Riding the New-Teacher Wave

Two very different paths brought Irma Villanueva and Bertha Valero to the same destination.

A 14-year teaching veteran and a local resident freshly graduated from Cal State Northridge, respectively, the two women began work as first-grade teachers last week at Oxnard’s Ansgar Larsen Elementary School.

They don’t have their own classrooms, or bulletin boards, or desks, or even students yet, but Villanueva and Valero represent California’s educational vanguard: They are among the first batch of teachers hired in the statewide rush to shrink classes to 20 for the youngest students.

They are euphoric. “I think class-size reduction is unbelievable,” Villanueva said. “I think it’s long overdue.”

And they are by no means alone.

In the converted teachers lounges and computer labs, in dingy bungalows made bright with plants and construction paper and in cramped classrooms shared by two teachers and 40 hyperkinetic children, Thousand Oaks’ 83 new teachers will also embark on the class-size reduction journey.

Another 68 will enter Simi Valley classrooms. A batch of 37 will hold court in Ventura. About 30 will grace Moorpark’s doorstep.

All new teachers. All hired for the much-hyped class-size reduction program.

Class-size reduction, embraced by nearly all of Ventura County’s 20 school districts, is bringing literally hundreds of new instructors to neighborhood schools and reshaping the educational work force.

And as county school doors open for the first school year of class-size reduction, veteran teachers and neophytes can barely suppress their enthusiasm.

“I have to tell you, I never would have believed that the state and the governor could get this to happen,” said Patricia Chandler, assistant superintendent of Ventura Unified School District. “This is the most energizing thing that has happened in years. I go to the grocery store and teachers are hugging me.”

The popular state initiative provides a total of $971 million in facilities and hiring incentive dollars to coax already willing school districts to whittle classes in grades K through 3. For each student in a shrunken class, a district gets $650 toward new teacher salaries.

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Certainly, the incentive doesn’t fully cover the cost of teachers’ salaries and benefits; districts are chipping in $15,000, $50,000 and as much as $1.2 million for the new instructors. But as hiring bait, the wildly popular initiative has proven irresistible.

Every elementary and unified school district in the county--save Santa Clara, enrollment 29--is hiring new teachers for the program this school year. A whopping 350 of them.

Even more staggering, as of a count taken last week by Ventura County Schools Supt. Charles Weis, area school districts have had little trouble attracting the hordes of teachers.

Some 93% of the estimated 350 teachers required had been hired before Labor Day, even though Gov. Pete Wilson didn’t sign off on the initiative until mid-July.

It took fast footwork, Weis said, and a little something else: Ventura County allure.

“I think the teaching profession views Ventura County as a positive school system and a positive place to work,” he said. “I think we’re viewed as a highly desirable place to teach.”

At the same time, the recent, massive influx of teachers brings with it some nagging questions: Who are these teachers? What are their qualifications? How were they screened? And, tellingly, when can they start?

More than any other educational initiative in recent memory, this one is almost universally hailed, and the quality of the new hires almost universally praised.

Ask any school district higher-up and the reply is the same: We got the teachers we wanted.

Ocean View Elementary School District didn’t lower standards one iota in hiring its new teachers to reduce size in first-grade classes, said Supt. Nancy Carroll. “I have 1,000% confidence in them or they would never have been offered a contract. . . .. I would be very comfortable to have my child learn from these teachers.”

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Of the 325 Ventura County teachers hired at the last count, 262 came with teacher certification in hand. Many also boasted practical and coveted bilingual credentials.

Despite a much-touted state bill that permitted the waiving of some requirements to meet the rising demand for teachers, there were relatively few takers.

Six qualified teachers from out of state were allowed to join the Ventura labor pool immediately, before taking a mandated class in California history. A total of 57--some a few credits shy of a certification, others not yet done with student teaching--joined the educational ranks using waivers or emergency permits.

The size of the influx and the speed with which teachers were hired gave some pause for thought.

A mother of a first-grader herself, Hueneme Elementary School District newcomer Valero had one small doubt. For people such as herself who have been instructional assistants for years but never full-fledged teachers, class-size reduction has “opened a lot of doors,” she said. However, Valero can’t help but wonder about the quality of the new teachers hired for the program.

“Because the need is so great, my fear is about the type of teachers we’re getting,” she said. “You always need training. You always need a little chunk of experience.”

Added John Herr, a spokesman for the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of Popular Culture, an education reform think tank: “We have to be careful to make sure the very best are teaching our kids. . . . I think we should look toward hiring the best quality teachers whether they be from private schools or private industry, whether they have their bachelor’s degrees or degrees in education.

“We shouldn’t lower the bar just to grab the bucks,” he said.

Still damp credentials notwithstanding, new first-grade teacher Michelle Singer knows that Oxnard’s Ocean View district made no compromises in hiring her.

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Beyond her student teaching last semester in Mar Vista Elementary, which is now her home school, she has bilingual teaching credentials. And experience as an instructional aide, a camp counselor, a computer teacher, a lifeguard and a tutor.

Some “people think when you’re a recent graduate that you’re not as qualified as a seasoned teacher,” said the young teacher. “Of course I’m not as qualified as a seasoned teacher. . . . . But I’m not going into classroom cold turkey, not knowing anything, either.”

Aside from experience, sheer enthusiasm counts for a lot, she said. At a new-teacher orientation and luncheon in the Ocean View district, compatriot Antoinette Dodge, a former private school teacher with six-years’ experience, concurred.

Seasoned classroom teacher Villanueva in the Hueneme district was also more than happy to proffer her resume for public scrutiny: fluency in two languages and 14 years in Inglewood teaching every conceivable grade, usually with far more than 20 students.

“Maybe it’s vanity, but I like to think I would have been hired regardless” of class-size reduction, she said. “But, obviously, it’s opened up some slots.”

If testimonials were not enough, Conejo Valley Assistant Supt. Jody Dunlap, head of personnel, has a ready response for skeptics. She calls it the screening process.

“I’m extremely confident” in the school district’s new hires, Dunlap said. “I know the selection process these people were put through.”

Her sentiments, not to mention many of her district’s hiring requirements, were duplicated across the county.

“We don’t have any emergency or provisional teachers,” she said. “When calls came in, the first question we asked was, ‘Do you have your California teaching credential?’ If the answer was yes, then we sent out an application.”

The bragging rights go further: The roughly 200 to 300 people who actually finished applications were screened on paper, and in interviews with district brass, teachers, parents and principals. Only 83--substitutes waiting for an opening and recent college graduates--made the final cut.

They were signed. As were dozens more countywide.

In the rush to find new blood, the county schools scene briefly resembled the animal kingdom. Big districts pilfered teachers from midsize districts, which, in turn, seduced instructors weaned in pint-sized districts. “There was a ripple effect--bigger, better-paying districts pirating teachers away from smaller districts,” said county schools Supt. Weis.

After losing a dozen teachers from Oxnard’s 2,800-student Rio Elementary School District over the summer, Supt. Yolanda M. Benitez can attest to that.

“Any district this size or smaller is at the mercy of bigger districts,” she said. “Our teachers were lured by the bigger districts, because we can’t offer the salaries of bigger districts. I can’t compete with Conejo, so teachers will leave me.”

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Another unexpected side effect to the biggest hiring boom in years was the departure of specialty teachers, who left for jobs closer to home or in smaller classes.

“We have had many resignations,” Pleasant Valley Supt. Shirley Carpenter said. “People who were working here were offered jobs in their own districts. We lost many accredited specialists--math and science teachers--who are going to be hard to replace. Usually this kind of thing happens early--in the spring--not at the last minute like this.”

Surprisingly, though, Benitez and Carpenter are not bitter about the situation. Any teacher who can fetch a better offer deserves that opportunity, they said.

Besides, by the numbers, none of this should have worked for county schools. There were those dire forecasts of a teacher crunch.

Last year, California certified fewer than 5,000 new teachers--about enough to fill slots created by retirements and new enrollment. If every school district in the state implemented class-size reduction in three grades, some 19,000 teachers beyond those 5,000 would have been needed, according to Bob Blattner of School Services of California Inc., a Sacramento-based consulting firm for public schools.

But, some districts didn’t jump on the class-size reduction bandwagon. Of those districts that did, not all chose to whittle three grade levels.

For county schools, getting a head start seemed to be the key.

Carpenter said her district carefully followed the class-size reduction legislation as it wended its way through the Assembly and Senate en route to the governor’s desk. She was ready, with paperwork completed, when the initiative passed.

Others did likewise.

Despite the inconvenience of sharing classrooms and building makeshift walls of blackboards and bookcases, teachers are glowing with enthusiasm, rather than complaining.

“We’re very excited. We’ve fought for this for years,” said veteran teacher Susan Lane of Ventura’s Junipero Serra Elementary, who has taught classes of up to 39 students. “In my lifetime I never thought this would happen.”

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The enthusiasm is infectious. New teachers are even saying that sharing rooms with more experienced teachers--due to the dearth of empty classrooms--will be a boon, not a curse.

“This is nice for the first years,” said Lisa Joe, one of six new Junipero Serra teachers, as a bevy of more-seasoned first-grade teachers help her decorate her room and arrange desks. “Normally you’d be in a room by yourself--struggling.”

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Smaller Classes for Younger Students

As schools countywide scramble to shrink classes to 20 or fewer students in the primary grades, each district is custom-crafting its plan. Based on enrollment projections, each district decided in which grades to pare classes, how many teachers would be hired, how much classroom space was required and when to implement the program.

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Teachers Classrooms District Grades needed needed Start date Briggs 1 1 1 Feb. ’97 Conejo Valley 1-3 83 **39 Now Fillmore 1 6 5 Jan. ’97 Hueneme 1 16 7 Now Mesa Union 1-2 2 0 Now Moorpark 1-3 29 29 Feb. ’97 Mupu K-2 5 0 Now Oak Park K-2 14 6 Now Ocean View 1 4 0 October Ojai K-3 7 7 Now Oxnard 1 45 33 Now Pleasant Valley *1 14 14 Now Rio 1 5 2 Now 2,3 5-6 5-6 Sept. ’97 Santa Clara K-2 0 0 already 20:1 Santa Paula 1 11.5 1 Now Simi Valley 1-2 68 **n/a Now Somis Union 1 0 0 Now Ventura *1 37 5 Feb. ’97

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* Pleasant Valley and Ventura will cut class sizes in all first-grade classes and some other grades, depending on enrollment in individual schools.

** Conejo Valley and Simi Valley are still working out space available for smaller classes.

Source: Superintendent of Schools Office, Ventura County

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