CED, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, and the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC), hosted a forum on The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, 2006: Expectations and Experiences in Denver, Colorado. The forum included 100 regional business leaders, state representatives and education leaders.
Despite the fact that teacher career satisfaction is at a 20-year high, lack of preparation and support threatens retention in the profession, according to the survey. Nearly 50% of new teachers and 27% of all teachers plan to leave in the next five years. New studies estimate that teacher turnover will cost the nation $7.1 billion a year. The survey examines the expectations and experiences of teachers throughout their career to find
answers to maintaining a high quality teaching force and ultimately, the best education for all students. The Denver forum evaluated the national indicators' impact at the regional level regarding turnover and retention.
The forum featured keynote speaker, Colorado Commissioner of Education, Dwight D. Jones. Commissioner Jones was followed by a panel discussion evaluating what teachers, principals and deans of schools of education each consider most critical to prepare teachers to meet classroom demands. Panelists compared the national data on teacher training and retention, as examined in the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, with experiences in Denver. Alan Gottlieb, Vice President of Policy at PEBC moderated the panel consisting of, Lynn Rhodes, Dean, School of Education and Human Development; Rona Wilensky, Principal, New Vista High School; Kimberly Cawthorn, Spanish Teacher, Skyview Academy High School; and Gabrielle (Chinna) Ohaya, Senior, George Washington High School. The event also included remarks from CED Vice President and Director of Research, Joe Minarik; Rosann B. Ward, President, Public Education & Business Coalition; and President & CEO, MetLife Foundation, Sibyl Jacobson
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Commenting on other new developments, Commissioner Jones noted: "New teachers have excellent technical skills. Teachers that are 10 years removed are scared to death of that technology. Our paper and pencil is no more. It is this lap top. This has changed the environment of our classroom tremendously."
- The MetLife Survey finds that 58% of new teachers believe that the hours worked are "worse than expected."
- Teachers who plan to leave are more likely than others to report worse experiences than expected with the professional prestige of teaching (44% vs. 34%), salary and benefits (40% vs. 30%), and control over their own work (24% vs. 13%).
"The issues around salary and prestige really make a difference in who chooses to walk in the door in the first place."
- Lynn Rhodes, Dean, School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado Denver.
"Schooling as we do it is really optimally designed for the kid whose family takes a huge responsibility for taking their human capital to educate their kid. Now, the kids who succeed are from kids who have that. And those families can cross poverty and race but only when parents are investing vast amounts of energy. Now teachers are asked to compensate for the fact that our families have changed dramatically."
-Rona Wilensky, Principal, New Vista High School
"I think we are very undercut in what salary we deserve. It is almost patronizing that people say ‘it's okay to make that much because you enjoy what you do.' That's okay, but I think we deserve to get paid what we are worth."
- Kimberly Cawthorn, Spanish Teacher, Skyview Academy High School
CED and MetLife Foundation have partnered on a series of discussions around the country to examine the experiences of teachers, providing them with a platform to give feedback on the survey. Participants in forums in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago have featured academic leaders, administrators, and teachers.
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