Do you think it is the teachers who make the difference?
For those of you who have followed those graduating with education (elementary, secondary) degrees, you already know that the number of jobs avaiable is very limited. In particular, those who follow OLAS and similar sources know that many posted positions already have strong (insider) candidates identified.
What does this imply for Long Island near term? The very best student-teachers and potential full-time candidates are more plentiful for fewer spots than in years past. The very best candidates will be less choosy about the districts in which they find their first teaching positions locally or they will leave the Long Island area. Again, in years past with 100+ positions available across the Island, the best candidates might gravitate to the best districts. With that number greatly reduced, the selection of a specific district becomes less of an issue in order to find teaching employment.
What does this imply for the bottom end Long Island school districts? Stronger candidates who want to stay in teaching on the Island will be taking those roles. The teaching talent pool for those lower end districts SHOULD be increasing.
What does this imply for classroom performance? Despite being armed with better entry level teachers, are the students actually engaged to learn or are they going through the motions? If this is a teaching quality concern, we should see a gradual improvement in student performance over time, perhaps measured in decades.
Our point is that the local position contraction in the teaching profession caused by fewer teachers retiring and/or tenure should be forcing better candidates into the classrooms of the poorer school districts.
