��������

DISTRICTS IN OUR AREA. SO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MAP RIGHT HERE. YOU’VE GOT ANNISTON CITY, COOSA FAYETTE, WINSTON COUNTIES ARE BACK IN SESSION. THE LARGEST, THOUGH, BIRMINGHAM CITY SCHOOLS. SO IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE GET IT RIGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS. IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT WE PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS WITH HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION SO THAT WHEN THEY LEAVE BIRMINGHAM CITY SCHOOLS, THEY CAN BE WHATEVER THEY WANT TO BE. NOW, THIS YEAR, THERE IS A NEW STANDARD FOR WHO GETS TO TEACH. THE GOAL IS TO COMBAT ANY TEACHER SHORTAGE AND GIVEN DISTRICT MIGHT BE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW. �������� 13, LISA CRANE IS LIVE TONIGHT WITH A LOOK AT WHAT’S CALLED EMERGENCE CERTIFIED TEACHERS. LISA. YEAH, THE THE SCHOOL YOUR CHILD ATTENDS ACTUALLY COULD DETERMINE HOW LIKELY IT IS THAT THEY’LL BE TAUGHT BY A TEACHER WITH AN EMERGENCY CERTIFICATION. FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR, MORE THAN 42% OF THE TEACHERS HERE AT WEST HILLS ELEMENTARY IN BESSEMER WERE WEREN’T TYPICALLY CERTIFIED. THEY HAD THAT EMERGENCY CERTIFICATION. NOW, WE SPOKE TO THE TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT IN CENTRAL ALABAMA TODAY ABOUT THIS TYPE OF CERTIFICATION. AS SOON AS THAT’S DONE, LOOKING AT THE DATA FROM LAST YEAR, THE NUMBER OF EMERGENCY CERTIFIED TEACHERS VARIES GREATLY FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT AND EVEN FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL. BUT THERE IS A TREND. THE POOR, URBAN AND VERY RURAL AREAS SEE DRAMATICALLY MORE OF THESE TEMPORARILY CERTIFIED TEACHERS THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE. FOR EXAMPLE, AT BIRMINGHAM’S WILKERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL, MORE THAN 35% OF TEACHERS WERE EMERGENCY CERTIFIED. WHILE AT HOME WAS EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY. THERE WERE NONE. I DEFINITELY THINK IT WAS NECESSARY BECAUSE WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO FILL A POSITION, YOU HAVE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. THOSE ARE NOT TRAINED EDUCATORS AND THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS NEEDED TO HELP A CHILD SUCCEED. AND SO IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE WALKING INTO AND HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE, THEN IT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO EDUCATE A CHILD. ERICA HUGHES SAYS EMERGENCY CERTIFICATION DOESN’T ADDRESS THE REASON WE HAVE A TEACHER SHORTAGE. SHE SAYS SALARIES DEFINITELY NEED TO BE INCREASED, BUT IT’S ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN JUST MONEY. THE WORK THAT WE’RE PUTTING ON TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF EVERY DAY IS GROWING DAY IN AND DAY OUT AND UNTIL WE PUT OUR FOOT DOWN AND UNTIL WE START GIVING THE SUPPORT THAT TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF NEED, THEN IT’S NOT GOING TO STOP. NOW. HUGHES SAYS. DISTRICT NEED TO BE DOING EXIT INTERVIEWS WITH TEACHERS WHO ARE LEAVING TO FIND OUT THE REASONS BEHIND THEIR DEPARTURE. SHE SAYS AS A TEACHER WHO REPRESENTS THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS, SHE FEELS LIKE SHE’S GOT A GOOD GRASP ON THAT. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, MANY DISTRICTS