White countered data that indicates increase in number of teachers retiring

White: Overall teacher attrition has not changed

Teachers are not leaving the classroom in any greater numbers than before Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education system revamp, state Superintendent of Education John White said Monday.

And, White said, “the teachers who are leaving are more likely to be ineffective.”

White released statistics in response to Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana data that showed a 25 percent increase in retirements since Jindal pushed through changes in how teachers are evaluated.

White said the numbers released by Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, called TRSL, look at only a slice of the picture: those who have the years in to retire. He said more retirements are based on financial considerations than changes in the classroom.

“Louisiana is actually in a good position in the number of teachers in the workforce,” White said during a telephone conference call with reporters.

White said the overall teacher workforce attrition rate has remained at or close to 12 percent for the last three years.

“The overall rate of teacher attrition has not changed ,” he said.

TRSL public information officer Lisa Honore issued a statement late Monday that stated, in part, that the data it issued earlier in the month does not contradict the Department of Education, or DOE, report.

“The attrition data from DOE include all types of departures — retirement and nonretirement related,” according to TRSL. The TRSL data does show an increase in retirements over the last three fiscal years, the statement read. The pension system includes teachers, administrators and some other school employees.

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said White attempted to deflect what’s going on in the classroom.

“A stable attrition rate only means that enough teachers are entering our classrooms to replace those who leave,” Monaghan said. “Attrition does not address the absolute fact that we are losing experienced veteran teachers at a much faster rate than before. More importantly, it completely ignores that teacher morale in Louisiana and nationally is at an all-time low.”

According to Department of Education statistics, new teacher certification rates have increased slightly, from 3,005 new licenses issued in 2008-09 to 3,136 in 2010-11. The number is not available for the more recent 2011-12 fiscal year, the department said.

Among teachers measured through the “value-added” statistical process over the past three years, those who remained in the workforce the following school year were more likely to be “highly effective” than those who left, 19 percent to 16 percent, respectively, White said.

In addition, those teacher leaving the workforce were more likely to be “ineffective” than were those who stayed, 12 percent to 8 percent, respectively, he said.

“Any concern that teacher quality has been diminished in our state by the reforms is erroneous,” said White.

White said shortages do remain in certain areas such as math and sciences, some schools and some school districts such as those in high poverty and rural areas.

The DOE report concluded that over the past three years, teachers leaving the classroom to move into administrative positions were more likely to be among the state’s “highly effective” teachers than those leaving education, 27 percent to 16 percent.

White countered the TRSL data and comments made by school superintendents who have been seeing increases in retirements.

The TRSL report showed the number of retirements from public kindergarten through 12th-grade schools have hovered around 2,500 in recent years: 2,598 for the 2011 fiscal year; 2,512 during the previous fiscal year. But for the 2012 fiscal year, the number jumped by 697 to 3,295, an increase of 26.8 percent and the number are continuing at the same pace.

Parish school superintendents said teachers are telling them they cannot deal with the pressure and instability and all the changes going on with the new law changes.

“A lot of them are experienced teachers who have been with their systems for a while who are retiring because of the uncertainty of the (teacher) evaluation system,” Michael Faulk, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, said in early January.

Comments

1) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 06/02/2013

I don't understand why The Advocate headline reads "White countered data that indicates increase in number of teachers retiring." Why do I say this? Well, because the report, specifically commissioned to "muddy the narrative" about the clear increase in the retirements of experienced teachers, accurately portrayed in the earlier story, is a classic work of misdirection. It is also clearly using taxpayer dollars to do so. To see the report, go to http://bit.ly/classicmisdirection and see how this report has nothing at all to do with retirements. It does not distinguish between new teachers leaving the profession, or highly effective teachers going to become administrators, or actual teacher retirements. How did The Advocate get totally taken in by this misdirection. Instead, it would be nice if The Advocate actually pointed out to the public that local education costs just went up, significantly. Why? As retirements increase, the district is faced with spending additional dollars on recruiting, and having to pay for more retiree health care costs along with the health care costs of new hires.

2) Comment by postscript56 - 29/01/2013

White has no credibility left at all. How does he still have a job? The guy is nothing more than a political point man and - given the way he's stumbled and bumbled though the Jindal "reform" agenda - not a very good one at that. Jindal's "reforms" will be ineffective and eventually reversed. But how much damage will the state take before that happens?

3) Comment by Marc - 28/01/2013

Spin - a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event to persuade public opinion in favor or against something.

4) Comment by deutsch29 - 28/01/2013

Too bad the ineffective superintendent is staying. There is no erratic VAM to lottery him out of here. His evaluation consisted of board review, a subjective measure. Here's a number for White: RSD-LA 2012: 58.9 F despite the score inflation due to White and BESE lowering the grad rate necessary for bonus points. Here's another one, a sleight-of-stat presented to BESE: A combination RSD-NO and Orleans letter grade for 2012: 93.7 C. Why combine? Because the RSD-NO is still low (76.7 D0, gotta make it look better by combining it with Orleans (133.8 A) in order to play the numbers. White played the number then, and he's playing them now. TRSL isn't lying. It's White. It's what he had been hired to do.

5) Comment by morellok2 - 28/01/2013

Yes, well this is from the man who can manipulate the numbers to prove how great the failing schools in the RSD in New Orleans are. Does he ever just get out and visit with classroom teachers? This is all a ploy to have a TFA 5 week wonderkid in every classroom because the career educators are fed up.

6) Comment by smuchmore - 28/01/2013

I have to stop reading White's daily ranting about me...I am going to retire early, not because I am an ineffective teacher; I am National Board Certified and have never had a less than stellar evaluation, including this year. I am leaving because I believe that the changes that White is making in name of reform will decimate public education in Louisiana. I spend more time on the minutia of documenting my teaching methods more than I do about planning innovative lessons. I spend more time trying to wade through the minutia on the Department of Education website trying to understand what new requirement I must meet today. I am forced to follow a canned curriculum complete with lesson plans, stifling my creativity and individualized teaching methods. I teach to each student, not to the test. I don'tMy heart just isn't in it anymore and students will miss out on having me as their teacher.

7) Comment by 1ryben - 28/01/2013

Arrogance. What a joke.

8) Comment by crazycajun - 28/01/2013

Because I say, it is. I see the little ignoramus is learning well from his boss, L'il booby. LOL

9) Comment by Ivy - 28/01/2013

Nobody believes White. He is a perfect example of someone being in the right place at the right time with NO OTHER QUALIFICATIONS except the willingness to put his foot on the necks of the people working under him to serve his overlord.

10) Comment by teacherguy - 28/01/2013

Let's believe White, who is using data from 2010-2011...or the people dealing with the exodus from 2012-2013.

11) Comment by Concerned_Parent - 28/01/2013

Mr. White better not count his chickens before they hatch. He does not speak to the teachers, so he does not know what is on the horizon. I've talked to several at one school alone that are not planning on returning after this school year. And they are NOT ineffective teachers. "White refuted the TRSL report and comments made by school superintendents who have been seeing increases in retirements." The sad part is that he believes his own lies. He refutes the one organization that would know bertter than anyone how many teachers are retiring, retiring early, or simply leaving. Meahwhile his boss is running around calling other people "stupid". He should look around the room before he starts calling other people names!