February 16, 2022
WEAC Platform for Solving the Educator Shortage
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WEAC is working hard to advance solutions from frontline educators for solving staffing shortages in our schools. Even before the pandemic, teachers and education support professionals were leaving the profession at an alarming rate – and the problem is getting worse.
“There are an alarming number of teachers leaving the profession due to unrealistic workloads, low pay, and a lack of input in school decisions. All of that exacerbates the situation we find ourselves in right now,” she said as part of a national news story. “It is putting additional stress on educators and education support professionals. And for the student experience, that disruption is causing a lack of consistency from day to day.”
Our union recently held a town hall with state legislators to lay out real-life experiences, as well as to fill them in on legislation we think would help make things better for students and educators.
Here’s our platform for easing the crisis:
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| Fix Teacher Pay |
| The Problem: The state destroyed the teacher compensation system in Wisconsin more than a decade ago. Since then, salaries have plummeted, insurance co-pays and deductibles have soared and pay gaps have widened – contributing greatly to the growing teacher shortage. It’s time for statewide fix to a statewide problem.
The Solution: Create a Wisconsin starting teacher pay threshold of $50,000. Teachers with a master’s degree and 20 years’ experience would earn $100,000. Multipliers and additives built into the system will ensure educators are not paid less than they currently earn. The system would create a clear pathway for newly hired educators and those who have already dedicated much of their lives to the profession, so educators could plan on consistent and predictable household incomes. |
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| Guarantee Health Care |
The Problem: The quality of educator
health benefits is rapidly deteriorating.The Solution: Include all public school
employees in the state health plan to save districts’ resources and ensure the
financial well-being of educators. State
legislators have guaranteed, high quality health care and we believe educators
should receive the same. |
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| Provide Bonuses Every 5 Years |
| The Problem: The current “free agent” approach to educator staffing creates high turnover in districts.
The Solution: To provide for educational staff continuity in school districts, educators who stay in the same public school district will receive a bonus of $7,000 every five years. |
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| Address Educator Effectiveness |
| The Problem: Wisconsin’s Educator Effectiveness System has proven to be a futile process for accurately assessing and improving teacher practice in our state. It is not uniformly applied and is a subjective form of assessment depending on the evaluator, student population and subject area. The time and resources necessary to implement the system is burdensome and the data collection process is seriously deficient. Teachers are frustrated with the system which takes a great deal of time which could be better spent on teaching students. Additionally, school free/reduced lunch participation rates have been found to be a strong predictor of teacher practice ratings.
The Solution: Launch an examination of teacher evaluation laws in Wisconsin, including collecting feedback from frontline educators about the best practices for identifying areas for improvement and providing supports to boost professional practice. |
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| Establish Educator-Controlled Prep Time |
| The Problem: Even before the pandemic, there was a massive erosion of educator-controlled preparation time as districts piled on additional work hours, days and responsibilities. The growing shortage of substitute and full-time teachers has made things worse as we cover classes for colleagues, clean our classrooms and enforce safety measures. When schools shift to virtual instruction to accommodate high Covid rates, even more preparation time is required.
The Solution: Establish a state requirement for 45-minutes of teacher-controlled prep time or the equivalent of a class period so educators have professional control over preparation time that contributes to the student-teacher relationship, such as planning lessons, evaluating student progress, following state and federal requirements and providing one-on-one attention to students. |
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| Reduce Class Sizes |
| The Problem: Growing class sizes are preventing educators from providing the one-on-one interaction students need.
The Solution: Create statewide class size limits, based on research for the best student outcomes. Any student-teacher ratios used to determine policies should reflect actual student-teacher contact, rather than based on all campus instructional personnel. Sound classroom size guidelines will be restored through legislation similar to the former SAGE program. |
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| Enhance Student Services |
| The Problem: Students do not have access to the full range of professionals to help them achieve a well-rounded education and meet their social, emotional and mental health needs.
The Solution: Require a minimum threshold for the number student service professionals in schools, with ratios based on research for the best student outcomes. This includes access to mental and general health practitioners, counselors, psychologists, social workers, school nurses and other specialists. |
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