Number of uncertified teachers increases in majority of HISD schools

In Houston ISD, the number of uncertified teachers increased year over year from 12% in October 2023 to 19% in October of this year, according to an analysis of district records.

As of Aug. 5, about 1 in 5 teachers, or 2,097 out of more than 10,000 teachers, were “working toward certification,” according to district records. Records as of Dec. 4 show that about the same percentage of teachers are pursuing certification. their schools, departments, departments, and temporary assignments;

In response to an Oct. 10 request for data on uncertified teachers in Houston Independent School District schools, the district provided records to the Houston Chronicle on Friday.

School districts are increasingly relying on uncertified teachers to staff their schools. More than one-third of newly hired teachers in Texas are uncertified, according to an analysis of data from the Texas Education Agency.

“The education landscape has changed,” said Rachel Rucker, HISD’s executive director of impact and analysis. “Across the state, we are seeing certified teachers leaving the classroom and new hires not necessarily coming from college education departments. In fact, many of them are earning certification through alternative certification programs. I’m looking for

Research from the University of Texas at Austin shows that hiring people without qualifications or classroom experience increases turnover. Additionally, a Texas Tech University study found that students taught by uncertified teachers with no classroom experience are about four months behind in reading and about three months behind in math compared to students with certified teachers. It has been shown that

Not only are there more non-certified teachers on campus compared to last year, but the percentage of non-certified teachers is also higher due to a decrease in the overall number of teachers. In October 2023, there were 11,199 teachers listed in these schools and in October 2024, 10,425 teachers were listed.

This year, six schools were able to reduce the proportion of unqualified teachers to zero compared to last year. One of those schools is On Time Grad Academy, which has reduced its number of teachers from 16 to just one from last year to this year, according to district data. The other five schools were Carnegie Vanguard High School, Farias Early Childhood Center, Helms Elementary School, Lourenzo Early Childhood Center and Roberts Elementary School.

As of December, there were approximately 80 HISD schools, and uncertified teachers made up at least a quarter of all educators. Schools with the highest number of uncertified teachers include Sam Houston MSTC High School, Sharpstown High School, Milby High School, and Wisdom High School.

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The district operates a one-year alternative certification program with 165 teachers, and HISD aims to increase that number next school year, said Michael Lewis, senior executive director of strategic initiatives. .

This is just a small portion of the approximately 2,000 teachers who will be required to earn certification within two years.

Lewis said the district has begun reaching out to the largest alternative certification program in Texas and has data-sharing agreements in place to provide information to track the progress of HISD test takers. This will allow HISD to notify teachers whether they are on track or off track for certification.

Beyond Lewis’ team, Rucker said the human resources department tracks teachers’ progress toward certification.

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“The key is to build partnerships with a number of education partners and be able to streamline data sharing, and also, frankly, from states to make the process a little more streamlined and less cumbersome. We also need support so that these teachers who want to get certified can actually complete the process,” Lewis said.

Rucker said it would be helpful if the state brokered a data-sharing relationship between school districts and certification programs, allowing districts to better track where uncertified teachers are in the process.

Lewis also pointed out that many charter school networks do not require certification, so some teachers who are not certified by HISD may have classroom experience. About 11% of this year’s non-certified teachers have classroom experience.

According to district officials, the consequences of not obtaining certification will be felt after two years.

Rucker said there were three cases between October and December where teachers of record were placed on long-term substitutes because they failed to become certified, and four of those teachers achieved certification by December. Once you get certified, you can go back.