The teacher shortage crisis is growing across the nation, but Oklahoma has become the poster child for a system that can’t recruit or retain teaching talent. The Oklahoma City Public Schools System attempted the hurried closure of the elementary school that fed my old high school due to its inability to find qualified teachers and principals. Most Oklahoma teachers haven’t had a pay increase for years and many weren’t in the mood for the Daily Oklahoman editorial which notes that the teacher shortage is a national problem, and that even Colorado has a teacher shortage. Colorado Democrat, Sen. Michael Bennet, the non-educator who ran the Denver Public Schools, is symbolic of the ideological nature of corporate school reform. It’s now clear that the “teacher quality” gamble failed, and even Oklahoma repealed the value-added portion of the teacher evaluation law we were coerced into passing.

Source: Huffington Post July 31, 2017 13:02 UTC