Last week, Debbie Critchfield looked out over a room full of teachers new to the Idaho Falls School District and lobbed a hard truth: 30 percent of the state’s teachers leave the profession within their first five years of employment.
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If I were a business owner, and every three to five years I was replacing 30 percent of my workforce, what would that do to my productivity?” the Idaho state superintendent of public instruction asked the crowd. “What would that do if I’m trying to make money in my business? Well, you know … education is no different.”
Critchfield spoke at an annual new teachers’ event co-hosted by the Idaho Falls Education Association and the Idaho Falls School District. She came at the invitation of Jess Watrous, IFEA’s co-president-elect, who told the crowd that no one expected Critchfield to actually accept.
“When I said I was going to reach out and ask, (other members) were like: Good luck,” Watrous said. “She’s really busy, right?”
VIDEO: IFEA MEMBERS REACH OUT TO COMMUNITY
FOR THE IEA CHILDREN’S FUND, TEACHERS
Critchfield told the crowd gathered in the cafeteria of Compass Academy in Idaho Falls that attending was an easy choice. “I did have something planned, and I did change it, because I can’t think of anything more important for me to do than to come and be a cheerleader and thank you for choosing education,” she said.
Financial Incentives for Students and Experienced Educators
Advocating for Idaho’s educators includes always fighting for better pay, Critchfield said. The state is currently ranked 36th in the nation for starting teacher salaries, 40th for average teacher salaries and 50th for education support professional pay.
Mentoring and pay for student teachers is on her office’s radar, as well. Critchfield explained she is advocating for more money for educator mentors to expand the current pool of people willing to serve in that capacity.
VIDEO: WATCH CRITCHFIELD’S SPEECH
Critchfield said she plans to once again lobby Statehouse lawmakers for student teacher compensation. “Last year it wasn’t successful, but I’m going to try again in the public schools budget to get the state to offer some money to pay for student teaching,” she announced to applause. “(Teaching) is the only job that requires you to do the job before you have the job — for free.”
But her office is intent on addressing more than finances, she said.
“I’ve been talking with the deans of our colleges of education in Idaho and saying, ‘You’re doing a good job, but there’s some gaps in some of the things that our teachers don’t feel like they have the preparation for,’ ” she said.
That includes more instruction at the college level in student behavior and classroom management, she said. But the support should extend past student teaching and into classrooms helmed by more experienced teachers, she said, laying out her plan to ask district leaders and school boards to match professional development to what teachers say they need in the classroom.
“Because, when we do that, you have the room that you need to teach,” she said. “You’re not spending all of your time on behaviors. You’re not spending all of your time on some of the things that feel like a drain emotionally.”
Rhetoric, Reality Don’t Match
Critchfield stressed that anti-public education forces in Idaho may be vocal, but they don’t represent what’s really happening at the community level.
“What I would say is this: Don’t get too wrapped up in them, because I’m here to tell you that as I go around the state, they care about education in their community, and they’re here to support you,” she said. “And some of the things that are happening nationally are not happening here in Idaho, but there are times when people want to latch onto some of these messages because they get something out of it.”
Critchfield encouraged educators to try carrying their purpose throughout the ups and downs of the school year.
“You get to be the person that, years from now, when someone is thinking about the success they have, or how well they’re doing, or whatever it is — they got through that one hard day — and your face is going to pop into their mind,” she said. “That’s an incredible gift. It’s an incredible profession.”