Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Colleges fight to produce minority teachers

Nevada's two universities continue to churn out new teachers at a higher rate every year, but recruiting teachers with diverse backgrounds and interests to meet the needs of the school districts they serve continues to be a challenge.

Nevada, with its fast-growing population, is continually seeking new teachers who can help the state's schools achieve the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law, school officials told the Legislative Committee on Education Tuesday at its Reno meeting.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas' College of Education graduates more teachers than the rest of the state institutions combined, Dean Gene Hall said. But like its northern counterpart, the University of Nevada, Reno, the college struggles to recruit minorities and students interesting in teaching special education, English as a second language, math and science.

UNLV is the largest single source of teachers for the exponentially expanding Clark County School District, and the college has successfully doubled the number of teacher education graduates in the last six years, Hall said.

Of the 600 graduates last year, 69 percent stayed in education and 80 percent of those graduates took a job with the Clark County School District, Hall said. Nationally, only about 36 percent of education graduates go directly into teaching, Hall said. About 27 percent of graduates were minorities.

The Clark County School District hired 399 UNLV graduates out of the 2028 teachers hired in 2003-04, spokeswoman Mary Stanley-Larsen said. About 885 of those hires were from Nevada and only about 20 percent of total hires are minorities.

The University of Nevada, Reno, which graduated 22 percent more teachers this last year than three years ago, similarly struggles to recruit students with diverse backgrounds and interests, School of Education Dean Bill Sparkman said.

The college turned out 259 new teachers with 86 percent of them living in Northern Nevada, Sparkman said. Only 14 percent of graduates were minorities, however, and Sparkman said said the college must work harder to recruit minority students and find teachers in areas such as special education, English as a second language, math and science.

Nevada State College, created to help fill the need of teachers in the state, will graduate its first seven teachers this May, spokesman Spencer Stewart said.

Helping the school district better reflect the diversity of its population is one of the main goals for UNLV, Hall said, as well as preparing all students to work with the most challenging student populations, such as special education students or English as a second language students.

Only 27 percent of last year's graduates were minorities, which does not adequately reflect the district's minority population, Hall said. The college already offers specific scholarships for minorities and works with the Community College of Southern Nevada to help low-income students save money by doing the first two years of their degree at the community college before transitioning to UNLV. UNR has similar programs.

A new program not yet in place at UNLV will be designed to help Hispanic mothers in the community to instill the idea of teaching in children at a young age, Hall said.

In addition to recruiting more Hispanic students, the college of education has also placed an emphasis on training all teachers to work with English languages learners, Hall said. The college has added some specific classes on the subject but is also working to integrate lessons on teaching English as a second language students into the entire curriculum.

"We want all of our graduates to have expertise with language learners," Hall said.

Approximately 50 students a year do their field experience at low-income, racially diverse schools, Linda Quinn, associate dean of the college of education, said. Once they work with the children, many are hooked, Quinn said, and student teachers at one of the schools, J.M. Ullom Elementary School, agreed.

"Once you see these students you really fall in love with them," Jennifer Polanco, 22, said of the fifth graders she had been working with.

Another program with the Clark County School District helps provide about 25 special education teachers each year, Hall said. The program allows current school district employees -- whether they be bus drivers, cafeteria workers or student aids -- who have 60 hours or more of college credit, enter an intensive one-year program to be certified as a teacher.

"It's like a Berlitz course," Hall said.

The school district pays the salaries and the cost of education for these UNLV students, who agree to stay in special education for at least one year, Hall said. Most make it their career, as the program provides a step up for these individuals to become teachers who "otherwise would not make it on their own."

The college is addressing the need for more math and science secondary teachers by developing a new school that integrates UNLV's colleges of math, science and education, Hall said. Opening as early as this summer, the school will help experienced teachers update their math and science skills, recruit more new teachers for the subjects and provide more science and math programs for kids.

There's also a fast track program for people with bachelor's degrees to get certified to teach within one year, Hall said.

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