San Antonio Leaders Seek Solutions to Math, Science Teacher Shortages

Dave Splitek, superintendent at Lackland ISD, conducted an informal survey of local school districts to get a handle on the size of the problem. The numbers surprised everyone.

For this school year, San Antonio districts needed to hire a total of 406 secondary math and science teachers. Just 151 prospective math and science teachers were in the process of earning their degrees from area higher education institutions. That means that local school administrators found most of their math and science teachers elsewhere. As the overall pool shrinks, finding qualified teachers becomes a bigger challenge.

The bubble of baby-boom generation teachers that plan to retire soon plus the state’s new requirement that high school students take four years of both math and science courses are destined to make the problem worse. By 2010, San Antonio districts estimate that they’ll need to hire 484 secondary math and science teachers. Area colleges, universities, and alternative certification programs are expected to produce just 190.

San Antonio’s industry base includes aerospace, biotechnology, and information technology, so the city needs plenty of skilled workers. Leaders recognize that to develop the city’s workforce, they must find a way to beef up the local supply of skilled teachers of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM subjects).

Working as a team

The problem isn’t confined to San Antonio. The scarcity of math and science teachers is a problem state- and nationwide. What’s different about San Antonio is that leaders are attempting to band together to find solutions to the problem. “We’re very active in economic development and find ourselves falling short in terms of meeting the educational requirements for some of the jobs available locally,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

Judge Wolff agreed to chair a group including representatives of local businesses and industries, teacher preparation programs, and area school districts to come up with an action plan. The San Antonio Math and Science Education Coalition (SAMSEC) had its first meeting in April and will meet again this month. Its goal is to come up with some concrete things the community can do to increase the supply of math and science teachers.

Joe Lazor, director of UTeach for the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA), called Wolff’s attention to the math and science teacher shortage. Lazor had worked on the problem for years, initially as project director of a grant to help area districts implement standards-based curriculum in math and science and get students to take math and science courses. 

After the grant (around 2003), Lazor hand-picked a small group of people who were willing to work together on an informal basis to find ways support math and science education in San Antonio. They called the group Bringing Together Resources in Industry, Development, Government, and Education (BRIDGE).

UTSA won a grant through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide scholarships for people who want to teach math and science. Lazor then met up with colleagues from two other local universities, Our Lady of the Lake and Trinity, at an NSF workshop. He and his university colleagues began meeting to discuss how to solve the problem of too few prospective math and science teachers in the pipeline.

Eventually, that group expanded to include those involved in the BRIDGE group plus other community leaders, and SAMSEC was born. All agree that the teacher shortage shouldn’t be viewed as a school district problem. It’s a community problem, one that affects the area’s long-term economic health. “When you think about it, this is really all about economic development and being able to hold our own,” Splitek said.

SAMSEC’s objectives

SAMSEC aims to accomplish the following:

• Recruit more math and science teachers
• Help those already in the math and science teaching pipeline by providing financial support in the form of scholarships
• Provide support for new math and science teachers to help them stay in the classroom

Taking matters in hand

Local leaders have already started to get the ball rolling.

Hosting job fairs. USAA was one of the first employers step up to the plate. Barb Gentry, vice president of Community Affairs, set up a job fair last April for soon-to-be-retired members of the U.S. military. The job fair attracted more than 125 people. Another job fair for retired military folks will take place at Fort Sam Houston this fall.

Home to three military bases, San Antonio stands to reap big benefits if it can convince some long-serving military personnel to consider teaching as a second career. Most military retirees are relatively young, have college degrees plus the necessary technical expertise, and are committed to serving their community. Successful completion of an alternative certification program would be all that stands between them and the classroom.

Providing experiences. In August, Sandra Martinez, director of Human Resources and Community Affairs for Kelly Aviation Center, a Lockheed-Martin affiliate, set up a luncheon for math and science teachers on site. It was an opportunity for area teachers to meet with Lockheed-Martin engineers to see what their jobs are like and ask questions.

Martinez was involved in the BRIDGE group and has continued her support for area teachers as a SAMSEC member. Through small efforts like the luncheon, she’s seen the value in helping teachers connect with people in industry. “This is a real hands-on experience. When they go back to the classroom they can tell their students, ‘This is how you might apply what you learn.’ And those opportunities are everywhere—all types of businesses offer those connections,” said Martinez.

Other local businesses (USAA, CPS Energy, AT&T, and Zachary Construction, to name a few) allowed teachers to observe their workers during the summer months. Teachers got to see their problem solving processes firsthand.

San Antonio districts have between 400 and 450 math and science teachers with less than five years of experience. SAMSEC recognizes the importance of keeping novice teachers in the classroom and intends to support them by encouraging area businesses to provide these real-world experiences.

Building for the future

SAMSEC has other plans in the works. The coalition wants to make math and science students aware of local teacher preparation programs and provide rewards to the best local math and science teachers.

Getting the word out. SAMSEC also hopes to have a Web site up and running soon. The site would feature the math and science teacher preparation programs for all local institutions of higher education. The idea is to provide prospective math and science teachers with one-stop shopping. Using the site, they would be able to view the features of each program side by side to determine the one that fits their needs the best.

Rewarding good teaching. The coalition plans to recognize the best area math and science teachers with cash awards. Judge Wolff has taken on the task of soliciting funds from area businesses and hopes to raise $125,000 to get the award program up and running.

SAMSEC would provide awards to the very best math and science teachers at the elementary, middle-school, and high-school level in each area district. From that group of educators, SAMSEC would choose the “best of the best” at each level, and those folks would receive larger awards.  The H-E-B grocery chain’s foundation, a long-time supporter of educational excellence, has contributed $25,000 to get the fundraising started.

Offering scholarships. The coalition plans to offer scholarships to math and science students that want to teach.

More news to come

SAMSEC will hold its second meeting this month. We’ll report on new developments in future editions of HR Exchange.