July 27, 1983
In May, lawmakers passed a bill that sets up forgivable loans for students who have declared mathematics or science education as their major, who meet the state requirements for need, and who maintain a 3.0 grade average.
Nonetheless, in March, the legislature passed the "Wyoming Secondary Education Improvement Act," which sets aside funds to make scholarships available so that mathematics, science, and foreign-language teachers who wish to upgrade their skills can do so at the University of Wyoming during the summer, according to Audrey M. Cotherman, deputy superintendent for the state department of education. The grants are to be matched by funds from local districts.
The bulk of the money requested would go for professional development: 400 grants of $4,000 each to enable current math and science teachers to go back to school; 200 grants of $8,000 each for teachers in other subjects who wish to obtain certification in math or science; 100 scholarships of $2,500 per year for college students who intend to teach math or science in a public school; and 50 grants of $4,000 to enable vocational-education teachers to engage in a year of concentrated study in math or science.
The regulations, a summary of which has been circulated among affected organizations, are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register later this summer. The rules are a less stringent version of a proposal drafted by the federal budget office in January, which prompted widespread criticism from nonprofit groups, trade associations, and members of Congress.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Providence on July 11, charges that the federal funds support religion when they are used to buy certain equipment, including computers and audio-visual equipment.
Last week, however, officials in the Missouri attorney general's office informed a federal appeals court that they would contest the ruling and announced that they would ask U.S. District Judge William L. Hungate to stay his order pending the appeal.
About 60 percent of the 1,658 adults from around the nation who were surveyed said the schools are "not basically sound" and are "in need of vast improvement." Some 65 percent said they would be willing to pay an extra sales tax of one cent toward the cost of improvement.
The graduates of the programs that have lost their state approval in these 18 institutions will not be allowed to teach in Florida public schools. As a result, officials expect the action taken by the state on July 1 to adversely affect the level of enrollment in those programs.
The Philadelphia board last month voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of a committee appointed to study academic achievement among many students who take part in activities such as interscholastic athletics, dramatic productions, and music programs.
The legislature passed a bill which would allow loans of up to $9,000 over three years to prospective mathematics and science teachers attending an education school in the state. Funding for that bill depends on bills pending in the U.S. Congress.
Mr. Usiskin: I just have to read this, but I won't tell you the year. "In order that the school and college curricula meet the needs of mathematics itself and of its application, there must be a change. A new program oriented to the needs of the second half of the 20th century, and based on a dynamic conception of mathematics"--we could put science in there--"is required. The national need for mathematical manpower and a general feeling of dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs support the early introduction of such a new curriculum."
"These are fully certified people, and some of them are very good teachers," noted Nancy C. Mincemoyer, science specialist for the Michigan department of education, "but in terms of coursework and academic background, they really aren't qualified. Even if we had new science teachers right now, we wouldn't have jobs for them."
Forty percent of all the state's high-school earth-science classes are being taught by unqualified teachers, said Susan Snyder, the science specialist at the state department of education. Three districts cannot fill their vacancies in earth science at all. Physics teachers are also in short supply, and unqualified teachers are teaching in 27 percent of the state's physics classrooms.
Nevertheless, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has established a teacher-retraining program in math and science, and interest in the program has far exceeded the available openings, according to Gerard Indelicato, Gov. Michael S. Dukakis's special assistant for education.
The participants--who included school officials, parents, businessmen, and legislators--heard a number of presentations about the increasingly technical nature of work in the state, a spokesman said. Then they met in small groups and formulated recommendations for the Olsen Administration.
The students would have received a tuition-free education if they agreed to teach in a state school and would have been required to repay their tuition if they failed to fulfill the agreement.
The teacher-placement division received requests from school districts for 464 new junior- and senior-high school math teachers, but the school only graduated 18 new teachers. There were requests for 164 science teachers, but only 10 new teachers were trained.
An interim report released in May by a 15-member advisory council set up last fall by the state commissioners of education and higher education indicates that, under existing conditions, the state will meet its need in mathematics with 4,662 teachers to fill 4,538 slots, and that it will be short about 52 science teachers. There are 3,833 science teachers to fill 3,885 teaching positions, according to the study.
The major impetus for change is expected to come from a joint committee of the state board of education and the state higher-education board, which is studying the quality of instructional personnel, with special attention to math and science. The committee's report, which will address preservice and inservice training, certification requirements, and evaluation, is expected in early autumn.