Education Week - September 6, 2017 - 21

How to Solve the Teacher Shortage
To the Editor:
Many, many issues of Education Week have
articles about the teacher shortage. This
shortage is a huge issue in many parts of our
country. If we don't think big and take action
now, thousands of children will lack qualified
teachers. The children who need them most
will be stuck with underqualified teachers or
substitutes.
I have three ideas. First, many
undocumented college students would
love to teach. After getting certified, they
could commit to teaching for five or more
years and then receive a green card. There
is already a path to legal residency for
wealthy investors. Surely, these teachers are
contributing greatly to our country.
Second, many precertified teachers
currently working as instructional assistants
would love to teach. They should be nurtured
by their districts, with tuition and mentoring
assistance to finish college and receive their
teaching certificates.
Finally, internships: A robust internship
where prospective teachers who have their

bachelor's degrees are offered residencylike
training in schools to earn a teaching
certificate would do much to strengthen our
profession.
The time is now. We must take innovative,
concerted action. Our children deserve no
less.
Rebecca Wheat
Administrative Coach
Berkeley, Calif.

PRESIDENT & CEO Michele J. Givens
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Scott Montgomery
MANAGING EDITOR Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

WEB DESIGNER Sumita Bannerjee

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITORS

MULTIMEDIA INTERN Margaret Lovey Cooper

Mark W. Bomster, Stacey Decker

WEB INTERN Kasey Lee

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS
Kevin C. Bushweller, Lesli A. Maxwell, Debra Viadero

ASSISTANT EDITOR, Education Week Teacher
Madeline Will

COMMENTARY EDITOR Elizabeth Rich

INTERN, Education Week Teacher Alix Mammina

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Karen Diegmueller
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sean Cavanagh,
Catherine Gewertz, Stephen Sawchuk

Education Week Video

ASSISTANT EDITORS Alyson Klein,
Liana Heitin Loewus, Christina A. Samuels,

VIDEO PRODUCERS Deanna Del Ciello, Erin Irwin,

Sarah D. Sparks, Andrew Ujifusa

COMMENTARY POLICY

STAFF WRITERS Evie Blad, Daarel Burnette II,

DIRECTOR, EDUCATION WEEK

Benjamin Herold, Corey Mitchell, Michele Molnar,

RESEARCH CENTER Holly Yettick

Arianna Prothero, Denisa R. Superville

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, EDUCATION WEEK
RESEARCH CENTER Sterling C. Lloyd

DATA SPECIALIST/STAFF WRITER Francisco Vara-Orta

Education Week takes no editorial positions,
but publishes opinion essays and letters
from outside contributors in its Commentary
section. For information about submitting an
essay or letter for review, visit

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Caralee Adams,
Michelle R. Davis, Emmanuel Felton, Marva Hinton,

RESEARCH ANALYST Alexandra Harwin

Brenda Iasevoli, Mark Walsh, Jaclyn Zubrzycki

RESEARCH INTERNS Konan Hui, Linda Ouyang

www.edweek.org/go/guidelines.

EDITORIAL INTERNS Belén Bonilla,
Hannah Sarisohn, Sarah Schwartz

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jill J. Nelson

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING,
LIVE AND VIRTUAL EVENTS Matthew Cibellis

HR MANAGER Melissa McCurry

LIVE AND VIRTUAL EVENTS INTERNS

edweek.org/go/commentary
EDUCATION WEEK TEACHER

SURVEY ANALYST Michael Osher

COMMENTARY ASSOCIATE Kate Stoltzfus

OPINION

Getty

Cat McGrath, Swikar Patel

ASSISTANT COMMENTARY EDITOR Mary Hendrie

Benjamin Conner, Sam Furlong

LM Otero/AP

CORRESPONDENTS Kavitha Cardoza, Lisa Stark

For more
education
opinion, lo
ok for web
-only
essays an
d blog po
sts on
edweek.o
rg.

www.edwe
ek.org/go/
commenta
ry

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Laura Baker
ART DIRECTOR Gina Tomko
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Vanessa Solis
DESIGNERS Marty Barrick, Francis Sheehan

ACCOUNTING INTERNS Sharon Johnson,

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Chris Hansford
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL OPERATIONS
David Tashjian
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER Aaron Aleiner
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER AND

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Charles Borst

TECHNICAL ANALYST Jonathan Rogers

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Swikar Patel

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Shaiy E. Knowles
FRONT OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Naomi Cohen
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Maria Shaffer

Hyon-Young Kim

VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT & EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS Christopher B. Swanson
DIRECTOR, KNOWLEDGE SERVICES
Rachael Delgado
WEB ANALYST Mike Castellano

www.edweek.org/go/Armstrong

JUNIOR ACCOUNTANT Lindsey Eggleston
Rachel Nathan

SENIOR ONLINE NEWS PRODUCER Michael Bock
ONLINE NEWS PRODUCERS Chelsea Boone,

Students diagnosed with ADHD are returning to the
classroom in varying states of readiness for learning, writes
former special education teacher Thomas Armstrong. In
a first-person essay, he offers 10 tips for teachers to help
these students focus, engage, deal with stress, and have a
successful school year.

ACCOUNTING MANAGER Desireé Ford

LIBRARIANS Holly Peele, Maya Riser-Kositsky
LIBRARY INTERNS Brianna Brockett-Richmond,
Laura Zollers

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE, EDUCATION WEEK PRESS
David Rosenzweig

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, a teacher created a
Facebook reading group for her school district of Katy,
Texas, which neighbors Houston. Intended to support her
students affected by the storm's path, the book club has
now drawn thousands of members from across the country.

www.edweek.org/go/Harvey-reading

CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Maurice Bakley
GENERAL MANAGER, GLOBAL SALES &
ADVERTISING PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Ben Delaney-Winn BDelaneyWinn@epe.org
DIRECTOR OF SALES
Karen McKay
REGIONAL MANAGERS
Guy Blumberg (917) 747-1351
Julie Fagan (301) 502-4300

DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Stefanie Hemmingson
PRINT & ONLINE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER Jeson Jackson
DIGITAL CONTENT SALES & MARKETING
MANAGER Ryan Lanier
DIGITAL CONTENT ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Tricia Buckley, Don Lee, Sharon Makowka,
Susan Puritz

WEB COMMENT

Josh Ford (301) 280-3203

Valerie Saba (301)280-3101
Adrienne Smith (301) 280-3144

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION Jo Arnone

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Angela Morales

MANAGER, DIGITAL PRODUCTION Kevin Kemp

TOPSCHOOLJOBS SENIOR MARKETING
MANAGER Melissa Heyeck

EVENT PLANNER, PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
Emma Prillaman

MARKETING MANAGER Bryarly Richards

DIGITAL PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Peter Dolak

EVENTS ASSISTANT Conner O' Dell

ASSOCIATE ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
COORDINATOR Joslyn Nedeau

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

The Constitution of the United States grants power over
education to the states, not the federal government. The only
power the federal government has in this area is whatever we
the people and the states allow them to have."
-Johannah Stewart, responding to the John Kline Commentary "An ESSA Co-Author Weighs In on Accountability"

www.edweek.org/go/john-kline

@EdweekComm

www.edweek.org/go/
google+

www.edweek.org/go/
instagram

PRODUCTION INTERN Grace McIlhon

TOPSCHOOLJOBS CLIENT SERVICES MANAGERS
Shirlanda Y. Braxton (301) 280-3111
Tracy Redmond (301) 280-3216
ADVERTISING SALES ASSISTANT Rob Voigt

EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICES:

CONNECT

www.facebook.com/
edweekcomm

TOPSCHOOLJOBS SALES MANAGER
David DePasquale (301) 280-3183

6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100
Bethesda, MD 20814-5233
(301) 280-3100
www.edweek.org
Editorial FAX: (301) 280-3200
Business FAX: (301) 280-3250
Print or online subscription customer service:
(800) 445-8250
Product or print purchase orders:
Fax to (215) 788-6887
sitelicense@epe.org
Article reprints: (877) 394-7350

Back issues are available at $5.00 each, except the January 4, 2017
(Quality Counts) issue at $15.00 each, and June 14, 2017 (Technology
Counts) issue at $12.00 each. Price includes postage and handling via
the US Postal Service. Order online: www.edweek.org/go/backissues, or
call 1-800-445-8250, or fax 215-788-6887.You may also send orders to:
Education Week Back Issues, P.O. Box 3005, Langhorne, PA 190479105.
Copies of the newspaper on microfilm can be ordered from National
Archive Publishing Company, 300 N. Zeeb Road, P.O. Box 998, Ann
Arbor, MI 48106-0998. Phone: 1-800-420-6272.
Website: www.napubco.com.

EDUCATION WEEK | September 6, 2017 | www.edweek.org | 21

Education Week - September 6, 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - September 6, 2017