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WHEREAS, teachers employed by the Department of Education graduate from a variety of Hawaii-based and out-of-state teacher preparation programs; and

WHEREAS, while many teachers may graduate, an important measure of the effectiveness of a teacher preparation program is how long they are employed as teachers within the Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, in order to better target resources to the most effective teacher preparation programs, policy makers need to know to what extent graduation from a specific higher education program correlates with persistence and retention within Department of Education schools; and

WHEREAS, in 2000, the Hawaii Educational Policy Center issued a report with the following findings:

(1) Of all the respondents to the survey, six in ten gave a reason for leaving that had to do with teaching issues;

(2) A substantial proportion of former teachers reported significant dissatisfaction with teaching. About four in ten of the survey respondents indicated that they left their positions because they were dissatisfied with teaching as a career, a much larger proportion than the eight per cent reported in national studies;

(3) A substantial proportion of resigned teachers might be receptive to encouragement to stay in their Department of Education positions. Of the teachers who voluntarily resigned during the three years addressed in the survey, approximately four in ten are currently working in education and approximately one-half stated that they plan to work in education during the next school year;

(4) Younger teachers make up a substantial proportion of resigning teachers. The proportion of teachers thirty-nine years of age or younger who resigned, sixty-six per cent, is almost double the proportion of all other current Department of Education teacher age groups; and

(5) Secondary-level teachers are leaving at a higher rate than elementary-level teachers; and

WHEREAS, the findings of the Hawaii Educational Policy Center survey suggest that preparation and teaching environments, especially for newer teachers, are of critical importance in teacher satisfaction and retention; and

WHEREAS, the findings of the survey suggest that strategies to address the teacher resignation issue need to be incorporated into funding strategies; and

WHEREAS, an additional measure of an effective educational system is how often teachers are moving from one school, specialty, or grade level, which would affect teachers' likelihood of improving their effectiveness within a specialty or grade level; and

WHEREAS, highly qualified teachers need the ability to effectively teach the curriculum and meet state standards in whatever grade level or specialty assignment they may receive; and

WHEREAS, an important component to retention, delivery of the curriculum, and improvement are professional development programs such as the mentorship induction program, designed to assist teachers in newer schools or assignments; and

WHEREAS, in the allocation of limited teacher preparation and mentorship resources, knowledge of the correlation of specific programs with stable and effective school faculties will facilitate the targeting of those resources to the most effective programs; and

WHEREAS, the annual teacher shortage of approximately 1,500 teachers in Hawaii's Department of Education requires a short-term and long-term strategy to reduce this number and to reduce the number of new hires from outside the State that tend to leave the system after shorter periods of employment; and

WHEREAS, an analysis of the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs and mentorship induction programs will provide better guidance as to how to target funds to maximize educational effectiveness in Hawaii's public schools; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Department of Education is requested to prepare a report on the effectiveness of the current status of teacher preparation and mentoring induction programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report may utilize survey information as well as available data, and include information on the following:

(1) Data on the overall retention of teachers by years of service within the Department of Education system;

(2) Specific data on the numbers and percentages of teachers that are transferring in and out of each school and analysis of factors contributing to such transfers;

(3) Specific data on the average length of service within the Department of Education of teachers who graduated from University of Hawaii programs, other accredited teacher preparation programs within the State of Hawaii, and those who transfer into the State from other states, and analysis of the factors contributing to differing persistence rates;

(4) Data and analysis on the relationship between the existence of a teacher mentoring induction program and the stability of teaching faculty at a school, including changes in assignments within the school;

(5) Data on what strategies, if any, have been developed and implemented in response to the 2000 Hawaii Educational Policy Center study, and the results of such strategies;

(6) A report on the current funding strategies for both capacity building in the University of Hawaii campus teacher preparation programs and University of Hawaii and Department of Education mentorship induction programs that address these issues; and

(7) A five-year strategic plan that addresses the targeting of future resources for capacity building within the University of Hawaii system and Department of Education mentorship induction programs and other strategies that will dramatically reduce the annual teacher shortage, as well as reduce the need to recruit teachers that are less likely to continue employment within the Department of Education beyond five years; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit its report and any findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Education.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

DOE; Teacher Surveys; Retention

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	32
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII