District Administration - October 2006 - (Page 68)

RURAL SCHOOLS MONTANA applicant's performance in content MONTANA FAST FACTS area and other classes, and student We have more cows than students, teaching practicum. says Montana State Superintendent 12,000 current teachers Quite frankly, we've had high Linda McCulloch. The state of Mon- 26,000 licensed teachers standards for licensure all along, ta na spent three years working with 145,416 K-12 students in McCulloch says, adding when they the U.S. DOE to explain the state's 147,000 square miles have teacher layoffs recruiters come licensing system and how teachers from out of state to perform interviews. 50 districts with less than 10 are prepared. McCulloch explains students, 100 districts with T he state works closes with col- the state doesn't believe that taking between 10 and 50 students leges and universities that offer a paper and pencil test will prove teacher education programs to 18 million bus miles per year someone has the capacity to teach. ensure that future teachers are well They negotiated the ability to use 99% HQT prepared. She says the higher educa- multiple measures, including an t ion institutes need to understand what the local schools are seeking in the condition that the teacher enroll order to properly prepare students. in a Montana institution of higher Defining Rural Under NCLB, social studies teach- education's accredited teacher educa- According to the National Center for ers are required to be certified in tion program in that subject area. The Education Statistics, There are at history, government, geography, and intern is given a three-year time line least three major classification systems economics, unlike science, where to complete the course work necessary used by Federal agencies to classify the teachers certified in one area are for an additional endorsement and to urbanicity of particular geographic or allowed to teach other areas. Under meet the HQT definition through the governmental units. one program Montana developed, col- Montana high objective uniform state The Beal Codes have nine categories. leges offer a broad field degree that standards of evaluation. The first three are for metro counties, covers all the courses required for a Dist r ic t s have also set up cooper- which can range in population from less future social studies teacher. It's not at ives to share teachers of hard-to-fi ll than 250,000 to more than 1 million; realistic [for teachers to major in all subjects, such as special education. the next four are for urban areas, which four areas], McCulloch says, adding We do have the best teachers in range from 2,500 to 20,000 or more that in Montana social studies teach- the nation in Montana, McCulloch and are broken down by proximity to a ers would teach all the topics. maintains. She acknowledges these metro area; and codes 8 and 9 are for If you don't have an intimate methods work in Montana but might areas that are completely rural or less relationship [with local higher edu- not work in other states. NCLB than 2,500 urban population adjacent cat ion] , you need to develop it, doesn't look at what works for our students. DA or not to a metro area. McCulloch advises. It might be easier to go with the defi- The state maintains an online job nition on the USDA's Economic Research board where districts can list require- Ann McClure is associate editor. Service: According to official U.S. ments and job seekers can perform Census Bureau definitions, rural areas searches and set up interviews. The comprise open country and settlements Troops to Teachers and Transi- RESOURCES with fewer than 2,500 residents. tion to Teaching programs are also Maine ATM network There's also REAP/Flex, a designa- utilized to bring in candidates, and www.mainedistancelearningpro- tion in NCLB indicating that a district a teaching internship program is in ject.org /index.html qualifies for the exception to the 100 place to allow existing teachers to Standard & Poor's percent Highly Qualified Teachers rule. become qualified in other subject www.schoolmatters.com To qualify, a school district must either areas. According to the state plan U.S. Dept. of Ed. Highly Quali- have fewer than 600 students in aver- submitted to the U.S. DOE, the fied Teachers state plans age daily attendance or be located in internship program is an arrangement www.ed.gov /programs /teacher- a county with fewer than 10 people per among the teacher, district, and an qual /hqtplans /index.html#mt square mile. Also, all schools in the accredited teacher education program. Virtual High School district must be located in communities If a district is unable to fill a position, www.govhs.org /website.nsf with fewer than 2,500 residents. the district is permitted to assign a Florida Virtual Schools nces.ed.gov teacher on staff to teach an out-of- www.flvs.net field core academic subject class, on 68 October 2006 District Administration rural.indd 68 9/15/06 1:52:31 PM http://www.mainedistancelearningproject.org/index.html http://www.schoolmatters.com http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/hqtplans/index.html#mt http://www.govhs.org/website.nsf http://nces.ed.gov http://www.flvs.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2006

Table of Contents
Editor's Letter
Snapshots
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administration Profile
District Profile
Disaster Recovery
Tech Trends
COVER STORY: The Chicago Team
Out Is In
Algebra's At-Risk Solution
Rural Quality
Struggling Readers
The Online Edge
Speaking Out
Principal Opinion
Problem/Solution
Research Corner
Leadership Books
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - October 2006