Marketing Education Programs, which will reduce the overlap of topics.
- Substitute Certificate: In August 2020, an emergency rule change was presented to the State Board of Education requiring a 20-hour online training option in lieu of completing 60 hours of college credit. Surveys show school officials are happy with the quality of substitutes certified through the online training. The online training option will be made permanent sometime in December 2021. MACCE has additional recommendations regarding the substitute certificate that will be presented to the State Board in February 2022.
- Special Reading: MACCE has recommended additional coursework for the Special Reading certificate. The additional courses are being reviewed at DESE to ensure alignment with other reading certification programs.
Superintendent certification
Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner of Education, updated MACCE members on work to revise superintendent certification. When a working group completes their draft, MACCE will get the chance to review and make recommendations. The revised superintendent certification program will align the certificate with Missouri leadership standards and include updated components for continued education and evaluation.
Teacher recruitment and retention
Dr. Katnik briefed MACCE members on DESE initiatives to expand, improve, and support teacher recruitment and retention. He reviewed the following data points:
- Enrollment in educator preparation programs declined 30% between 2010-2020. Missouri NEA MACCE Report Notes from the September 13, 2021 meeting of the Missouri Advisory Council of Certification for Educators Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
- The total number of teacher certificates issued between 2014-2020 declined 18%.
- On average, districts are hiring 11% of their teacher workforce each year. Over half of those new hires are first-year teachers. The overall new hire retention rate is 86%.
- After three years, 64% of teachers remain in the profession. 48% of teachers remain for 5+ years.
DESE dedicated $50 million dollars of the federal American Rescue Plan funds to support Recruitment and Retention Grants for districts. Every district has been encouraged to apply for grants of up to $10,000 to support Grow Your Own programs and additional grants that support research-based programs that lead to higher teacher retention. Districts received initial allocations in May 2021.
Other DESE initiatives to improve teacher retention aim include: expand and improve mentor programs; encourage districts to provide stipends for non-contractual duties; hire more paraprofessionals, aides, substitute teachers; use culture and climate surveys; provide support for improving professional practice; address social-emotional needs; elevate teacher voice and increase teacher leadership. DESE created an online dashboard to access multiple resources, applications, and reports regarding teacher recruitment and retention.
Teacher certification rules open for comments
As part of regular updates, DESE will be opening general requirements for teacher certification for public comments. The proposed changes update language and add references to statutes. Click here to read. Proposed additions are bold, deletions are [italics]. If you have suggestions for changes, please email Ann.Jarrett@mnea.org before Oct. 15. For instance, substitutes must renew their license every four years, even though DESE gets notified of legal action that could result in revoking the certificate. Maybe the requirement is in state statute. But please, send Ann your own thoughts and suggestions. We will check the statutes.
The Path Forward for Teacher Preparation and Licensure in Early Literacy Initiative
Lisa Scroggs, Office of College and Career Readiness, presented an overview of The Path Forward for Teacher Preparation and Licensure in Early Literacy Initiative. Missouri is in a cohort of six states using grant funding to align educator preparation programs (EPP) for early literacy with the science of reading. State teams participating in this cohort receive professional development from national experts on how to effect meaningful change that will impact student
reading achievement through better teacher preparation. The Path Forward assigns a coach with literacy and Educator Preparation Program expertise to each state team to assist in designing a plan to meet the needs of that state’s EPPs in integrating the science of reading. The complete program overview can be found here.
The next MACCE meeting will be on December 6, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Rebeka McIntosh or Ann Jarrett at 800-392-0236. Details of MACCE agenda items can be found at:
https://dese.mo.gov/educator-quality/certification/macce-news-and-updates
Respectfully submitted,
Rebeka McIntosh, MNEA vice president
Rebeka.McIntosh@mnea.org
Ann Jarrett, MNEA teaching and learning director
Ann.Jarrett@mnea.org