Montana teachers add thoughts to national program
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ARLEE – Arlee High School English Teacher Anna Baldwin was chosen to represent the State of Montana as the 2016 U.S. Department of Education Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow.
“Yes, that is with the federal government,” she said.
With that position, she helps navigate federal policy.
“This is a unique opportunity for teachers to directly affect programs,” she said.
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Baldwin was the Montana host for a visual conference that brought teachers together via video from across the United States for U.S. Department of Education Secretary John King to hear what the teachers had to say about teacher preparation programs supported by Title II.
“Great teachers, principals, and other school leaders (collectively, educators) matter enormously to the learning and the lives of children,” stated the U.S. Department of Education in a document. “Yet, we have struggled as a nation to meaningfully support educators so they can help their students be prepared to succeed in college and careers.”
With the problem outlined, teachers from different states discussed their experiences with teacher preparation programs, and they talked about how to best provide students from low-income families and minority students with greater access to effective educators.
The discussion was organized around questions including how to support new teachers, recruit and support more teachers of color, and meaningful teacher leadership.
Secretary King asked the teachers for input about how programs for new teachers could be improved. Many teachers said they felt mentors were the key to success. They also felt that more inclass support was needed.
The discussion changed to a need for more teachers of color. It was noted that diversity provides role models for all students. One educator mentioned recruiting teachers from places like Spain to teach Spanish to benefit students.
Baldwin introduced her group of teachers by saying Montana has a diversity rate of 6 percent across the state and 70 percent in Arlee.
Jenn Jilot, English and Native American Studies teacher in Arlee, talked about getting more Native Americans involved in teaching. She said many Native Americans feel anxiety within the school setting due to a family history with boarding schools.
“We want our kids to feel comfortable in a public school, to see themselves in the curriculum, and encourage them to go into education,” Jilot said.
The need for bilingual teachers, student loan support, and overcoming gender bias were issues that teachers addressed. As far as gender bias, the teachers said people need to get out of the habit of thinking that positions like elementary education is strictly a man’s or a woman’s job, so that more people go into those positions.
Secretary King was asked to consider these issues when considering the development of Title II programs and allocating funding. He said he was working on a budget for next year with his staff and he would push congress on the issues that teachers mentioned.
After the meeting, Missoula’s Franklin Elementary School music teacher said being part of the discussion lets him see the world outside his classroom and it reminds him of all the good people in education doing good work.
Teachers from Montana attending the meeting also include Troy Bashor of Frenchtown; Leanne Deschamps of Florence; Claire Hibbs-Cheff of Ronan; Erin O’Reilly, University of Montana student; Arlee Superintendent Dave Whitesell, Arlee teacher Ryan Landolf, and Arlee teacher Bill Stockton.
