SACRAMENTO, CA - After Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's relentless attacks on teachers, California State Treasurer and Democratic candidate for Governor Phil Angelides today pledged to honor California's educators and released Teachers for Our Future, a new proposal to attract the next generation of bright young people to the teaching profession. Angelides' proposal comes as California must prepare to recruit 100,000 new teachers to educate California's children in the next decade.
"Governor Schwarzenegger has bashed teachers, threatened to take away the modest pensions they deserve and made it more expensive to become a teacher in California. That's no way to treat the men and women who educate our children," said Angelides. "As Governor, I will honor and respect our teachers and provide new incentives for young people from across America to join our corps of educators and mentors of the next generation."
California is facing an enormous challenge to its ability to put a highly skilled teacher in every classroom. Over the next decade, a third of California's teacher corps will likely retire, forcing California to attract 100,000 new teachers to the classroom. Additionally, California currently faces a shortage of fully credentialed teachers in its classrooms. Today, more than 20,000 teachers, one in every fifteen teachers working in our schools, have not completed their training for a credential. The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning projects that the number of uncredentialed teachers in California classrooms will grow to 33,000, or about one in ten, over the next decade. Without quick action to meet California's retirement, retention, and recruitment challenges, our state's ability to achieve education excellence is in jeopardy. And as the Center notes, "when fully credentialed teachers are in short supply, low-performing, minority, and poor students are the ones who get shortchanged."
Angelides' Teachers for Our Future plan will address the teacher shortage by:
- Restoring and expanding California's teaching fellowship program to attract bright young people and mid-career adults to teaching.
- Rolling back Arnold Schwarzenegger's fee increases on teacher training.
- Identifying the pay and incentives California needs to attract and retain talented teachers.
- Restoring funding for teacher support.
- Doubling the number of public school counselors to support teachers in the classroom.
- Expanding homeownership assistance for teachers.
"Phil Angelides is the only candidate who will stand up for California's teachers," said California Teachers Association President Barbara Kerr. "Phil Angelides has the right plan to address the looming teacher shortage and provide our teachers with the tools they need to succeed and educate California's children."
"Phil Angelides has a commitment to all levels of public education that is genuine and deep," said California Faculty Association President John Travis. "Phil Angelides is the only candidate for Governor that recognizes the important role that the CSU system has in providing teachers for the K-12 students of California."
"To compete successfully in the global economy of the 21st century, California must have the best schools and the best teachers to give our children the knowledge and skills they need," Angelides added. "As Governor, I will strengthen our schools by giving our teachers the support and training they need and deserve."
To read Teachers for Our Future click here.
