With the New Year comes a time for thinking about what we want to accomplish. For MACTE we want to continue in our role as advocates for highly quality, standards-based preparation for all teachers. We believe that every student deserves a well-prepared teacher. That is not new. If we could make New Year’s resolutions for the state, what would we wish for?

First, we would see fewer special permissions granted by the Board of Teaching. Some of these are variances for teachers who are teaching out of their field. Many of them are for community experts who hold no teaching license nor special expertise. These people are often teaching students with special needs, who deserve teachers with the most expertise rather than none.

Second, we would grant state funding for teacher candidates of color to encourage more students of color to choose teaching and make higher education affordable. Our P-12 students need to see teachers who look like them and fully understand their needs. This is part of our legislative agenda for this session.

Third, we would require and fund teacher induction and mentoring. If Minnesota is truly to improve the retention rate of new teachers as well as the effectiveness of their teaching, new teachers need the support of mentors and a high quality induction experience. The national data on this clearly supports the value that comes with these programs. This is also part of our legislative agenda for this session.

Have I piqued your interest? Please join us in for the MACTE Day at the Capitol on February 27th. Go to Legislative Updates for more information about this event. We hope to see you there