The dean of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education and Human Services testified in front of the state House of Representatives in February, saying she believes there are holes in the legislation that would bring Teach for America to Ohio.
Dean Renée Middleton said in a testimony to the Ohio House of Representatives that she and other education leaders in the state do not support two proposed bills that would bring Teach for America to Ohio.
Middleton’s hesitation stems from the fact that neither bill requires the program’s employees to seek continuing education from an accredited higher education institution. Instead, the bills state such continuing education is optional.
“We have no problem with anybody who wants to come in and teach, so long as they are qualified,” Middleton said. “We do not see having five weeks of training as being the necessary and appropriate requirements for entering into the classroom.”
Teach for America, a 20-year-old nonprofit organization, trains young professionals and recent college graduates — many of whom have not previously studied education — and places them for two years in low-income schools throughout the country. This school year, the program placed a total of 8,224 employees in 40 regions across the country, according to Teach for America’s website.
Research has shown that the five-to-six-week “intensive” training program and the continued support employees receive produce results considered satisfactory and beneficial by the majority of schools, said Rebecca Neale, spokeswoman for Teach for America.
Last year, Teach for America received 46,000 applications for 4,500 spots. Its minimum GPA requirement is 2.5, but the average GPA of participants is 3.6, she said.
“The (employees) we are placing are at least as effective as other new teachers, and in many cases, more effective,” Neale said.
Although the proposed bills do not require Teach for America employees to complete a Master’s Degree, Ohio teachers who have an undergraduate degree in education also are not required to have a graduate degree to teach, she added.
The two bills, Ohio Senate Bill 81 and House Bill 21, are identical and were passed in their representative chambers in March. Each bill will be sent to the other chamber to be reviewed and one of them should reach Ohio Gov. John Kasich by early May, said Republican Rep. Gerald Stebelton, a co-sponsor of House Bill 21.
Stebelton agreed Teach for America’s training is adequate.
“They’ve already gotten a college degree; they just haven’t had the methods courses,” Stebelton said. “This is absolutely sufficient.”
Bringing Teach for America to Ohio was the main educational reform Kasich touted in his campaign platform, and representatives from his office said they have no doubt he will sign whichever bill reaches him first.
“He has said for a long time that this program is something we should embrace,” said Connie Wehrkamp, Kasich’s deputy press secretary. “We lost over 60 graduates (last year) to other states with this program; (Ohio’s lack of Teach for America) forced them to leave our state. This bill will allow us to keep that talent in Ohio.”
However, John Henning, chair of OU’s teacher education department, said he doesn’t believe Teach for America training is comparable to receiving either an undergraduate degree or a master’s degree in education.
“What this does is it devalues the profession,” Henning said. “(Teach for America) puts people in classrooms, which is important if there’s no one there, but it doesn’t upgrade the quality. This is a program that encourages rapid turnover and accepts mediocre students.”
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