As first-year Marietta teacher Jarred Hindy prepares his students for their science test, he’s is preparing for his own test from the Ohio Department of Education.
Beginning this year, any new entry-level teacher in Ohio will be required by the state to take part in a mentoring program and be tested for classroom performance. New teachers will have two chances in two years to pass the test to keep their teaching license in the state.
“There will be some who will be weeded out through this process,” said Marilyn Troyer, associate superintendent for the ODE’s Center for the Teaching Profession. “However, the main idea is let’s give new teachers support now and ... set the tone for their career.”
Hindy said the mentoring has been helpful, but the worry of passing tests in his first year is a little unnerving. The test, called Praxis III, involves evaluators outside the school district observing teachers in the classroom, and approving their lesson plans. Teachers must get 38 out of 57 points (67 percent) to pass the test. Those who fail must return to training.
“I’m swamped with work as it is, and doing this in the first year has been difficult,” Hindy said. “Taking the test in the second year might be better.”
The new requirements are the tip of how Ohio has restructured its teaching licensing process. Only those teachers with permanent teaching certifications, known as tenure, will be excluded from the changes. The rest of the teachers will be required to renew their teaching license every five years, explained Marietta City Schools Director of Instruction Harry Fleming. This means no more tenure for those who don’t already have it.
In the new five-year spans, Fleming said teachers must present an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) which outlines their future plans for improvement and then illustrate to a committee how they have been improving. Additionally, teachers must complete six college credit hours every five years. In the past, these credits could be reduced as the teacher moves further into his or her career, but, for now, no reductions will be allowed. This will ensure teachers are constantly updating their education.
However, Fleming said the state is also offering flexibility in that teachers can replace or combine college credits with workshops or other forms of training. Each school’s Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) will rule on alternate forms of training.
So, if a Spanish teacher wants to take a trip to Spain to improve Spanish teaching and the LPDC approves it, that can replace some college credits, Fleming said.
Veteran Marietta High School biology teacher Mike Miller is exempt from the new licensing process, but said he sees a downside for the newer teachers.
“I’m concerned that it may turn some people away from teaching because it is so much extra work,” Miller said.
Miller serves as Praxis III mentor to Hindy.
“One thing I do like about the mentoring is that it is going to make me a better teacher because I’m also learning new things from Mr. Hindy,” Miller said.