Senate and House Education Committtee

If we get a body seats madam chair is coming to get us going. That's good if you follow instructions. Good morning good morning glad to see everybody here healthy and. Why is and good morning we have folks this morning here from the department of education Carla Saraceni. And Frank. Serve ET AL that right. Close enough thank you for being here we appreciate it I need to gavel and I'm sorry. Okay just go ahead with what I just said. Glad to have you here if you would identify yourselves please and we'll be recognized. Your Mike is not on. Good morning chair good morning members of the joint and committee I'm Carly Saraceni I'm the assistant commissioner of educator fictive lesson licensure and I have with me today doctor Frank Servicio are administrator of special projects and also I'd like to introduce. Bring the house she is our new educator impact coordinator. Brandy can you stand. Were happy to have her on board this morning we're going to talk to you about educator preparation recruitment and retention. Course our vision is transforming Arkansas to lead the nation instead of focused education and we provide leadership support services to schools districts and community so every student graduates prepared for college career and community engagement this morning we're going to kind of talk about what we do. An educator effectiveness and licensure and most all of our initiatives fall under our campaign call teach Arkansas I hope you've heard that we have three main focuses teacher cadets teacher recruitment and retention and then teach again re ignite and these are initiatives to bring. Past educators back into the work force besides our future educators and keeping our current educators. Our next slide we have. All our initiatives and I put pictures that here because I know sometimes when we just read them off you may not be familiar but our main ones are. It's not showing is it showing up for you got. Are you seeing just the title slide. Would. I thought it was advancing the slides but apparently they weren't advancing. Show it's top. From beginning. Not working. Apologize for that they are advancing on the computer but apparently not on the screen. That is correct please bear with that. Committee. Now it's like it's not communicate. Sorry. There. Here you go. Thank you. So I do want to be on. Here are some of our initiatives these are major ones it's Arkansas teacher of the year we say and you to wait. I. Currently our teacher of the year is Stacey Mack into which she's in that picture we have that we are also in charge of the milk in a ward educator ward national board certified teachers educator commitment signing week impacting tomorrow segment which involves high school students opportunity culture which is I grow your own program and also career continue on for teachers wanting to be leaders we have career fairs we have one in the fall that one I want to be a teacher and those are individuals come to that fair fair warning a route to licensure in we advise the on and we also have universities and colleges there and alternate routes to encourage and kind of put them where they need to go it's almost like being a counselor that day or departments also coming at we usually have a career fair but since cal would nineteen our career fair will be virtual. And this will be for coops districts across the state it will be a virtual career fair on June eleventh. We also I'm in charge of positive education stories because we need to provide a promote our professional organization of educators across the state we also have teacher appreciation week. When our next slide. We are about retaining effective teachers mentoring and regional support. We not only need to help our districts and community school recruit teachers but we need to help retain the on through support and facilitation. And on that we switched about three years ago from just meant to worse per teacher to regional support we're in we now have recruitment and retention coordinators house at every cow law Pulaski County doesn't have a co op so all the three big districts have their own recruitment and retention we also have one for Arkansas public resource center for charter schools so we want we now know that sixty percent of our teachers with A of with AT and or teach at within twenty miles of where they went to high school so we have to look at our communities and look within those communities to recognize who we can help grow our own. With all the shortages we have we have the foundational that we teach everyone ethics test spring mark pedagogy with classroom management to other skills we also supplement with late teachers buddy teachers within the schools and then we also having the recruitment and retention coordinators house at the co ops. They also can utilize there were. Specialist that are within the co op we also have enrichment where we tried to do one on one support with experts for those teachers that need that extra help. So we really try to help recruit effective teachers and try to individualize those pass through what pathways for licensors if they are not licensed currently we have thirty one hundred. Novice teachers which are new teachers. In. That that number varies five. Cooperate gin AB we have mentoring not only for the first year but for the second and third year as well we also provide mentoring for beginning administrators. Last year we had two hundred and seventeen new administrators those in administrators may include principals assistant principals and other Program specialist in central office. We're really excited. Because we know that we need to get out there and recruit and have a more diverse teacher workforce senator key and build and announced or new initiative. Beginning in twenty twenty one in collaboration with career and technical education and higher ed we are going to start a certified teaching assistant that a high school can graduate with and so they can go right into the work place as a pair professional. With. And this is important because career explorations experiences opportunities can provide academic performance. And students who were involved in career exploration are more likely to plan their high school courses of students study carefully to gain the skills that we one eight. And again when you're thinking about that sixty percent of teachers work within twenty miles from where they graduated high school it's important for us to start recruiting in high school. And sell the qualities of our CTA. Is you will become a highly qualified pair pro at the end of high school you can go right into the work force. And you'll have completed eighty hours of authentic field experience in the classroom and you could earn up to three to twelve hours toward your degree and so that puts us on the path. In our next slide. That grow your own model to me this is kind of just the illustration is perfect because we need to grow or And so with the S. a student. Can get into a program of study for pre educator program. And then as they graduate high school they could be employed back at that district in some capacity. While going on. To the path of licensure with a bachelor's degree. And is what's so wonderful is they are always being supported within the community and the district. And then of course our ultimate goal is to make the on the classroom teacher and the is highly effective in ready as possible on that first day of students that they have students. And I said that all of our initiatives fall under the teach Arkansas ago and these are our five to each Arkansas correct goes. This initiative were at the end of our second year and currently Argo one was to increase the number of teacher candidates in Arkansas we have done that by twenty three point eight percent so we've already met that go go to increase the number of an office teachers by ten percent we're almost there but we have a few years left. Go three decrease the teacher attrition right by fifteen percent. We're not there yet and we need a lot of more we've made more work in this area that call for. The re entering the teacher has a profession in Arkansas by five percent that's eighteen point seven percent that it's that also a major goal was to increase the number of minority teachers by twenty five percent. Within two years were almost at half that go we want to see that more. But again that's looking in reaching out to those communities and thinking that those teachers are sitting in those high school classrooms and that we need to start recruiting them now. In the in the next slide is the complete or is in Arkansas. Currently over the past three years you say that sixty percent of our complainers in traditional and nontraditional programs are teaching in the state of Arkansas and you're wondering where's that other thirty percent they could be. Not teaching at all staying home or going into another profession profession they could be in a private school or they could be teaching out of state because we do not have access to those features so when you're looking at the sixty percent you're thinking that thirty percent yet those are the factors that we don't have control over and we do not have numbers to support that. So now I'm going to turn it over to Dr city I'll. Thank you Carly a good morning once again members of the committee and the madam chair I'm going to share with you of the some of the data that we have been collecting annually for the last four years we referred to this as the educator preparation provider quality report of in the office it's II PPQ OR which really isn't a whole lot easier to say but it contains a variety of data that we collect from the institutions from the educator preparation programs includes the numbers of those enrolled in their programs numbers to a completing their programs of the rates of teacher would retention in Arkansas public schools we look at demographic data race and gender and we also as part of the report have us some standards that we have designed to have the institutions in the E. P. P.'s to meet or to demonstrate that they can meet these state standards and I'll refer to those as we go further to the presentation. to begin with with just look at some of the enrollment in the complete date of the first slide here is teacher involvement and are in Arkansas EP peas and the the numbers of educators who are completing those programs in Arkansas EP peas we can see that the teacher enrollment is has begun to increase the fairly steadily over the last few years and numbers of complete is of those programs sort of kind of leveling off of what we expect to see though is has enrollment increases over the few years generally a couple or three years later we'll start to see the increase incomplete or is that reflects the increasing or enrollment from previous years. these next few slides or the same information but on for administrators we have district level enrollment and complete orders A building level and I'm going to go through this fairly quickly I assume you have copies of this of. So you don't need to study the slides as I present them but building level complete or sort of sort of holding steady over the last few years and this curriculum program administrators over the last two years pretty much about the same. One of the things that we're fairly proud of is the fact that we when we measure our teacher retention rates and compare that to the national average you'll see on this slide that the Arkansas of teacher retention rates generally are are that are where where retaining more teachers in Arkansas than the national average so and we we actually have this state of for the last I think fifteen years Senate reflects the same each year. I mention that we also look at the demographics of the populations we looked at the the race of our Arkansas students and the Arkansas teachers and the teacher candidates and those who were completed teacher completing teacher programs and of course what is notable here is to say that we have thirty nine percent of our students are non white but when we look at the teachers the candidates and the complete or as we see yeah between ten and twenty percent nonwhite and so naturally one of the initiatives or a major initiative and and the recruitment and retention in the teach Arkansas campaign is to try to increase the numbers the with regard to non white educators. I think I just skip the slide but basically the same thing was true at the I just ran through the impact can I go back to that one I think I can. Yes for gender it's basically the same we see Fifty one percent male students but twenty five twenty eight and twenty four percent male teachers are educators or or those preparing to be educators and so with obviously trying to recruit more male educators as well. I also within the the E. P. P. Q. R. we have sections that roof that reflect standards that have been established that we expect the institutions to meet. one of those is a licensure assessment pass rate summary pass rates. where we have set the standard and we expect all of the institutions to try to meet that standard in terms of pass rates on the licensure tests we also do surveys of novice teachers and novice teachers supervisors to identify what their perceptions are of how well they were prepared once they're in the classroom so these novice teachers in the first year of teaching will our our surveyed annually and we get an impression of how well they were prepared from them as well as their supervisors. Then the newest section of the E. P. P. Q. R. is narrative responses where we spent the last year developing standards that we would like to see met for what the institutions are doing with regard to increasing the shortage areas of the increasing teachers teaching in shortage areas increasing their minority recruitment what are they doing with regard to partnerships with the community and with the P. twelve of schools and also and very importantly what are they doing nowadays with regard to teaching the science of reading. Of with regard to the summary pass rates we have identified the standard has a. Having of a summary pass rate of eighty eight point one five percent some repairs rates reflect the. percentage of of candidates who have passed all the tests that they have to take if they take any test for a license so if if the person has to take three tests. To get a particular license this is the percentage of those candidates who have passed all of them and now the course that would include if they only took two and haven't taken the third one yet that would still count as someone who is not passed all three tests and but this this is this is not an arbitrary measurement that we take this is actually. The Taken out of the annual Eiichi eight title to report the higher Education Act title to report which in which this is one of their their standard data elements so basically we just put it into the E. PP you are from the title to report and these what you can see here the alternative of RAPERT rap programs eleven of those twelve those programs have exceeded the state standard and in the traditional route programs fourteen of the seventeen exceeded the state standard there is no report of if there were fewer than ten test takers and so there were four U. P. P.'s for which there were no reports and all also point out that this is data from the two thousand nineteen report of which is the most recent data we have that I could share with you since the last time this report was given the two thousand twenty report is probably going to be completed in June or July this year a lot of the data collection was delayed as a result of the coronavirus as you'd expect. so another section on the report is the novice teachers survey data the we set this is that the. The survey asks a series of questions based on a of a scale of one to four from is the teacher in effective to is the teacher highly effective on a on a scale of one to four and the standard which was set at two point six and all of the programs I have to say all of the programs on both surveys actually met the standard says twenty two of thirty six for the novice teacher survey and seventeen of thirty six for the supervisor survey but that also reflects that there with those for which they will less than ten responses Senate there were less than ten responses than there was no standard so all of them that had ten or more did meet that standard. And again that was from the two thousand nineteen report we are currently collecting the two thousand twenty report survey results. And then the last part of the report and as I said before this is the newest section it gives us an idea of of how well the institutions are trying to address some of the some of the issues that are currently in education and so forth addressing geographical academic shortage areas for the increase in the number of minority teachers for increasing partnerships and and how are they handling the science of reading we have set the standards where if a institution and we we we send out the questions to the E. P. please ask them how they are addressing these and if they respond with two or more strategies that include resources goals data and the communication plan then the will be rated as having exceeded the standard to meet the standard they have to have at least one of two strategies and resources goals and the planned for communication and of course if they don't have that and they would be rated as does not meet standard this is the first year that we will actually be applying the standards and. It is this week that those responses are coming in so it'll be a couple of weeks now before we actually apply the standards but that the two thousand twenty ET P. Q. R. will be published probably maybe and the June the middle of July ishe and all of this state will be included in that in that report. and that's all that I have on the PPQ are. And some of our include a concluding thoughts are it is our goal to increase the enrollment in our IT Pratt programs both traditional and nontraditional and when you look at complete or data you also need to think about as some of the barriers testing requirements financial or they get into the profession and they start in their field experience and decide this isn't for me. but we've got to continue to provide opportunities to broaden that educator pipeline that's why we are really focusing on grow your own and looking at those high school students because we all know that if we can re create within the community they're more likely to stay in the retained within that community so it is building those partnerships would not only with the district with the community but also with hiring at. And we want to continue to make progress to work toward our as a goes this way I'll. Thank you. Thank you very much very informative we have a few questions here senator Elliott. Thank you madam chair. The first thing I I think the the notion of a career tech of para professional is just a a really good idea because if they can get started there that's really helpful I need to move this mask a little bit probably to make sense to you so kudos to you for that and I have a number of questions madam chair I'll get back in the queue for after probably two or so and I ask these questions I have I want I'm asking strictly in terms of this report because I do not hold to the department of education for being responsible for all the recruitment and retention in this state because it's far bigger than that and you just have a role to play up front number by my first question is for a who pays for the teacher retention support person who is provided a P. SRC. Are they paying for that are those state dollars that are paying for that person our recruitment and retention those are discretionary grants that are written. And the money comes from our six ninety nine our missionary state funds and so can anybody apply for one of those grant so that they can be a support for those teachers. I anybody who has caught who one of the qualifications for being able to do that I guess is what I'm lazy it's if a co op and then if you don't have a co op like the charter schools do not have a co op there kind of co op is a PS ET and so that would be the M. and then Pulaski County does it have a co op and so they can and they do route for the round and they each have their own I'm asking is why why is a P. SRC their co op so to speak. What is that what are the qualifications what am I what I'm asking you all for the coordinator II. Or to apply for the grant no no for the coordinator who. Why is it going through eight APS RC well the recruitment and retention that the coops are done through the co ops is whale we have guidelines in my follow those guidelines and higher according to those guidelines. You are you talking by a PSR see right now you for. Anyone who has a recruitment and retention person they have an educator licensure that those type things so okay so what let me just I'm not getting clear on this so if somebody else wanted to apply to be the I support persons for the charter schools they could do that. Just as a P. S. R. C. has done I'm assuming. Three years ago I know the change from when it went straight to the mentor from us the department and the ad and that was in. Seventeen eighteen and I would have to go back and look at those guidelines but I can get you that okay and get it to you all right I'll go on I will get in its later my other question has to do with if you could just describe just kind of basically. We talked about mentoring yesterday and it can come and certain different forms on though but when we say meant to run an Arkansas. Pick one example I'm just give us an idea of what that looks like and so we get a sense of how that's helping teachers okay well. We have it now regional lady and some coops have more thing and one recruitment and retention because different coops have different needs if you have a co ops A. list look at great rivers or Arkansas River that has about twenty nine almost thirty percent of their teachers on waivers verses may be a gaffe inter arch for that has five percent or two point nine percent on waiver so we kinda looks different but it's done regional lady and so List look at arch forward okay would be and one that we can look at that's close they have all their mentoring training and they usually do a three day training in the summer before school began and then date the local district I work with the district to pair them we have some column buddy. Teachers and some column lead teachers and the and they periodically get back together virtually were face to face throughout the school year. Add thank you again have that buddy or lead teacher at the district level and may be in the building and If that buddy teacher and lead teacher may see someone struggling that needs one on one that's where it goes back to that or in our we call them or an hour's recruitment and retention and I they provide one on one support from experts the and. Does that answer your question it doesn't extent but yeah it does that and madam chair I'll get back in the queue but I just would like to make this request of the department of ed made at some point I know that the best thing that could happen for teachers to be prepared is the same thing we do with doctors we would never ever ever put a doctor out there working with folks without having gone through clinical inductions and with somebody by that person side through that period so if you could at some point give us a notion of if we could have the best kind of clinical experience for our teachers what would it look like because when we get ready to prepare A doctors we don't skimp on this and this is this the same kind of thing we really do need for teachers and a lot of people come to understand thank you madam chair and I thank you for your responses and I appreciate your reports today thank you thank you. Thank you Representative Evans. Thank you madam chair of lot of good data here thank you very much for your presentation I appreciate you including the part about the home grown aspect and. Very big proponent of that I believe that that just establishes a whole nother magnitude of retention in in looking at page five under exhibits the the graph that you had of of sixty percent of teachers work within twenty miles of where they attended high school that that's a that's a great. grabber there there there's two or three variables in that though that that that kind of brings a question in my mind and One is. The number of teachers that were home grown that live outside of twenty miles but still want to commute to that district you have the number of teachers that are teaching in that district that did not go to school there. And and then you have the percentage of teachers that didn't go to school there that live out but want to be a part of that district but. To promote the aspect that you're trying to present here do you have any data that shows. The retention rate. Of teachers that went to school there. And are still there as compared to hiring outside of the district. And the retention rate of those teachers coming into that district and then potentially leaving two three four years later when an opening at where they went to school comes available and they bail so you maybe there were a student teacher in my district we taught and we trained we taught in the way of life there we gave him a job over maybe someone that was from there maybe didn't interview as well and then. Two three years later an opening came from their district and they leave or a job husband's spouse's transfer and we lose and you have any data support that no Sir we down but it's making us think that maybe that something we could look at their surveys and add maybe something the are in ours could also help us get there and I've taken notes on that thank you a follow up manager also in the data may be here I may just of overlooked it but but do you have anything that currently shows the. Retention rate. By year concerned that I've seen over the last few years especially in regards to special ed is new teachers that that that come into a district and within one to three years like go this and what I thought this was going to be I this is not just teaching kids it's all the other things and that's not what I wanted to do and they get out of the profession so do you have any data to show retention rate by year. Of how long it in at what point does does that number does that curve change so that you know once they're in the profession for five years the number shoots up in retention rate that they go ahead and state versus what years the most critical in keeping them in the profession thank you. yeah thank you for the question Actually the data that we are showing here the flex. The retention of first year teachers as they go through from year to year to year so so our our retention rates reflect the what if a in any given year if a teacher if a teacher was a first year teacher in any given year then we're looking at that cohort. For the following forever for the next ten to fifteen years how many of those initial teachers in that first year state for whatever number of years that was but the other part of the question which referred to save in particular special let one of our next what one of our plans is that in the next design of the week of the retention study is to not just look at how many but to look at who so so that will say of those teachers who did leave after that first year or second or third year what was a license areas what with their teaching what they mails with the females where they from those kinds of questions obviously it's a lot more complex but that's exactly what we'd be looking for. And I may add a little to that is we have a program that research and technology within the department has revealed and I have showed it to Our division in particular and on it's called insights and is the data that scam and not like from the districts through the finance in the school and there is a cap the human capital drop down in in a is attrition specifically for that district. And so once it fully is The point and we can start using it every day it's same because you know worked they're trying to work out the little minor details that are going on and they're showing it one division at a time but it will be really great that we will have that specific data that you need and the and when you ask about a specific district or even a school it goes down to the school level as well. So we're really excited and add doctor Servicio helped. Give feedback on that so we're really excited because with us they're pulling the data also from ales. And some other area yes and thank you Matt what to sign any other data points that I forgot about that really you've covered it pretty well we're really excited about that human capital. Because that's also was at another area that we're trying to help their recruitment and retention coordinators with is the human capital aspect and I have we have brought in the I have. Urban schools academy and I really talk about the human capital factors last week we had our last virtual session and I know there is over fifty people watching it and so people are looking at that human capital because we have to look at The health the social the hope components of teachers in our students. Thank you. Hey let's see Representative Burch. Are you. Thank you madam chair. Hey hi I am very interested in the map program statistics and and students that graduate from that program have not gone the traditional route through education for your education and how long we keep those afterwards because they're not doing some of the student teaching about getting those experience with kids hours and then they're going straight into education from another area are those statistics somewhere in here or they kept separately where can I find that information if you're referring to retention rates of those yeah as as I was mentioning earlier we right now all we have is total numbers we don't have it disaggregated body who these teachers are or where they went to school of what their program was but that is the the next phase of the retention report that we do. Next phase be in when can we expect that information. guys we're in the process of designing how to collect that data right now I wish I could tell you but I can't follow manager and really this is a separate one these are statistics with how they pass the test is their personal survey element of wanted to stay in teaching that this somewhere reflected in here press the more subjective but in some cases may be just as or more important than whether they pass the test or hit a certain date no. Yeah the only survey we're doing right now is on novice teachers so And that's how how well they were or how they perceive their preparation was to prepare them for the classroom the people the map program fall into that yes okay. By the broken out separately. the numbers teacher results I believe on one of the slides we did have all we have there is is what the The numbers that met the standard in a fiery let's see there was a sliding here. The hour and hours are also doing I have. A survey for on office teachers and it gets a little built in day at because each area has different challenges and so they are doing that survey and sending us the results within so that we can look at what we need to do. If I have any specific. I will try to regulate them. The Peter has a separate challenge on our has different challenges on how to get the information are challenging area as well for T. Sir right coops the surveys look different may be asking the questions to the novice teachers because in one area you may have more on waivers okay that are going to three maybe those alternate routes in so those that data would tell us more and those are starting to come in and so we can as we get them and we have. To segregate the data we can share those thank you. The with regard to the novice teacher surveys we do have I mean at the at this point what we reporting is that all of the programs whether they were traditional or nontraditional if they had more than ten respondents they did make this meet the state standard but I do have the individual data for whether they were alternate route programs or traditional programs as well the. We can always send that to you if you care okay thank you thank. Okay let's see all Representative Allen. Right here. Thank you madam chair and I wanna thank you all for coming today at the bottom of page for You have a a goal of a cream minority teachers yet goal is twenty five percent and it looked like you all up track of halfway there one of my major concerns is from some of my constituents that when make graduate from college they have to take the practice tests and the practice test for some of my very difficult to pass and wants to the past the practice tests of failed to pass the practice tests we have to retake it again and my average those tests run about five hundred dollars if you have to take is about three tests that you have to take it from my mistake. And so if a person doesn't pass the test that he or she will have to take it again so it becomes very very expensive for them to pass a practice test so I was wondering per house what efforts are you all put forward to help those key to have those two this past it to us. We are finding with our re create many retention Coordinators they are dressing at regional late because you may have a math teacher that didn't pass the math component at one district and then another one and another in they bring them in and they try to at. Tutor them. And I use different. Things to try to help them pass the test the other thing we're starting to do is we're reimbursing for if we in you pass the test for the shortage areas so that there isn't some money back we are also No that it can be a barrier and with five our last rule change we had it if you score with the into Essie Ian's. Of the cut score that you can take a performance assessment over a period of. One to two years and you can be on a provisional license and tell you have that that and so that's kinda different degree of passing that test because a lot of A might be only miss it by one or two points and I'm sure you've heard that yes. And so that's why we put into the rules that were just passed by state board on last Thursday on and if they score within two S. C. and the and they can get a provisional license and work towards a performance assessment test and then and it's a performance six that assessment it's based on what they're doing in the classroom they may have to do Video themselves teaching a lesson in part certain things like that upload it in someone grades that external lady five provider. Follows. Would you agree that If a person is going to teach he or she should have to pass those tests whether the teacher charter school of public school but it's my understanding that they go to a charter school they don't have to pass these tests is that correct amount. Well if they're under at twelve forty waivers charter waivers that is correct but if you're teaching a course subjects such as math science English Social studies of fine arts you have to be a Cutie in that area so you may show that your proficient in that area and if you do not pass that test then you can either have a bachelor's degree or master's degree in that specific content area or eighteen hours to that specific content area question those things then the supply in the public school system to. Thank you. Again districts are allowed to apply for waivers but I've. Thank you thank you for your response. Okay let's say you are. Representative Springer. Good morning I'm Joyce where it on the I guess new kid on the block here this is my first Education Committee beating and welcome and thank you madam chair for the opportunity to speak this morning of I too am looking it up page four of your report of where you have your goals set out and you talk about the recruitment and retention I'm a date a person to sell I like to see by data disaggregated so I'm curious to know you're saying that you're meeting certain goals so I would like to see that the segregation of this information like for instance you've indicated that you increase your teacher candidates in Arkansas by twenty percent of that's your goal and you say this twenty three so one of those numbers and so forth and so on for each one of the goals so do you have that information that can be shared so we can actually see if you are in fact of meeting you goals that you set forth because you know like that so and if you met your go if you haven't met your goal the end what do you do to in order to meet those goals and I guess that's another question madam chair and so. Maybe they can answer that at some point in time thank you. The yes to answer your question. We do have the the of our data and that this aggregated data I don't have it with me right now but yes we do have the data that these numbers are based on. And then do you have an action plan that you follow up with with respect to the goals that you're not meeting what are those plans what are you doing to address that Senate. Well the the the first thing we did was. Develop the recruitment and retention unit at this in our division so and and brandy how was here earlier today and the you know she's directing that unit and so those are the plans that that misrepresenting referred to throughout most of the beginning of the presentation with regard to all of the initiatives that there other involved with on our. Our thank you. And we will follow up with this to say brandy how came on in January the first of January and the ad that unit has really started that in so we hope to have more data and more if we can share plans and a later day okay so that means you're going to update this information as time goes vice within this fight you period yes ma'am okay thank you for. Okay let's see Representative della Rosa. One look at two one there. Thank you madam chair yes I was just wondering if there has been any study or if there's any correlation between teacher performance or teacher quality and how they were recruited because I keep hearing we need to grow our own because you know for sixty percent come locally. But I don't ever see anything that says what the quality is of those teachers depending on whether they've been recruited from outside the area versus whether they've been home grown and I just wanna make sure that we're not. Aiming for the convenience of having a local teacher that we can just fill the seat with verses a good quality teacher and I was wondering if there was any kind of information. On the performance of recruited teachers versus those that have have come from within. close to the school that I think the twenty miles is what she's. The data with our new initiatives it takes a couple years to get that data and a lot of these have just started before I came to the department I was it north little rock and we did the initiative of opportunity culture and it's a grower on model with the pair prices and that are building at our middle school with over seventeen hundred kids had been in school improvement for about seven years and it went from a duty to the city. So I can only share personal information but it very much Help them grow and we're hoping to see more of those things across the state because when you have some skin in the game within the community and you have some really excellent teachers that can be those meant to worse bills lay teachers for those novice teachers or those pair prose that think they may want to go into teaching and they're there every day. It can really trying them up to the quality. Is there a way that that that information can be collected going forward to make sure that this body gets that information later on yes as the initiatives because it really does take two to three years of data and we're going to start the CTA this year beginning in twenty twenty one school year are we only have two years of IOC I just wanna make sure that we're not trying to get a teacher but rather we're trying to get good teacher said there's a huge difference either yes ma'am. That. Okay Senator Sturch. Thank you madam chair A guys I just had a quick question I'm over here on your list. I wanted to ask a follow up to absent of Allen's question then I had another one about the novice teachers survey the to put up there previously but you'd mention to Representative Allen that we changed by rule are and I guess the board voted on it last week you said that the practice tests could be waived if they were close to it my performances for so I want to it's been seven years since I had to go through this I want to make sure that I'm understanding then what the order is we used to have to do the basic math and reading praxis test while we were in the first year of our internship and then we had to do a content area test with it was so space science or math during the internship as well before we went into an actual part practice and then at the end of the practice we took a pedagogy test or at least we would test on the methods in the instructions and so forth so are those still intact or we waiving the third one if they came close are how how it would you answer that then with her Senate balance question it isn't really waive totally it's only on the contents if you're with Ian two Essien's you can be and if you've met it into SEM as may be as little as a few points to less than ten points that you could show your proficient in that content area in our performance assessment in that content area that kind the is like that super score for an ACT okay it's county in that. I'm trying to use an analogy that you monitor stand it's kind of like that super score you take the practices content area was saying mass in the end you have set for there's ATP eight with your centers hat with with Practices there are several assessments out there that are performance based but it's over a year or two PM. A period of time so it goes proficiency would they be in their student teaching then or were they are to be hired by district on a waiver of licensure are how would we would give them a. Provisional license. What they are completing that portion of the performance assessment to go along with that practices FOR that super score okay. And every year they would have to show progress that they are making progress before the next year so that we're not just putting anyone out there used madam chair fact ask about that. Survey data it's on page eleven on our exhibit but I don't know if you could go back to the novice teacher survey data where you had the state standards and so forth but when I left the teacher prep program SO this to be at the end of your to student practice and then going into your first year we had a survey based on our teacher prep program but in that may have been internally eight U. A. lar I don't know if that was required by state this sounds like then at the end of the first year no matter where they are they're giving then a survey based on their teacher prep program after their first year of teaching then I understand what I'm trying to then if you could walk me through then these numbers say the average scores on a scale of one to four and effective to highly effective and then the teacher survey standard was two point six and then the novice teachers supervisor was two point seven so it sounds to me like we're barely affected if at least this way I'm reading it tell me then hi should be reading it differently for is I guess the highest create highly effective that's correct okay the You. DPP Q. are well let's go back the peel this be professional let's just standards board a stab push the the need for the B. PPO A. PPQ are a few years ago I think it's been for five years now that we've been producing this report and the PLS be established a committee of I think it's six members plus couple of eighty folks myself included to develop the standards that would That would be reflected in in the report and so the the novice teachers survey standard was talked about extensively as to how we would set that standard and what we came up with was that the standard in this get this was the first time that we did this this was last year I think the at the two thousand nineteen report was the first time we actually applied that The the committee established and that we would look at the prior year and identify what the meaning of all of the responses was and then go down one standard deviation. To set the standard so in the short story is the standard was set at one standard deviation below the mean from the previous years of responses and so naturally numbers with different for the supervisors and for the novice teachers and so the sentence ended up being set at different levels but but that's where they were set and you're right it's it's bear the effective you might I think it's how you described it it's it's a little low but it was a standard that we wanted everyone to meet and then the good thing about that is. Now that the scores of a little higher next year change we will apply it as one standard deviation below the mean which will be higher than it was the year before and so wouldn't it constantly should be a moving target always increase okay and then the way it reads all twenty two of thirty six program Smith standard shin I don't know about the all that the twenty two of thirty six thirty six includes public and private teacher prep programs as far as the universities and so forth yes all there it's thirty six total prep programs in Arkansas that's correct K. so twenty two out of the thirty six met the standard right okay correct but the reason it says all it is because those were the only ones that had at least ten we sponsors okay so all of the institutions that were rated did meet the standard because there were fourteen who did not have ten respondents and so they were not rated thank you ma'am chair patient. Name address I and I apologize I've boarding to this had to step out a few minutes ago on are the teacher recruitment and retention can you talk to us about You know we always hear that science and math or difficult areas to recruit for house special at the garden Can you give us what is the reality of of trying to recruit and retain for those high needs areas and then as part of that we offer special incentives for teachers in those areas to try to to keep those do those show to be effective so what are you saying in that regard. Well currently on the shortage areas. The recruitment and retention game that was just developed and we got our coordinator in January so we really don't have just numbers how that and unit is helping but we deem that will that math science continues to be a very hard area to recruit because those that are in those classes that universities and colleges can walk away and get a much higher paying job in an education so we have to appeal to them and that have. It's really hard to do and that's why we have form that unit to look at all. The alternatives that we can use to try to entice them into the education and that's one of the reasons we are starting the C. T. eight to try to entice women at younger age because we get to college at you know there's a lot of their tired fruit out there yes there is on the special ed you know special ed is one of those attrition rates that continues to be high because it is. An area in which teachers have to work really hard there's a lot of paperwork and so. I don't know if we can ever get it into control is all we can try to do is get the best teachers in the classroom for students and the and that's just a really hard question that you're asking and there's just no silver bullet about specially at and it's not just Arkansas you look across the shortage areas across the whole United States we are very similar to everyone else and that's just a really hard profession and to see if those enticements work specifically I would have to know exactly what enticements that you are. Thanking at I mean you're you're in your mind so that we can see if we have the data to pull on it right well in this case would be like for the science and math teachers understand we pay them a little bit more to try to keep them and FOR to offset. alas I'm not understand that correct about that we have some bonuses or something that we offered science and math in these hot high needs teachers to try to try to retain them that it can you give us any kind of numbers on that are we you know which we talk about teacher shortages. Are we just okay to shortage we we we need five or ten are we talking about we have hundreds of vacancies how big of a problem. And if you don't have specific numbers that's okay but give us a can you give us a ballpark or are we talking about you know we need five or ten teachers or do we need hundreds of teachers what what kind of level sort is are we looking at here. We just don't have those numbers just right front of apple I can say that I I don't have those numbers right in front of me but I I do create our shortage every report every year in fact it's going to be presented to the state board in June this year's for the twenty twenty one school year sure Jerry report and within that report there is the calculations that are based on the numbers of teachers that are currently teaching in that area or how many teachers we need how many teachers are being prepared by the institutions how many or receiving first time licenses how many of those classes if it was a perfect match for example how many math classes being taught by people in the long term sub or being taught on on a LP and then we also look at how many math teachers are either retired this year or all of the age and have enough experience to retire and so we look at sort of like as a supply and demand for again short answer is we do have those numbers I can share those with you they will be first at the state for this next month and so you know we can look at this specifically each individual content area okay I'd be interested in looking of that that something that you can maybe get to share with our staff and they can send out to us I appreciate it thank you thank. Yeah whatever you whatever information you send it to me shall and then she can distribute that certainly thank you by senator Elliott. Thank you madam chair my question has to do is slide for that was just up there you might not the when you use a term that these goals by recruitment and retention of. Do those numbers over the right hand column they reflect of. That the these folks were recruited or that they have been retained. What I've I believe that as far as the label is concerned it was simply that that this state it is housed in our we to recruitment and retention unit and so these two chart Arkansas goals are our recruitment and retention units goals okay he's numbers but somewhere there but there's a break out about that was how many were recruited how many were actually retained something that would exist someplace eight would not yet again the are are getting it is sort of just beginning to develop all of these the. Okay all right my and my other question has to do with What I just need a clarification at what point or the grow your own teachers at what point do they become for time teachers in the classroom where they're teaching alone. That would be when they reach licensure minutes they get a license they have to get a license before they can do that begin a teacher of record yes. Analyzing has to do with that we have thirty six we have thirty six I think this is right now what I made thirty six prep programs for teachers that correct that is correct for land nontraditional. I'm so at at some point It so I think that makes it so hard for us to determine anything about quality or anything else about you know our teaching profession because when you have thirty six different programs that are doing this and some of public summer private they seem to be all over the place. Do you as professionals in this career see a need for us to at some point begin to see what we're doing now because of a constantly trying to think of incentives here incentives there give a Bob and research is very clear that those things don't work for keeping teacher so we can believe it all we want to but that's not what research says Senate do you see at some point down the road that we need to re sync like if I want to become our doctor in Arkansas today I have two choices of where I'm going to go to do that. but with teachers we have certi six different ways of getting there and then wonder why we can't get a standard about something to you see down the road somewhere we need to just re think away of streamlining how we how a person becomes a teacher. So that we can have a standard that is going to and at least give us some cost for that as a question that was asked earlier we are not just trying to reach a number but we are reaching a standard as opposed to members of and I'm not accusing you of just trying to reach numbers because as I said the very beginning I am not holding you responsible for everything that goes on here because it hybrid can't fix this problem I mean that by itself and nor can you so what are your thoughts about that we we do in this in a way that makes sense to have. The standards we ought to have for teachers. personal opinion. Yeah I think I want a personal professional opinion because I think too many times we don't talk about all professional opinions and I think we should I think we have to be very clear that we're not asking you to give it the departments that's a that's right I am in it and I don't want to speak out of school either an answer the question or not we obviously we have a unit in our division that is the educator preparation unit and and they have set certain standards that the all of these programs have to meet in order to be approved as a licensing institution so of course that's that's what we're doing now and I think that they are as you know the standards that they said in the and they monitor programs make sure that they do meet those standards obviously that's all well and good what I was referring to in my personal opinion if you don't mind is I remember when they were places call teachers colleges in and out Arkansas teacher college and and again this is just Frank's video saying that you know if you want to become a doctor you go to medical school and I do want to become a teacher may be your go to teacher school and the maybe you ought to be just you know specific institutions where the that's all they do is prepare teachers. Hi thank you thanks madam chair thanks. Okay Representative Murdock. Thank you and thank you all for being here today my question centers around of course Senator Elliott talks you brings up a lot of questions but Good good thought but around retention when when when in this so be attached to her to this in some way when you look at retention have you address the whole community aspect of retaining people because when you look at districts like I represent there's just not a lot of competing ancillary factors that keep people there and so when you talk about how you can retain after training and given the opportunity to grow to eighty acceptable or certified teacher up to keep them in such areas that's been very very tough because many people use that years as a springboard that's why the grow your own is so important and I've seen it done some years ago in our district and some people. You know what but now that goes away from to some degree that traditional. Weight of how we have done things and what we call it a you know a regular certified teachers is alternative method but is because of. The things that we face we still have real people that the rule part the neat part of the state they need to have teachers obviously and we got to find a way to be diverse and developing them so when we talk about of the retention in the whole community and how we're going to have to somehow. make a commitment to these communities in order to keep people in these communities is that a part of your model or part of you think. Yes city is and that's why we form that unit of recruitment and retention because it's not only recruiting but it's also had we keep them and that. We even put in the career continuum because not every body wants to be a principal and that's how you go up on the pay scale some are just really good leaders and they really late other adults way all and so I have that career continuum is a pathway to entice teachers to stay in late from the classroom I have and again some of these initiatives are new so we do not have that data but we know that engaging the community is very important what and and from the standpoint of men and articulated will from the standpoint of the community providing those after work things those other things at a community provides for families and for individuals that live there they make that area attractive or competitively attractive you will to where they come from or you know just to make them stay or in competition because what happens as well as when you get once they get to a level of certification or except as the in their recruited away by. You know act is it's just you know but but but I was wondering had you address that because I still think that the community as a part of the equation in educational equation of outcomes have ever been address and those that deal is mentioned many many times the impact that it has but you see people move good teachers. Change locations just because of the community yes and the and I think we have to tap the community and to looking at those things and giving those incentives if you teach for the school maybe your rent or different things are are I have twenty five percent off or I have a membership to a gym you know different things to entice them to stay within the community and some have looked at that but again. Desi feels that this is an area which they have put people in inform this unit so that we can really engage the community and engage the voices of the teachers forming the T. lag advisory group teachers so that we can really get now the pulse of the teachers why are they staying where they can meeting tomorrow we are our hotline will be up for covert nineteen FOR teachers so they can have someone to a somewhere to call and have a voice and get some questions answered so we understand that and that's one of that recruitment and retention unit is so important because there are a lot of factors that play into keeping a teacher in a school right in my last and if I may going back to the the the question I represent Allen brought up discerning of the apparently or lack there of between certification requirements for charter schools versus traditional public schools and one idea twelve forty some years ago and it was very controversial for some reasons that identity and but I do understand you know and it comes out to a delivery or what acceptable or someone that to teach our children what standards should be there and what they should accomplish my point was and still is to his point that is if it's okay in is been deem acceptable improve in. Eight one form of delivery then you should be okay for another form it cannot miss me when the state department a state board skews me in conjunction with state department they put some rules to my. legislation that I really didn't ever did intent and I do understand what they're saying but I think we if we have a determine what's the standard what's the right way to do this or is it okay to have very ways of doing this but you know right now we got two different ways of doing it and as we try to level the playing field which has a lot to do with recruitment and retention as way all the and. I think that needs to be addressed in a manner that you know I think what happened was once twelve forty was passed and after a year so it is it's been the most used piece of legislation. You know in a long long time but. They're still what tennis put on it by attention is put on it by the state board this state you have to go to a traditional certification or fees for only five years but those same things are not put on the charter school and I'm not debating which one is the right one really I'm just saying if it's okay because all of our children. And we want all and have the best form of delivery if it's okay for this population you should be okay for the other population does that make sense yes Sir thank you. Thank you well we've had a number of questions would have a lot of discussion there. Appreciate your being here anybody else have another question for removal and. Okay alright thank you very much thank you thank you all very much. Representative Murdock would you turn off your. going back just pushing the. Thank you thank you. You might say something you would regret later. And it would be on the record. Okay so moving right along here we have the discussion of issues related teacher recruitment and retention which we seem to have done a pretty good job up here right our last few minutes Elizabeth Bynum with the bureau will give us an update. Okay the morning add me. Okay the morning I'm Elizabeth I knew with the bureau and and in here New English that to talk about a teacher recruitment retention and. Any they talk about teacher recruitment retention at report that we've been referring to as an adequacy extract because this is not one of the statutorily required reports and under the adequacy statute at that it is a report that that we've been asked to give as part of the adequacy cycle as since at Michael in two thousand sixteen. Mr by selling you when I'm not discussing and this is that you're not I'm going to my report wondering will I is unlimited talking about this at obviously we receive some great information for and does he just now and I'm not going to rehash any of their information you receive some information and from a P. A. yesterday I have a literature review and information I'm comparing Arkansas to other states and discussing other states are Kate and retention after its avance I'm not going the I need anything about other states this is going to concentrate on what's going on here in Arkansas and then obviously teacher salaries a very big issue and recruitment retention and that's clearly going to come up in my report and I'm not going to go into any great detail at his teacher salary is one in the required adequacy reports as a lorry Boeing is working on that report at probably right this very minute as we speak AT and still be presenting that see you in junior. Okay I want to start with a roadmap and we're going to get the several themes Berrier Sir came in their intention scholarship in land greens working conditions career enters higher means environment in preparation and all of those are going to deal with their response is to you are a teacher and principal insert superintendent survey questions at me to make a brief note about teacher health insurance and then I'll add height ruefully that submitted transnational says Terry say that's it. I would never for a start if you see in Senate committee one of those is salary and mentioned that before and demand for teachers a certain credentials. I think this is an interesting trends and the utility every human retention programs location is as we have already been discussing stress and workload. And this is some of our themes. See you at is just take you briefly through you and the response rates and the date that we conducted our surveys and site visits and I'm not going to belabor that we presented results and FOR needs a reason site visits and several of our ports and in previous advocacy reports that you've heard at the house is a eighties briefly our superintendent survey was conducted last fall. And we had a hundred percent is superintendents and twenty four this twenty five directors at the open enrollment public charter use our principal survey also conducted last fall with a seventy two percent response rates. At we conducted our state is it. Last fall finishing in December and we G. seventy four state visits and our teachers have a is distributed to those teachers in this state visit schools and we a fifty two percent response rate and that is and those are all completed and glasses in in January fifteenth at this year. Okay. At city tied in to our survey results I will start with issues and barriers and some of these are going to be added the full traits are going to be in your reports have but they're difficult to see on the power point and so they're not in the power point and so I'll give you page numbers or that's the case at the first questions deal with barriers to feed me and we ask these questions at but superintendents and principals and you can see we ask them to rank the top ten barriers to create it and you can see the full list on page here and that's high barriers and FOR C. maintenance or difficulty in offering competitive salaries the scarcity of appropriately licensed teachers and inadequate housing options in the area and one of the comments on this at a pretty printed it commented inside we're likely to lease teachers and they're in it when they're few housing options they live in other communities and and then they tend to leave if they can find a job closer to where they live. And we asked the same question and the full terms on page three and you'll see that the first to the that is too high it's higher rates at principal barriers were the same and that that third highest rates for principles is slightly different the location and the individual school or to a stray. Next question we have superintendents about at replacement and then retention at ranking this hot barriers to retention and this trait you can find at this topic page three and again salary is the top range reason I have followed by a high demand for teachers with certain credentials and teachers leaving the profession is very as slightly different reasons anyone in note here that will has in teacher survey questions later on in and about teachers leaving the profession and how long teachers intend to stay in case of education. We ask the same. That principles the same question and you they gave exactly the same type three reasons as the printer and. Okay at any rate questions on a look at a scholarship and loan programs and I'm not going to go into great detail describing these because they think may see your familiar with many of them at but they're described in detail I'm page six of your report. So yes C. maintenance about the helpfulness this certain programs in recruiting teachers and this trait can find in page four and you see the full list of programs that we asked about you see and that the Arkansas professional pathway to educator licensure was remains as one of the most essential programs. And if you look at the chart I think lists track at the research team as we liked it this way is the number as superintendents and he said that they were not familiar with many of these programs because they can't make you cities pagans if they're not familiar with them and I wanna know we did have a separate category for districts not eligible system in either only available to certain districts and so we had a category for you my district is not eligible and but we are surprised by the number at that said they were not familiar with these programs that we ask the maintenance FOR where if they had other programs that were really useful to them as far as you came in imitation that we did not look at and and they said at twelve forty and having partnerships with universities and colleges and particularly at having teachers seat internships in their schools and when in that when ever comments mentioned and that's a great way to observe and an applicant and as they're seeking and get get a feel for whether that someone they would want to. So yes principles to rate the same programs intended helpfulness in recreating and they had some similar responses at but I think it's very very interesting again here is the numbers principles and that are not familiar with many of these corrections. Hey three creation and recruiting and then we asked about retention and any an apple is winning the maddest was range when anyways useful programs and and we asked at we as the maintenance if they had any additional comments and this is in the particularly interesting to me there seventeen comments and they kind of fell into three categories similar numbers are superintendents in each category at first I agree was increased salary rate which is maybe predictable makes sense and something we would expect as several of the mentioned ad the grow your own program at by it as simply number said we don't have any problems with your treatment and retention which is surprising to me I think when we think about recruitment and retention we think about how do we address the probably ends at and I know I tend to see you all districts have trouble and Billy had several it say we we really don't have problems and and at him we wait and we would nine and rank and any any barriers very highly. Okay at we is this principles add this theme question and our heating teachers and again they had some similar results add to the superintendents and see their answers Ferreri recruiting teachers we asked principles for additional comments as well and this come in comments here is about increased salary and this was coming coming here weighs about at this number if the increase in the number of students with mental health issues and sear and principles noting that as this makes it difficult for teachers city there tied staff and are nigh not well equipped to you to handle students mental health issues and said increases and the stress from teachers. Okay I would briefly and like this because at the question in the pagans and not getting go through these individually these can be found more information on these can be found at the end of your report. At but it's there's several AT and funded programs in Arkansas and city either programs that exist in the law that have never been funded and you can find more information on those at the back of your it's. Okay I Nicks categories working conditions. Hey we as teachers if they had any previous air any earnings every the previous summer and you can see seventy percent said they did not I and we did ask those heated how means the need and over the summer and the average of all of those he answered was two thousand seven hundred and fifty three dollars. Okay at we asked teachers at what were the primary reasons each has to teach at your current school and you can find this full tired and he's nineteen hi and this is when and teachers were asked to take at two three reasons so if you look at your percentages they're going to add up to more than a hundred percent and because we did ask them to take three so if you look location I believe is the face no say sixty five point eight to sixty five point eight of all percent of all the teachers he responded paiks location hi the date your percentages may look a little things you at the top here and where the top three cheese and that had teachers has to teach at their current school was location as sixty five point eight percent a teacher saying map and and then proximity to family I have followed by schools rating your reputation and then salary and so I thought this was particularly interesting because the scene in our superintendent and principal answers that salary is there a significant barrier I have been here teachers you're saying at that location is the primary reason the cheeses teach at their school and and sixty five I'm a sixty six percent two thirds of them are seeing location and only twenty two point one percent said that salary and was one of the primary reasons they test AS teach at their current school. Okay our next date is on the bottom of page nine and we as teachers under what conditions if any would you be willing to relocate as a teaching how property ever met rule community at and so I missed half the teachers that higher salary and about forty percent said that they are ready to work in high poverty or remote will community hi and twenty point four percent said nine and I want to hear this is different from two thousand eighteen and in nineteen seventeen eighteen survey only thirty five percent said that they would relocate for the higher salary and but we had a higher number at about fifty three percent saying that they already worked in HIGHPOVERTY and remit real community. Steve. Yes. This is one of our questions about teachers AT remain either current school in remaining in the profession and we as teachers if they were currently considering transferring to another school districts and and about two three quarters and then said nasco at we did ask that the ones he said yes we asked why a and this is another way in and you'll see the Tridentine just ten teachers are asked to take exit three reasons and and about half of them said stress and workload and forty four percent said salary and see Fite as someone is Emily number saying and workload and salary. And we'll see something a little different in our next high at we as teachers if we're if they were currently can sitting at quitting the profession and leading K. twelve education on altogether I am Mr you'll see in the middle of page hand and. And at your call it that teachers leaving the profession was the highest barrier to retention ranks and by about the third highest beer year at for bass principals and superintendents and to sell about seventy percent city town incidentally K. twelve education and getting those it said yes we asks at we asked them why and we as the new pay three reasons I am here on the I sixty one percent said stress and workload and only forty percent said salaries so here the percentages teacher speaking as stress and workload as much higher than in previous question about transferring to another district or school and the thing that is interesting you can see in your chart that about thirty five percent a teacher said that they were considering leaving the profession at both because of a lack is teaching you can ability and a lack of respect for that profession. Hey. Have a couple questions about career new tire. In the face as it now how likely are you to send your entire career in case of education and and every ninety percent you're saying very likely or somewhat likely. And then we asked as of now how likely a year to and and your entire career as a classroom teacher in case of education and this is slightly lower with guy and I'm is forty percent a teacher saying very likely eighty percent saying somewhat likely and anyone anyone here we had sent teacher saying commenting on this question and they don't intend to leave the profession that that they would like to meeting to you different position in case of education and for example that they might wanna meet into administration. Hey hi next category is environment in preparation. Hi this is any question in and this year we asked teachers at when you're at school how often do you fear for your physical safety you can see in your chart that has more than eighty percent say they never or rarely feel fear for their physical safety act by about three percent said they often feared for their physical safety. And then we asked add this chart can be found I'm page thirteen of your pre we asked at which of the following issues if any are you concerned about eight your school and this is another one we ask teachers to you page two reasons this time and this having changes are fighting scenes and in person and physical bullying and gun violence or school shootings. Hi. And the next questions relate to the requirements and regarding teacher planning team and this is I required by Arkansas Kate sixteenth at six session in teen is one fourteen and teachers are required to receive at least two hundred minutes per week to schedule conferences and clean instruction so we asked the teachers were actually at being given that time and you can see about half of them say that they to you every week about thirty percent said that they do you most weeks at and their minor said either at that they use some weeks are really or or that it's not applicable to their position. The other part of the cleaning require me and from this scene Sakshi is that that must be provided the tender minutes must be provided in increments of at least forty minutes throughout the during the instructional day and you can see that seven I'm a seventy percent a teacher said that they do you receive and that team in their required forty minute increments. Hey. Our next category is teacher preparation. Hey and this you can find and he's thirteen and this is at relates you have prepared re teachers in their first year of teaching and and you can see that the two areas where they say that their lease prepared is you teach English language learners and special needs learners but they feel Mr care to teach their subject matter. At within asked about ADD teachers at heart yet how will prepare teachers felt in there you're teaching and this is on page fourteen and if your foot from churches high and you can see that the teachers are much more it feel much more prepared in the current year teaching the categories where they don't feel it where they say I'm not at all prepared and the highest number for Senate or the house percentages teacher speaking those and continues to be English language learners and special needs and they still feel Mr pages teacher subject matter I think you can see from the tires the teachers and feel as if they're much more prepared in their current year teaching and in their first year teaching. I final TJ preparation question and this year is on page fourteen this is satisfaction with teacher preparation and your current position and and teachers file and may satisfied with their any graduate courses in education and their major content area and date Mr satisfied with their not planning team any amount carried involvements. I think this. And you can see the air and what it would if I was interesting about this tired and the you can see that the light blue indicates satisfied and there's a lot a lightly on the chart and. Please add just a few plans and health insurance and I've cried and this late a couple of recent at changes and to teacher how then chains and the thing there's more extensive information I in your report and the history teacher health insurance at but I thought was very interesting and in the lake view masters or for a friend I to receive thousand five and they specifically at that health insurance is is not and part and adequacy that it's obviously importance and that that it's not and that is really not related to adequacy. When a headline if you the themes for my site is sciences and and house service salary and when it things that we heard over and over in our site visits and is about the salary gap across the state I had a few of the state is it principals tell me you know there's a school right down the street you down the road not that fire and they pay more and and so it's hard and to keep teachers because we can't afford to pay them that scene salary I wanted things we heard had very often with mental health and that they're increasing numbers of students and with mental health issues and that schools ACT have trouble getting this season's at the help that they need and the teachers are are not social workers and they're not counselors and so it adds in stress to their side and trying to assist the students I'm sending that we heard over and over and is about the availability of teachers and especially in critical shortage area is at hand when principal state unify advertise for a basketball coach then I'll get fifteen applicants and if advertisers and the like an English teacher I might get one application and and he also pointed out. That he said I'm not trying to impugn any anyone's credentials and he said I let my teachers but he said it's really hard is how if you're really getting the best applicant if you've only got one applicant for a position. And I would imagine K. nineteen so we had the research team had a superintendent mentions as any totally that they thought that they were gonna have retention issues this year because of paid eighteen at that they thought that they would have higher numbers and teachers retiring and we know that Kevin nineteen is affecting everything and you may have seen in the paper this morning that AT Fort Smith announced that they are and leaving their salary schedule this theme for next year and not giving raises because it could nineteen at so we email ten superintendents just trying to get a sense of house can be nineteen in a fact teacher many retention and meet we emotive ready C. maintenance training at and radiography add poverty status as sizes lotus J. to email some traitor directors and then I heard back from five and it was interesting and because they they said some very different things when is indicted add and this rain to for me that is very hard to conduct interviews every detail that it's hard and it's high and shake all have done a lot is the meetings is I have and I was very high to jade's yeah would this be a good applicant for your for our school at the mention and and as I believe does he mention add that there no in person figures to send anymore and when mentioned ad that they thought that distress paid online teachers because the pandemic would discourage teachers are discouraged people from entering the profession but they were all the teachers that prince CT superintendents that sad well we started early and so we're not having any issues they were having a little bit better attention than we did last year and one and said well you know we live and our school I received our district is a desirable area to live and and so we don't usually have retention issue is and yes Sir since and she is. And let's see and then we asked about overheating issues excuse me we asked about retention and a couple of mentioned here and internet connectivity and they said and are part of this state there's not get internet can entity and FOR anyone and they said this is very stressful for the teacher's training teach from home without reliable internet. And I'll be happy to take any questions. Thank you very much now so we have a different view. You to re retention and recruitment so the city we have a few questions here by Representative Springer. Of yes good morning again. I just want to know what is this just a data collection that we're going through or will there be record then I guess is to you madam chair will there be recommendations from these different departments so we just listening to them provide us with information providing us with the information it's part of our adequacy we that and she said that this isn't part of adequacy but it really is we need to have that information so it's all part of our adequacy studying that we do and then make great those recommendations later on okay alright so school those recommendations will come from the different departments knows that they come from us all they would come for based upon the information that we're receiving right then that we you know I'm I'm the new kid on the block so I'm just trying to get an understanding of what we're going with this out of Representative Cozart would like to stress that thank you. Actually what we're doing is we're hearing all of this the the bureau's data that we gather and in November we have to do a report and actually make a recommendation for the adequacy funding that we do every year for the the amount of increase or decrease or what it is so we hear their reports and as it gathers on down to the fall area we start sitting down and putting numbers to each category and I know you've never seen a matrix yes probably will have a matrix that will work down and come up with a number for that matrix and that's the funding for schools per people and so that's what we're listening to them to hear what the changes are and what to the status is that right right at this time and we will use all of that information at the end of the summer to put that together alright thank you very much that makes sense so I was just wondering why we were thank you this that all of this and not knowing what yeah you're the older new I know Richard the same position and I probably need to so that we all at some point to kind of give you a little more history on what we're doing. Senator Elliott. Thank you madam chair out when you The issue of lack of respect for the profession that you heard from teachers I guess educators in general Where there anything any particular indicators that you could share with us that would help us understand what they mean by that. I said I can lick you I do not remember any of the comments or site is it comments I'm sure there were sent and indicating anything specific thank you look you and send you some of those okay. We included that and as a category in that question lack of accountability and lack of respect for that profession and I don't remember any off hand and I know there were a lot of comments and so I don't have them all okay and maybe I can send you something that would be helpful because to to know what that is because if we're going to respond to it that would be a good thing to know and for the two hundred minutes per week for conference in and plan and and before plan for planning instruction this is one of the things they were most dissatisfied about right of not having that time that was what I remember I think from the slide. most dissatisfied about that and that yes the amount and with their current teacher with their current and preparation in a minute yes is limited things that they that they chose is being Mrs satisfied about the amount of clean ten that's cracks so if we take was that you that your early have some other comments about that the teaching the load the stress and the teaching load I I really don't want us to miss the fact that We made it possible for this to happen by a loosely knows listing those strings on on teachers prep time because what it would meet in actuality act up from following what we're talking about here thank you you have they're only talking about time for planning and instruction and parent conferences which is that takes both of those things take a lot of time and that has not even approach the load of having to take work home with you to do is that correct. That because planning timing teacher conference time I think what happened at the school that they're talking about here. At I mean I'm not aware that I know the teacher teacher required to have that two hundred minutes at school and whether or not that sufficient for teachers and they're taking home where com I don't well yeah I'm not asking you that because I mean I know it's not sufficient because when I'm when I'm saying to a colleague whom we start thinking about this in terms an addict adequacy they have two hundred minutes that's been encroached upon and all the only thing they made a comment about is this two hundred minutes is not enough for conferences and planning time. And planning time takes a lot so what you end up doing one of the reasons the stress of the work load what you end up doing is taken at home with you to finish your planning and grading your papers and hoping you have some family time from that's that's what I was getting it there so thank you thank you for your support. For good information. Thank you madam chair eight I was trying to read in a probably miss this and you probably mentioned of it with the last of the site visits being conducted. In December and January the teacher surveys all came in tell me again that cover ninety I think you talked about something that is a huge deal for my area especially anybody any rural areas with the lack of broadband or internet access and that's the it's so it's just this little tiny thing in there and I want to be able to follow up on that okay so so we do ask that we conducted our I'll ever see these and in the fall I believe this teacher surveys of elastic him in in January and the reason we do that is that we have all that information and to pay did in their ports that start coming in these towns but we had a superintendent mention to ice and they can be nineteen was going to be an issue at so we email ten superintendents and then to see if they thought that was going to be an issue and that's where we encountered and where where they mentioned issues about broadband and and by being connective itty and and how that's affecting online learning and recommend retention hello madam chair with regard to the seventy four site visits is there a place where that's listed for is how all of this if it is closer confidential and we at we randomly select seventy four and then each cycle at bat we we keep them confidential and in order to encourage them to give us truthful information Sir can you tell us what your parameters were for selecting the sites we feel like that and I mean there's selected randomly from all of the school all of the public schools in this state and Julie can correct me I believe that we to a Swiss schools that we did last cycle from the site visits are now. Right right. The. It is the. Or for all the. And but if we had just. With that the by the way. Senate would using just set everyone at Hey. Proportional balance of the and then we also. And that's what I was more interested in the strict representation thank you. In here that we send out a technologies survey related have a nineteen and and Gillian lawyer going to present some of those results and in the T. in that resource allocation and teacher salary airports next and thank you of represented back. Thank you madam chair of my question has to do with the. Slide twenty four but it's a. Of. What were the primary reasons you chose to teach at your current school yeah you listed location number one in proximity to family so my question is is. Of can you define those two little closer for me they seem like almost the same to me well I think a similar we tell and. We we that is all the information that we give the teachers we don't define the categories for the teachers and so we so it is and I guess it we have it to them to decide wait and. How has he rank those and by it but several several the categories are similar here and there and they can give you a more precise definition. The follows. But my question would be okay I guess it's more. The the proximity family would obviously be location but location is there something are about locations that of it is the number one reason right so is there something that we we go to locations that are are are not rule areas or you know something like that. I think you can refer to several things in looking at the teacher comments on that anything sentence it might refers to you and you know this is as a matter facie proximity to family it may free TV this is where my spouse's job is it might refer you to you and this is yeah just an area where where I went to live and and I made a note earlier and that that might be and something that we want to separate out in the future or or ask teachers you know if they're if they're choosing location you know wait what are there particular reasons for she's in. Thank you. Thank you madam chair question I had is on teacher retention the greatest reason that same across the board was stress and workload did you break that down any to find out some better definitions of it is that stress for all the testing that they're having to do as it were do not try to put to you know too many work too much paperwork to what. I do have a good definition for what stress and workload. We still think any further we certainly see both sides has seeing and paperwork mentioned in the comments but we don't and we have not we don't break that down any free there and that might be useful to do and in the future there was also a and in the future if that something you all can do to see if there's a way to break that down because that will give us more guidance on how we may be able to provide some relief from those whatever that main thing is because that seems to be what's causing our loss of teachers and if there's something that you know maybe we can tweak to help with that that that that could be useful information for so I appreciate it thank you. Thank you madam chair I had a question going back to the superintendent survey you had said actually the report says that B. O. R. received responses from all two hundred thirty five school districts and twenty four out of the twenty five open enrollment public charter schools and it was the friendship aspire little rock open enrollment public charter school called covenant keepers that did not respond if they give any reason why they did not respond when two hundred and fifty nine others seem to be capable of doing so. At night that I and I think they're they're they're going. Yeah there they. They will solve itself to solve the self that they failed their gone and we send these out in July of last year and so really we we did that we would have sent that to them at that time so and and they were still in existence at that time okay thank you yeah okay thank you very much we appreciate all the information I think that's all the questions for that so we will move along to miss Adrian back. Okay. She's going to talk to us about to have issues related to professional development and teacher and administrator evaluation programs while we're waiting on her for use at our new members especially on the house side of that have not been to an adequacy process and is the niece of such you. Also. Garner. And have you have met the one either have you okay so another for world back row that I'm not as anybody else here that has not been through it adequacy I think everybody else's been to one. If you would like to know more about this which I believe some of you do if we could meet we we made on the eighth and the ninth of next month for you for you new ones if you'll come in at one o'clock EST at one thirty that Monday if you can I will give you a brief and I'll have some matrix items and stuff to kind of show you what we're looking at maybe that will make a little more sense to you what we're hearing here and how we go about doing that and to be just of a brief phone it and then I'll we can continue doing a little teaching on that as we go if you want to anybody else is welcome to come out just to get to our for newer members AT you probably need to be re. It would take me that long. Take me the logs I don't know much but I just I I know they have a lot of questions and I really don't understand why this makes sense if you're just sitting around listening is why might what what is this all about we've got a little shed little light on it we can do it real quick and up and go the next man thanks for more information than you could possibly absorbing your brain I believe me but it's good stuff good stuff so okay miss it Adrian breath back we appreciate you being here if you to identify yourself you're recognized and Adrian back with the bureau of legislative research and take just a second here my. Power point doesn't seem to wanna explain this there it is I think it is okay never mind. Okay so I am going to be discussing professional development and educator evaluations and typically done these reports separately providing them separately together this this year. And since we have a lot of information to cover on provided the roadmap what you can expect to see in the presentation so I'm gonna start with professional development and then and with evaluations. And then I want to follow along with the physical report for the most part she can also actually emit pause here wine slides are not. Progress think holidays. We've tested this before and it worked last time around but of course it's not going to work on the day of and if not then for some the worse I can actually actually we have those in our books. Sir. Okay so we'll have the power point and that you do have the copy the power point slides in your and cut hands as well as the report which shall be referring to as well so you can take a look at some of the extra tables and charts in more detail. And so in the program to the PD section first and I want to do the fire educator evaluations and so in the PD I'm gonna go over current PD requirements and then review the history somehow PT policy has changed in Arkansas and miss a PD referring to professional development and then I'll also review some relevant survey results from dealers adequacy survey and discuss couple of PT programs Arkansas ideas and the professional learning communities. And then I'll go over how Arkansas finds PD and then how discuss how destruction charters OR spending that funding. So the purpose of professional development according to Arkansas statute is to improve teaching and learning in order to facilitate individual school wide in system wide improvements designed to ensure that all students demonstrate proficiency on state academic standards. So what exactly is professional development so it's a set of coordinated planning learning activities for teachers administrators and nonlicensed school employees that meets the following criteria improves knowledge skills and effectiveness of teachers it improves knowledge and skills of administrators and care professionals on instructional strategies methods and skills it leads to improve student academic achievement in his research based and standards based. SO Arkansas statute also states the destruction charters must include no fewer than six PD days nor educator contracts additionally requires that districts and charters annually prepare and PT plan in which teachers administrators and classified school employees shall be involved with in the design implementation and evaluation of their respective PD offerings under the plan. Additionally evaluation result shall be given each group of employees in the district in used to improve PT offerings. Conditionally two hours of one of the following topics as required each year on a rotating basis over four years these include child maltreatment parental involvement teen suicide awareness and prevention in Arkansas history to those teachers to ensure you provide an instruction. Additionally all teachers must receive professional awareness on dyslexia destruction charters must make available thirty minutes on PT trafficking in human. PT on human trafficking athletic coaches working and destruction charters must complete training every three years this training includes concussions the hydration and FOR other health emergencies environmental issues that threaten the health or safety of students communicable diseases and sudden cardiac arrest. Destruction charters must also provide PD and scientific reading instruction also known as rise so FOR teachers license at the elementary level teachers licensing K. twelve special education or is a K. twelve reading specialist destruction charters must provide PD for one of the prescribed pathways to attaining a proficiency credential and knowledge in practices in scientific reading instruction and FOR teachers license at levels other than elementary charters must provide that PD for entertaining and awareness credential. And then finally school personnel must receive PD and billing prevention and recognition of. Incidents between bullying and the risk of suicide. So PD can be earned in multiple ways this includes approve conferences mentoring study groups distance learning Michael credentialing in an additionally up to twelve hours a PD may also be earned by license personnel for time required at the beginning of the school year for planning and preparing a curriculum other instructional materials. So now that we know current PD requirements on take a look at how PT policy has changed in recent years come looking over a broad overview of some of the major changes so back in two thousand three the General Assembly hard Pakistan associates the education finance consulting firm following the recommendations multiple pieces of legislation were passed impacting PD. This included providing funding for PD for the first time at fifty dollars per student teacher contracts for extended to include ten PT days in teachers are required to have planning periods of at least forty minutes. A couple years later in two thousand five the Arkansas online PD initiative was created which became Arkansas ideas we'll get into more detail on this later in the report but this is a statewide online PD program FOR Arkansas educators. Fast forwarding to twenty thirteen the pursuant PD funding rate was reduced from fifty three dollars to thirty two dollars and forty cents as well as the number one number PT days was reduced as well beginning at twenty fifteen school year and that rate reduction was done in effort to avoid the public school employee insurance plan. In twenty seventeen twenty seventeen we have the professional learning communities repeal see pilot program in that began in the twenty eighteen school year this was created as a result of recommendations from the twenty sixteen adequacy report now going to more detail on this a little bit later. In twenty twenty the PLC program was expanded into the inclusive practices pilot project this begins in the upcoming twenty twenty one school year it's going to focus on students with disabilities and other groups to struggling learners and put a note to fund it with federal special education dollars it's not coming from state PD fines and currently they have for schools and dissipated to participate in the year long program. SO Arkansas ideas as I stated came from the Arkansas online PD initiative back in two thousand five he was created to pull statewide resources and create one online system the individual districts and educational cooperatives could use for PD at no charge initially AT and was among the multiple organizations receiving funding for this though they are now the sole receivers since they're the ones that ministering that program. And Arkansas ideas provides online PD for license educators and those wishing to obtain Arkansas educator license. It additionally provides programs of study to assist teachers in obtaining additional grade band endorsements to existing licenses. And beginning in twenty fifteen is integrated into the department's educator licensure system in a requires all users to register and re register annually which helps keep better track of the active users. So at the end of twenty fifteen there are more than twenty thousand educators registered that number increased nearly fifty nine thousand at the end of fiscal year nineteen with six hundred and thirty one courses being offered since two thousand and seven more than two point eight million PT credit hours have been awarded here. And in nineteen twenty nineteen the most popular courses included trainings and the science of reading family and community engagement human trafficking child maltreatment and dyslexia. Most of these are state mandated subject areas within PD. So this takes me to the professional learning communities or the PLC program and this as I noted earlier came from recommendations from the twenty sixteen adequacy report so the partnership a solution tree which is a private organization that provides PD resources training and support to K. twelve educators. So does he defines appeal C. as an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively and recurring cycles of collective inquiry an action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. The underlying assumption behind the peel ceases that continuous top and that learning is the key to improve learning for students and according to solution trick ditch contractor solution tree the intended outcomes include pre student achievement through teacher collaboration focus on learning and results orientation. To measure student achievement and needs assessment is given appeals the schools to examine processing achievement data in the formative assessments are given throughout the year to evaluate growth and determine next steps in this additional data specific to each school is then also determine and monitored. So solution trees PLC at work program as a specific way of implementing a PLC each school is matched with a certified PLC at work associate known as a site coach and they coordinate the school's PLC services the site coaches within overseen by a project manager and then from there a project administrator coordinates the internal solution tree team with the project manager in the site coaches may form the project administration and evaluation team and this team monitors assesses and reports on the pilot school services and provides periodic feedback to the department. To each school has its own pilot school plan that is collaborative Lee developed basin a needs assessment at the beginning of each year each customized plan is built in the following components this includes up to fifty days of on site PD from PLC at work associates book video with online resources for school staff scored Weiss's corrections to global PD. Four why subscriptions to global feeding registration for appeals the events in an ongoing phone email support from the pilot school coach. And you'll senior map the map one your power point handout you'll see a better version of that in the report on page six of all the schools that are participating I'm as well as the list of all of those schools so currently the twenty twenty school year they're at thirty four schools and districts participating sprout out amongst three different co boards the first one beginning back in the twenty eighteen school year though this doesn't include the most recent schools that were selected and cohort for which began in the upcoming twenty twenty one school year. The schools and districts are chosen from a rigorous application and evaluation process and they Representative all five regions of the state. So last year I surveyed a few of the PLC schools that began in the first round of schools and Copart one in twenty eighteen and I will talk to them about how the program is working when either challenges they were heading countered any other impacts the program was having on their school in whether the recommended the program. So all three recommended it spoke pretty favorably about it to even noted that had been the best PD they had ever received and each school had experience student increase student achievement though they know it was not always reflected in the state assessment scores were in their school letter grade. Other positive impact of the program included teacher collaboration increase student attendance and decreased discipline referrals I want school specifically noted growth among students with disabilities and that they were spending more time in the regular classroom and having increase student achievement. And other positive comments that came up in the conversation included students having more ownership of their learning and being able to explain their grades in our school work to their parents as well as teachers being more confident having a better understanding of what their students need to learn. There were a few challenges that came up and that was conversations to discuss challenges X. related to accessing solution tree resources so for example both of these noted the benefits of having access to the PLC advance in the pre registration to those events but they were so responsible providing travel further staff to those events which could pose a financial challenge and then additionally a couple noted that time out of the classroom there's a significant time that teachers are pulled out of the classroom for the training so one added that the trainings are still really helpful despite all the time out of the classroom. And one school noted that for the program to be successful district or school support is needed and the principal or the leader of the either the school or district dissipating these have a growth mindset for the program to be successful and then another comment that came up was someone principal explained that some of the resources from social tray were always tailored enough to their specific needs so easy example of that. And one school maybe really doing really well and literacy and maybe not so much in science but they're going to spend equal time on both subjects instead of getting more focus attention on one of those subjects. And was with has already talked about the details behind our surveys I want to start digging into some of those so when the labor these details for you. So teacher survey we ask teachers what percentage of their PDS provided by each of the following options this table shows the average percentage of time each type of PD makes up of their teachers overall PD. So the district or school provided PT that was not using Arkansas ideas was the most common making about thirty percent of teachers overall PD this was followed by PT provided the educational cooperatives and then district or school facilitated use of Arkansas ideas. We also ask teachers to rate the usefulness of each form of PD in terms of enhancing their teaching and knowledge by more details on these ratings on page ten of that report. The top five are listed in the power point here but you can also see more details on that table so of the top five three included some form of collaboration with either other teachers school leaders and administrators instructional facilitators academic coaches. Forty two percent of teachers consider collaboration with other teachers as essential. So now we understand the different pieces of PT I want to put those together and discuss how Arkansas funds it so in the table in your power point there's also a bigger table in the report that shows a little bit more detail. But this provides an overview of the total amount appropriated to PD in the last few years and how those funds are distributed you'll see in twenty eighteen almost twenty one million dollars were appropriated in that increase a twenty five million in two thousand nineteen so that money is divided out among districts charters AT and and then solution tree the district charters and eighteen received their funding based on a per student rate I'll get into that a little bit more later the special language currently authorizes AT and to receive only up to three point five million. So any remaining amounts that after being distributed to the districts charters and eighteen and isn't available for solution tree to use for the PS the pilot program though this is contingent on the amount allowed in the contract the solution tree so in twenty eighteen does it to pay solution tree about four million dollars not increased eight point five million in twenty nineteen. And I wanna dig into that a little bit more and let's see in years thanks line nineteen of your power point couple of pie charts that show how the make up of those funding distributions. I'm still see that destruction charters continue to receive a majority of those PT fines and they're shown and and read that I think that might be a different color in your power point though the proportion decrease from sixty percent to fifty two percent and twenty nineteen that is because Lucien two is getting a bigger portion of those funds as you can see their proportion increase from nineteen percent about thirty four percent of all the PT funding. So getting to the person a finding rate that we use for the district's charters in eighteen and and. Have the start here on slide twenty as well as in your report. And. That I have. The total Barker Mrs I think actually only in the power point I apologize on slide twenty but at the top I have the total per student funding rate which is currently fifty dollars for it was fifty dollars when it was first created in two thousand and three. Thousand five excuse me. So you'll see that when Arkansas ideas was first founded a year later in two thousand six the pursuit at rate stated fifty other that amount going to destruction charters dropped to forty one dollars and eighty and was getting a piece of that at the time so that rate held relatively steady until twenty eleven started creeping up the total writer creeping up until two thousand and fifteen so as not earlier that's we see the drop in finding rate in an effort to help the public school employee insurance plan. So at that time the rate the overall rate drop and fifty three dollars thirty two dollars so that proportion going to destruction charters dropped from about forty four dollars to about twenty seven. And so that's held relatively steady since then ACT sixty six six seven of two thousand and nineteen increases the overall person amount beginning in twenty twenty one and we'll go to forty dollars and eighty cents. So PT is considered a categorical fine similar to alternative learning environment or a Ellie funding or ELL English language learner finding to that means the use of these funds is restricted though the funds can be transferred among other categorical funds. So you'll see here on the table think and slide twenty one of your power point those also I think on page eleven of your report. You'll see the and a breakdown of the different the pursuant funding amounts providing statute the actual person expenditures as well as and the percentage of PT expenditures coming from other other categorical funds and you'll see there's about a nine dollar gap in between what is funded and then what is actually spent in PT. In twenty nineteen to twenty three percent of total PT expenditures came from other categorical finds that percentage has decreased in recent years. So if you look on table seven on page eleven of the report of a few more details in that table about the overview of PT finding and expenditures you'll see that transfers and other categorical finds into PD has fluctuated between four and five point six million dollars over the past five years and transfers MPD and other categorical finds main roughly around eight hundred thousand dollars in the last three years. So looking a little bit closer at how destruction charters are spending their PD finding how we can see here and table I think it's like twenty two. and the power points. That about seventy percent of expenditures have been going to practice services incident pretty consistent for the last few years I'm taking a little bit more into those purpose services most of those are coming in the form of consultants speakers and course registration fees that's been pretty consistent as well for the last few years. So that takes me into educator evaluations and and someone a first start by going over some national trends and educator violations then I'll get into Arkansas's teacher evaluation system known as Tess and then the administrator system known as that leads out compare those a little bit talk about how they the process is how they work and how they compare to each other than a review ratings that teachers and administrators have been receiving the last couple of years and then our again review some relevant results in BLR as adequacy serving. A so in the of and the power point handout slide twenty five as a table here talking about states requiring student growth measures so the way states evaluate public school teachers and principals as change multiple times in the last several years one of those prefer transits got national attention is the use of student growth measures. So the National Council on teacher quality in CT queue I was a not for profit education research and policy organization centered on teacher centered on teacher effectiveness the regular study house states are violating our educators and part of that includes what states are using student growth measures now I know that they support the use of student growth measures and evaluations. But this table on slide twenty five shows a trend and how many states of let's face it and using those measures in their evaluations known her five some context behind that fluctuation so historically teacher evaluation for based on a single source principal observations that we cannot change in two thousand nine which more than twenty four states began toughening up there evaluation requirements. That was due to multiple factors. First in two thousand and nine there's a report from T. and T. P. which is not in the new teacher project they found that ninety nine percent of teachers were being rated as satisfactory. At the same time there is also a second federal competitive grant program known as race to the top in this offered financial incentives to states to include student has stated in their evaluation systems. Third and twenty eleven the US department of education began offering waivers to states for more requirements and no child left behind to get the waiver state had a link to the achievement outcomes the evaluation systems so used at that time the number of states from using saying growth measures begins to increase not increases up until twenty fifteen and which twelve forty three states for using requiring student growth measures in their evaluations. When yes I came out in two thousand and fifteen there are no longer federal incentives to create a particular kind of teacher evaluation system or have any specific requirements since twenty fifteen the number of states has been decreasing so now it's and twenty nineteen are thirty four states and using those and according to NTT Q. Arkansas is among the forty three using them in twenty fifteen but not among those including growth and twenty nineteen. And I'll get into that a little bit more later as I take and to test. So in Arkansas the teacher excellence and support system or test is the primary system for evaluating teachers is used to observe evaluate and support licensed and nonlicensed K. twelve classroom and specialty teachers might library media specialist or school counselors he was created for at twelve OO nine of twenty eleven this required the department to develop and FOR all districts to implement the test system we begin with a soft rollout in twenty eleven refusing Blevins schools in twenty twelve followed by a statewide pilot and twenty fourteen and in full implementation in a twenty fifteen school year. It's based on Charlotte Danielson framework for teaching which measures teachers effectiveness and FOR domains these include planning and preparation classroom environment instruction and professional responsibilities within each of these domains are multiple components to determine ninety five more details on that and table eight on page seventeen of the report. But the four domains used in It is one of those I will repeat that Fauria so when test was created back in twenty eleven the only requirement for evaluating administrators was that the department provide technical assistance to districts to develop and implement an evaluation system similar to Tess so in twenty thirteen ACT seven oh nine then authorized to still do not required as a to develop and implement an evaluation system for administrators but they did go ahead and and develop leads at this time it wasn't until ACT flew ninety nine to ninety five of twenty seventeen when that was officially required and stacked you. The leads was read quote piloted in twenty fourteen and I fully implemented in twenty fifteen. And and lead stands for the leader excellence and development system is used to evaluate building and district level leaders excluding superintendents assistant superintendents or any equivalent role so initially superintendents were evaluated by the respective school boards however many evaluation details were negotiating into contracts that license lettuce inconsistencies and how they word violated across the state. The school board association developed a voluntary system for districts use if they choose to evaluate their superintendents. Using not. So the lead through that was recently re designed and implemented statewide and twenty twenty any defined comparison of the new and old standards on page nineteen of your report. So the new rubric is intended to simplify and more reasonably set standards for school leadership doesn't change the evaluation process but this requires a different rubric used in that system process in now mir is a format that tests has in the rubric with its for domains so the least on mains include school organization and management school culture and climate teaching and learning and then human capital management. Incense test only they're pretty similar in their violation systems I want to summarize them briefly going over their similarities and differences instead of going through them one by one so some certain similarities both in both systems are novice teachers or beginner administrators are defined as those with less than three years of experience. Career some of that educators are those with three years or more of experience. All career someone of educators are given a summative evaluation every four years though they can still be evaluated at any time otherwise. Not limited to the only for years. Additionally the novice for beginners must be provided support by the respective district or charter. Both have for rating options available for test a teacher can be rated as satisfactory basic proficient or distant or distinguished. For a lead that administrator can receive a rating of not meeting standards progressing proficient OR exemplary. Educators work with their violator to create a professional growth plan or PGP this is a living document that focuses on educators learning and it links personalized competency based professional learning opportunities to grow outcomes of the educator. Additionally a waiver is available for both the state board of education so three charters currently have this labor Lisa academy Arkansas arts academy and the excel charter. However the schools don't work with the educator effectiveness and licensure division at a daisy to work on any alternative by wishin system so it's likely that they're still actually using tests and leads. Ted has an additional waiver available through the same office this is available only to schools that have previously another evaluation system prior to the creation of tests in currently to should have this which is cross county school district and kicked out the charter. Then finally both teachers and administrators can be place an intensive support status what the process is similar the criteria for being placed in the status of very for each system you can find a specific criteria for those in the report on page fifteen for tests and then page twenty one for leads. To join the intensive support status an intensive PGP is created the virus at the time period long enough for the educator to complete these goals but not any longer than two consecutive semesters unless the educator show significant progress in degrees in riding along with the evaluator to continue. If the status was due to student performance the district will support the use of foreman of assessments to measure student progress by the end of the period the evaluator will determine if the educator met the goals and complete the task and so they were provide written notice to the educator whether he or she felt or for going to be removed from the status if they fail the superintendent after reviewing and in approving the evaluators documentation they may recommend termination or non renewal of their contract. And so the difference the main difference between tests and lead centers around the types of evidence used so intense the evaluation is based on multiple sources of evidence that include direct and indirect observations artifacts and data. So direct observations pretty self explanatory this is when the violators in the room with the teacher watching them teach water in a classroom the student's incorrect is when the evaluator observe systems operate as a result of the teachers work inside or outside the classroom so this could be watching students line up in a hallway without the teacher present. The artifacts or materials that document teachers professional practice this can include observation student feedback or any work done since the previous evaluation like the national board components. Then data can include teacher student our overall performance data as well as multiple measures of student growth school quality or student success. In late this is a little bit different so intestate violator was schedule or sometimes they would conduct unannounced or of observations of teachers. And lead to use A formative observation conference in this can look pretty different and just multiple ways to do that so the administrator does not have to be observed directly and then additionally the violator can gather evidence from stakeholders students or the schools physical environment. I'm so going back to Tess they've had a big change multiple ways into first created so when I kind of go over some of those changes so is amended earlier this to tell you sister in growth measures has changed in recent years nationally as well as in Arkansas when test was first created student growth measures were required to make up half of the artifacts using a teacher evaluation in twenty thirteen that changed sister in growth measures should still be considered part of the evaluation but there is no longer requirements as to how much actually impact the rating in twenty fifteen that requirement changed again so that student growth measures the requirement that day be a separate component of the evaluation was repealed. And. From that same legislation that repealed vested engrossed measure requirement it also and change the frequency of violations from requiring every three years to every four years. And then much of the changes the test has come in twenty seventeen with act two ninety five and these were designed to give more flexibility and local control to schools and districts increase support for professional learning opportunities that are personalized and competency based more specifically these changes include and have a look at novice teachers and so on now they have to consider those with three years of experience whereas previously they were considered those with one year of experience At nineteen ninety five also defined formative years for teachers those Intramuros when they're not being evaluated. Not required to be evaluated and then remove the and from teacher appraisals which were form of evaluation done in those formative years. And also brought on evidence could be used to demonstrate a teacher's effectiveness so a school or district announce used to adopt policies that incorporate peer observations and student feedback to contribute to the summit of ratings and then they can substitute for the portion of the evaluation or the entire evaluation any part of a teacher's work completed for the certification for renewals turn of a certification from the national board of professional teaching standards. this list give the option is for schools and districts to get a waiver from the state board of education to opt out and use their own system and additionally it did away with and the requirement of having ratings for each of the domains and components within the rubric now they just have to have just the one overall rating encompassing the entire rubric. someone before I get into the ratings that teachers and principals have received I want to make a couple of notes and so you'll see in the report and in the power point handout these are state level and they're include only twenty eighteen and nineteen ratings this is because part of twenty eighteen their ratings included those of novice teachers and the getting administrators alongside the career summative so everybody was included in those ratings now they have it's what we're only looking at ratings at the career summit educators those who've been. In teaching for Nicks had experience of three years or more. Additionally they include ratings from some of the schools the schools that have the waivers as well as other and schools and teachers we typically don't include Agassi reports like the pre schools and school for the blind and the school for the deaf in addition to that do not include ratings from specialty teachers. You'll see on slide thirty five of the power point hand out that ninety six percent of teachers first some only. Ninety six percent of the teachers that were summoned to lay that I waited any to the past two years were considered proficient or exceeding so most of those were considered proficient so among that ninety six percent there is about a two percentage point increase and those rated as distinguished and a corresponding drop in those considered proficient in about three percent of teachers received a rating of basic or unsatisfactory and twenty nineteen. In liens you'll see that ninety three percent of administrators for rated proficient were exemplary with most of those being considered profession to similar tests there wasn't six percentage point increase in those considered as exemplary but with a slightly bigger a percentage point drop in those being rated as proficient. No see about six percent of administrators and twenty nineteen her rated as progressing. Some of the some of the survey results regarding testing leads and the scene a report that a few more tables and charts included that were then are in less than the power points that's not be better to look at at this point an. You'll see that and our first question regarding tasks we ask how useful is attested violation system in terms of providing support and improving teaching in your district. And so you'll see the just over half of principals and superintendents found it to be at least use for better compared to about twenty percent of teachers and on the other end of that about forty percent of teachers consider test to not be useful compare told seven to eleven percent of principals and superintendents than less than five percent of all teachers principals and superintendents considered it to be essential. We are and back in twenty eighteen adequacy survey we had multiple commented educators that test only it's for time consuming add an additional question the twenty twenty survey about this so the bill are asked to what extent they agree with the following statement the test evaluation system requires too much time and effort. So that twenty percent of principals and superintendents strongly agreed with that statement compared to forty percent of teachers though most of and all other tenants agree that that took too much time and effort. I with leads we also asked principals and superintendents whether there had. Thank you senator how useful six or the lead system to be in terms of providing support in improving leadership in their districts some more than half of both superintendents and principals considered leads to be someone or not very useful. we also asked what a great the following statement about the time and effort and you can see that sixty percent of both principals and superintendents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. So we asked teachers which of the following options where the most valuable and evaluating a teacher's effectiveness you can see these on and slide forty one of the power point handout looking for that they were given the option is look at the three different choices so the top the responses included students daily work projects portfolios followed by classroom observation by administrators and the student academic growth scores or sick individual growth and student assessments. We also asked whether teachers believe that teachers in their school were evaluated fairly and consistently. and about seventy percent of teachers believe this was the case most of the time or all ways and twenty nineteen this is about at the city Chris about two percentage points since twenty seventeen and we ask this in our twenty fifteen survey that we had different responses available FOR teachers that the select yes no or I'm not sure so they weren't completely comparable though at that time nearly sixty four percent of teachers who were serving at that time responded yes they did believe teachers for violating consistently and fairly. So in the teacher survey we also have options FOR teachers sleep open and responses either specifically about test or general opinions and we have forty five teachers leave comments that pertain to the test evaluation system and most of these comments consisted of complaints and how tedious time consuming and cumbersome the program was some of these noted that their existing responsibilities may test even more challenging to complete. Several teachers also noted. That agency tass is effective that their time was better spent working with students rather than having to track down piece of evidenced uploading to add reflect and reflect is the online platform used to house and to input all their ratings from the principals and superintendents. Additionally several teachers noted that test was too subjective that the ratings could very by district depending on how the principal was implementing the and implement evaluation. additionally other comments included that test could be demoralizing that they needed more emphasis in time on teacher and mentor ship of new teachers and that there is no rubric for space specialty teachers like those in special education. So in our site visits and we had we talk to principles about testing lease and what their experiences worth with those were we had a range of opinions on those so. With Tess he was seventy five percent of principal survey unit favorably on the most favorable comment was that it was just a good support and coaching tool though a few noted that test was great for supporting teachers but not necessarily at evaluating them. Some other common positive responses included support for the rubrics and domains that test was objective provided a common language and set clear expectations if you also noted that support for the improvements that shortened some of the frequency and the violations from moving it from every for every three years every four years. And while most of the principal surveyed B. test favorably many so noted challenges with the system so most principals noted that the system to to much time to do the other was a variance on the reasoning behind that and many felt that there were just too many requirements to get done that included scheduling meetings uploading information into and reflect. Additionally some noted there being a small school and having a lot of turnover exasperated that a few noted that there is an increase in mental health issues that was taking up a lot of their time to complete this evaluation systems with them with fidelity another challenge noted and the site visits included difficulty evaluating specialty teachers for example. Serving a teacher in regular classrooms can be a little bit different than serving like school counselor or a library media specialist. And then the survey with the responses were mixed in terms of technology used in tests and reflect so many found it pretty user friendly though there are several that did in so for the principals who didn't view test center in a positive way their most common complaint was the time needed to complete it you for several of those they know that they didn't see taxes being effective at least not anymore some of them noted that the system may have started out strong but they didn't see that it was the case anymore. And then with leads some of the principles we interviewed again feuds leads favorably though there were a few that actually a bad system that was a compliance piece and there are several more that they just weren't familiar enough with the system and this is likely due to the new role that this might be due to the new report that came out the twenty twenty school year. So among the positive feedback given about lease several noted that it was user friendly set clear expectations encourage self reflection and generated good conversations several support the move to align the leads rubric to match up with the test rubric they found their new rubric to be more effective they caress and better organized. Though there were some complaints comments that leads to some not properly aligned with some of the duties of the principals and other administrators like to so the assistant principals. Another challenge that came up included logistical or school specific issues so in some cases superintendent may be located further away from the school especially a bigger districts of the superintendent may not actually be in the school building with the principle of serving them are working with them on a regular basis tech impact how much support and feedback they're getting. So on the other end of that some principles noted that having a bigger school district meant there are more administrators who could help. Spread out somebody's duties like substituting or dealing with behavioral issues so that helped complete with the ability to complete the evaluation systems with more fidelity. Then finally one thing that came across me the responses was a variance and how the lead system was implemented in the relationship between the principals and the superintendents SO that varied among them some talked about how they had really good relationships with their superintendents but lease was stuck compliance piece that so they didn't really need it that much since they were already communicating pretty well though there were some comments that they weren't communicating really will superintendents and that leads was still compliance piece they weren't really getting a lot of support either way. But that concludes my presentation with that'll take any questions you may have. Thank you very much okay let's see representatives Springer. The amendment will get you one here just a second. She okay there you go art thank you thank you madam chair of page seven of your report for you talk about your the survey that you did. Of the appeal see schools and you talked about the positive impacts of the challenge is work with those actual questions that are listed at the responses that you received or did they actually give you these responses yes so they were actual question so when I talk to them I asked whether the intended outcomes if they were achieving the intended outcomes of the program if there were any challenges that were rose what other impacts the program may have had on their school and then what they recommended it and then opened it up for just general comments after that and so these are your conclusions about what they see if that okay so may I have a copy of your actual surgery that you. And I think I'll double check I had done that for another member earlier last year someone a double check that I can provide that but I if I should be able to get that. Thank you can send that through Machel Okay any other questions. Comments. Okay Senator choice. A thank you madam chair this might be something we have to look up for ourselves but do you do you know whether or not there is any research that backs up if student growth as a measure of is it isn't as a measure of teacher effectiveness is that something that is a research based thing so I don't have it looked choose to the plane of that I know what from what I've looked into the NCT Q. as in a lot of research right tranice Nate seem to have a lot of research supporting their position that those are an effective way of measuring student or teacher mention this I don't know specifically what that research is but I know they have some research that supports that position but I don't know right off hand what that yeah I'm I'm I guess I was looking at the the information and I I think I heard it before sought on paper about increase student achievement regard with the TLC's but a teacher's indicate some some really important growth measures that are not measureable so to speak like the students but like the teacher gaining more confidence the students speak and developing more agency for themselves these are all things that are incredibly important factors that don't lend themselves to what's on a piece of paper check or not and so I'm just curious and this I am skeptical about. How much. How much emphasis we put on this is a great teacher for costs of the student growth of when that test score might have just come out of something else is Williams okay I think that's it madam chair thank you so much. Thank you madam chair I just wanted some clarification back on page sure not page but slide twenty five it wasn't listed on there but it was a comment that you made on that particular slide that of Arkansas was not one of the states that included student growth in their teacher evaluation anymore. In that's confusing to me because we used student growth for evaluating our schools in our accountability and student growth I believe this also considered in SF but yet we have taken it out of our teacher evaluation of there seems to be a major disconnect there that. Between how we're evaluating our schools versus how riveted evaluating our schools for the federal government versus how we're evaluating our teachers and and I don't understand why there's no. Alignment there it how did just did student winded student growth get taken out or was it ever included in our teacher evaluation so and. It was part of the original back twenty eleven it was in there and then a twenty thirteen they said okay you can still use it but we won't we so wanted to use it but we don't on the silly say how much we want to be using that in twenty fifteen it is that you can use it so it's still an option to be using the violation but there's no requirement says it has impacted rating this particular amount and. And that's in the possession the intake in CT Q. use I know there methodology might be a little different and how we no one would look at it because they really emphasized so the Houston growth measure so in their eyes we're not requiring it so right that's why they're not including it in that chart there when I reference that decides whether or not student that was included or not since we've got a question no I mean since since you said in twenty fifteen we set it may or may not be used so is that up to the department of education the two now decide or who who decides what metrics to include not include since we've. missive and I know that the commercial as of the legislation I think at least into ninety in twenty seventeen at two ninety five to read of the requirement that make up any particular piece of the violation I'm not sure if that was something the department had done or I don't know the behind the scenes one that who made the decision to have that happen but that was something that was part of legislation. You have some information on that. When you join her just a little bit. Thanks. Little clarification. Yes they just identify yourself again for the record. Carly servicing the assistant commissioner of educator effectiveness and licensure and back in twenty fourteen thirteen fourteen fifteen I was actually director of last year the and and it was not ever part of AS a part of the evaluation and then it went back to legislation that that was pulled out so it wasn't a desi per se decision. It's not in our law or rules to use it. Is this something that perhaps we should consider because I'm what's what's going through my head right now is when we went back when S. A. came around we went back and and we changed the way that we measure our schools as well in fact I remember right I think Senator Elliott was the Senate sponsor on that if I got that wrong please forgive me had a when it tribute Hilty spit and run but student growth was something that that the legislature wanted included not as the entire metric but as part of the metric member I think it was around thirty five percent is what we included in that so I find it interesting now to discover that a teacher evaluation the entire argument at the time was this is actually what teachers want to be measured on because it's one one of the few things that they actually have some control over verses justice and it really was saying earlier simply test scores you know how much did we actually grow there the child's education so I just find it interesting that it's not be included I'm wondering if that's an oversight on our part because we didn't realize it maybe something that we should perhaps address in legislation in the next session to to make those things online I just think we shouldn't be evaluating schools one way and teachers another way and have a complete disconnect on something as as obvious as to growth that's that's my point this I can devote time line any make hill from that when it was approved back in twenty thirteen and and you could see what happened and sometimes a time line will help the law changed or wording changed and rules changed I'd say that if you could send that through mission Michelle Michelle to get that to I think that would make you look at it and can make your conclusions thank you. Thank you all. Clash folks we've had a busy day here with lots of info good information I know you're just going to go home and ponder this over the rest of the week. Yes go ahead. A limit for. I just did you thank you I would just on here I'm just curious are we going to get an update from the department of education about the re opening of schools in whatever top August of whatever I thank you we will we will I. Is we know what what the plan is I think they're worked on the playbook they're working on that right now the bigger question is about opening of schools and we have now but when that time comes may have something together will have them come well I was thinking it was presented to somebody yesterday or today that I just read out maybe I would not here not here maybe to the department of ed but I was thinking if we could if it's possible for us to have it on the next agenda one of those days we will try and see if they have some some decisions I'm not okay pushing it but I know I would like to have them come is kind of talk to us all right then thank you madam chair yeah. Okay anybody have anything else yes. Go ahead I just wanted to add to that I've gotten a lot of questions from constituents in a significant amount of concern over that particular issue and I know we're on the dressing your right now but I I too would very much appreciate some kind of direction being given because we've got the department of health making statements publicly that you know it's possible we might not open schools and and something like that it was truly have no idea what's going to happen and I think most of us feel like mushrooms. Hey I don't have a clue what the world going on and so you know I I do hope that we have that opportunity to but I know they're working hard on it it's just I think sometimes what happens is people get so you are own world that they sometimes forget there is a bigger world out here which that really need some information so as soon as we have something or series they're willing to share something will happen come sit down and talk to us about what the planet because I know people are interested in whether or not there's going to school you know football whether there's going to be you know summer camps orally and all these things are really important to families and. The question is whether or not every parents don't want to send their kids back to school you know that's another big thing is out there so I'd like a seasoned push for our and answer some direction on that yeah it's it's one of the top two things I'm an eye appointment and or I think we're all in that same boat more just kind of being the only reason it's it's kind of wild that the people that are elected to run this state or not running the state yes we have someone else is running this state at this time and we're just sitting back and let them do it so total I think we're going to have to rebuild I have a bill I need to talk to you about. The. I also have a bill for attending the meeting. Is this like your. Thank you committee is not. It.