NEW CHALLENGES: CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS 

TRENTON, August 4, 2000—Higher standards in New Jersey schools aren’t limited to students.  Beginning this school year, school districts will begin structuring programs to implement mandatory continuing education for all teachers.  Under the requirement, adopted by the state Board of Education in 1998, teachers must complete 100 hours of continuing education every five years 

“It’s essential that the requirement have a positive impact in the classroom,” said Patti Pawling, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of the state’s local boards of education.  “That’s why NJSBA supports the concept of continuing education tied to the evaluation of the teacher’s performance.” 

At present, committees of educators are working at the local, county and state levels to develop, review and recommend training programs to local school boards. 

To help ensure that the requirement has a direct benefit to students, Senators Bill Schluter of Pennington and Robert Martin of Morris Plains are sponsoring the Teacher Continuing Education Requirement Act (S-1502). The bill defines the types of activities that can be counted toward the 100-hour continuing education requirement.  NJSBA strongly supports the bill, which the senators introduced this summer.  It is awaiting a hearing before the Senate Education Committee. 

S-1502 specifies that continuing education activities be “directly related” to improving teaching performance and be included in the teacher’s professional improvement plan, a document drawn up by the teacher and supervisor during evaluation.  In addition, it requires the school district’s chief school administrator to approve any continuing education activities that would be pursued during the school day. 

The bill states also that a teacher’s license would be suspended if he or she fails to complete the 100-hour training requirement within five years, without good reason. 

“A program of the magnitude of the Continuing Education requirement has implications for school administration and finances,” noted NJSBA’s Pawling.  “That’s why we support this legislation which provides needed direction.  The state Board of Education also recognized our concerns when it adopted the requirement in 1998 and, in response, called for a review of the system after one year. 

“As a representative of local school boards, NJSBA will closely monitor the initiative as it goes into effect.  We need to see its impact, both good and bad, on the operations of our schools.  Our sole desire is for the program to meet its goal—that is, to have a positive impact on student learning,” Pawling explained.