LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS/COLUMNS: SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FOR PUBLISHING TO FRONTPAGENEWS1@YAHOO.COM. PLEASE INCLUDE DAY/EVENING/ CELL NUMBER, HOME NUMBER, AND EMAIL. CONTACT VAN STONE: FRONTPAGENEWS1@YAHOO.COM OR (215) 821-9147 TO SUBMIT A REQUEST FOR ANY WRITER. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE WRITER DIRECTLY! ALL APPEARANCE REQUEST WILL GO THROUGH THE MANAGING EDITOR'S OFFICE. COPYRIGHT: THE USE OF ANY SUBMISSIONS APPEARING ON THIS SITE FOR MONETARY GAINS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. TO LEARN MORE: PHILADELPHIA FRONT PAGE NEWS WWW.FPNNEWS.ORG. YOUR TOP STORIES OF THE DAY (215) 821-9147.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Recession upends dreams of aspiring teachers

Recession upends dreams of aspiring teachers

AP Photo
In this photo taken Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, Kim Estey, is seen with bridal magazines at the home of her fiancee in Sacramento, Calif. Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. Estey, 27, has not been abel to find a full-time teaching job since earning her credential at California State University, Sacramento. For the past three years Estey has been working part-time as a substitute teacher for three school districts and she and her fiancee have had to postpone getting married as she looks for a full-time position.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Stay-at-home-mom Cindy DePace was just hitting 30 when she decided to return to the work force by going back to school and becoming a teacher.

She loved working with kids, could be home in the summer with her own children and had always heard that someone with an education degree would never have trouble finding a job.

Five years later, she has a degree in early childhood education and tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to repay, but no teaching job. Instead, she files records at a law firm in South Carolina's capital.

For decades, the growing number of children in the U.S. and efforts in many states to lower class sizes created a high demand for teachers. Private-sector workers who lost their jobs or were looking for a mid-career change often were encouraged to return to school and earn a teaching credential, while states set up shortcuts to get them licenses.

But the Great Recession and its ripple effects on the state and local tax dollars that fund public schools have upended the conventional wisdom that a teaching job is a golden ticket to career stability.

DePace earned her education degree from private Columbia College and got divorced along the way. Now 35, she has given up her dream of working in a classroom.

She had five interviews, attended several job fairs and filed countless applications without getting a response.

"I've got $60,000 worth of student loans that I have to pay back. I'm paying them back as a single mom, and I'm not even working in what I went to school for," she said. "So I feel like I just wasted my money."

A national survey of school districts in June by the Center on Education Policy estimated that 48 percent of them cut teaching jobs last school year. The survey found 84 percent of districts are bracing for additional funding cuts this year.

A survey in May of more than 1,000 school superintendents across the country by the American Association of School Administrators found that 74 percent anticipate having to cut jobs this year, with the majority of those being teachers or teacher aides. An association survey of 692 school administrators found that 48 percent laid off employees last year.

In California alone, budget cuts have led to about 30,000 teachers and more than 10,000 support staff being laid off in the past three years, according to estimates by the unions that represent them. The number of public school teachers in Michigan has shrunk by nearly 9 percent since peaking at nearly 118,000 during the 2004-05 school year, a loss of about 10,000 jobs. That parallels an 8 percent drop in the number of Michigan public school students but also reflects shrinking state aid.

Those just entering the profession also are vulnerable because of school district rules that require administrators to lay off the most recently hired teachers first, meaning some graduates lucky enough to find a job are out of work within a year. The layoffs have made competition fierce for the few job openings that do become available.

Andrea Ross-Woody, a principal at a private school near Sacramento, Calif., said she received about 50 applications for a teaching job that pays $1,700 a month with no benefits. Some applicants have been looking for full-time work for several years. Others recently completed expensive credential programs at for-profit colleges and are carrying large loads of debt.

"It just amazes me that they keep putting more teachers out there and there are no jobs," said Ross-Woody. "We just have a lot of teachers who are out of work. It's just a very sad situation."

In Austin, Texas, a district with 86,000 students is hiring just 72 teachers. Six years ago, it hired 800.

Most of its open positions are for specialties such as bilingual elementary school teachers or science and math teachers in middle and high schools. Graduates with degrees in early childhood education face stiff competition for very few positions, said Michael Houser, a recruiter for the Austin Independent School District.

"It's a triple tragedy in a way," said Wellford "Buzz" Wilms, an education professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has been training new teachers for three decades. "The kids invest all this time and they face such a bleak job market. These are some of the best kids in the world, and we miss putting them where they are needed the most."

College students are getting the message. At UCLA, the number of applicants for its teaching program has fallen by more than a third since 2003, Wilms said.

The enrollment numbers for California State University, which graduates the majority of the state's teachers, are even starker. Enrollment peaked in fall 2002 with 31,000 students but has fallen over the past nine years to 13,500 students last year, said Mike Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for California State University.

Nationally, the number of bachelor's degrees given in education started to decline after 2006, while the number of degrees in fields such as business and nursing continues to increase, according to U.S. Department of Education data.

Some students saw it coming.

Tasha Brannan graduated from Winthrop University in South Carolina in May with a degree in early childhood education, but already had decided to change course as the economy tanked and friends told her about their difficulties trying to land teaching jobs.

"I had heard from so many people who graduated a semester before me or a year before me that had a lot of trouble finding something in the education field. I was really fortunate to find something as quick as I did because I have student loans I have to pay back," she said.

Brannan, 22, is applying some of the skills she learned in her teaching program - patience, flexibility - to a different career: working with a firm that hires temporary workers.

How soon the picture for aspiring teachers will brighten is as clear as predicting when the economy will turn around.

In his recent national address on job creation, President Barack Obama talked about investing $35 billion to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers while hiring tens of thousands more, but his plan faces uncertain prospects in a divided Congress.

In the meantime, education professors and school district recruiters offer the same advice: Before graduating, find a job such as a teacher's aide or a substitute that could be a bridge to a full-time teaching position.

That's the route 27-year-old Kim Estey, of Sutter Creek, Calif., has tried to take.

Since earning her teaching credential at California State University, Sacramento in 2008, Estey has worked part-time as a substitute teacher for three districts, earning about $100 a day and hoping to get leads on potential job openings. She recently started tutoring at nights and on weekends to earn extra money.

"I still live with my parents at 27 because they don't want me to give up on my career," Estey said. "There's no way I can move out. I'm engaged and can't plan on getting married until I get a job."

About half the students in her credential program have left education and found work in other fields. But Estey still hopes she can land a full-time teaching job even as she faces more competition from new graduates and seasoned teachers who were recently laid off.

"It's a bad climate right now, but this is really what I'm supposed to be doing," she said. "I'm hoping by next year I'll get something. There is a job out there for me. I've just got to be patient."

Van Stone Productions Inc. 501C3 Nonprofit Organization Informatioin (EIN) / Tax ID

Van Stone Productions Inc. 501C3 Nonprofit Organization Informatioin (EIN) / Tax ID
Click on the logo to learn about the non-profit status

BECOME OUR VLOGGER OF THE MONTH: VIDEO NEWS CONTENT PUBLISHED ON ANY TOPIC BELOW

Latest edition of Talk Live Philly With Van Stone

VAN STONE PERFORMANCE PROMOTION VIDEO AT WEST PHILADELPHIA HS 1999 - BELOW

FPN NEWS “TAKE TIME FOR WINNERS IN ANY COMMUNITY!”

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Latinamerica, South Asia, and USA Fashion and Beauty Collection

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Latinamerica, South Asia, and USA Fashion and Beauty Collection
Family Modeling -modelado de la familia

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Hermosas World Images Van Stones

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Hermosas World Images Van Stones
Family Modeling -modelado de la familia

WE'RE #1

WE'RE #1

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Hermosas World Images Van Stones

Van Stones' Beautiful World Images -Hermosas World Images Van Stones
Family Modeling -modelado de la familia

Van Stones' Beautiful Tween Images-Hermosas Imágenes Tween Van Stones

Van Stones' Beautiful Tween Images-Hermosas Imágenes Tween Van Stones
Family Modeling -modelado de la familia

WE'RE NO 1

WE'RE NO 1

Van Stones' Beautiful Youth Images -Van Stones imágenes hermosas de la Juventud

Van Stones' Beautiful Youth Images -Van Stones imágenes hermosas de la Juventud
Family Modeling -Modelado de la familia

WE'RE NO 1

WE'RE NO 1

Van Stones' Beautiful Child Images -Van Stones Niño hermoso Imágenes

WE'RE #1

Van Stones’ Beautiful Children Images - Van Stones imágenes hermosas Madre

Van Stones’ Beautiful Children Images - Van Stones imágenes hermosas Madre
Family Modeling -modelado de la familia

Like Us On Facebook

We"re Looking For Volunteers

News, and more about youth, education, political analyst, schools, anti-violence, social justice, grass roots democracy, ecological protection, seniors, Historic Preservation & Restoration, (Black, Latinos, Asian, Pakistani, Italian, and other)Arts, Books, Super Heroes, Trading Cards, Youth, College, and Pro Sports, Nonprofits and Real-estate.

Blog Archive

About Us

  • FPN can reach out to Representatives from your side of: The Village, The Township, or The City
  • FPN features
    Sports
    Cars
    Family Entertainment
    Neighborhood News
    Scholastic News
    Regional News
    National News
    Citywide News
    Legal News
    Alternative Green Energy Education News
    Superhero & Comic Strip News
  • Teen Stars
  • Humanitarian/Ministers/Political
  • Community Services
  • Women & Men & Kids

  • You acknowledge and agree that you may not copy, distribute, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Newspaper or Services. Unless otherwise expressly provided in our Newspaper, you may not copy, display or use any trademark without prior written permission of the trademark owner.

    FPN/VSP® is in no way responsible for the content of any site owned by a third party that may be listed on our Website and/or linked to our Website via hyperlink. VSP/FPN® makes no judgment or warranty with respect to the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of the content of any site to which the Website may refer and/or link, and FPN/VSP® takes no responsibility therefor. By providing access to other websites, FPN/VSP® is not endorsing the goods or services provided by any such websites or their sponsoring organizations, nor does such reference or link mean that any third party websites or their owners are endorsing FPN/VSP® or any of the Services. Such references and links are for informational purposes only and as a convenience to you.

    FPN/VSP® reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Website and/or Services (or any part thereof) with or without notice to you. You agree that neither FPN/VSP® nor its affiliates shall be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Website and/or Services.

    You agree to indemnify and hold harmless FPN/VSP®, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, legal representatives, agents, successors and assigns, from and against any and all claims, actions, demands, causes of action and other proceedings arising from or concerning your use of the Services (collectively, "Claims") and to reimburse them on demand for any losses, costs, judgments, fees, fines and other expenses they incur (including attorneys' fees and litigation costs) as a result of any Claims.

    The Website is © 2009 by VSP®, or its designers. All rights reserved. Your rights with respect to use of the Website and Services are governed by the Terms and all applicable laws, including but not limited to intellectual property laws.

    Any contact information for troops overseas and/or soldiers at home provided to you by FPN/VSP® is specifically and solely for your individual use in connection with the services provide by Van Stone Productions Foundation VSP.

    FPN/VSP® soldiers contact information for any other purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, copying and/or storing by any means (manually, electronically, mechanically, or otherwise) not expressly authorized by FPN/VSP is strictly prohibited. Additionally, use of FPN/VSP® contact information for any solicitation or recruiting purpose, or any other private, commercial, political, or religious mailing, or any other form of communication not expressly authorized by FPN/VSP® is strictly prohibited.