The State of Illinois faces a severe shortage of qualified K-12 teachers, especially in certain regions of the state and in particular in high-need disciplines like math, science and special education. These shortages are projected to continue well into the next decade. The state also faces a major teacher retention problem. As many as three out of five new teachers will leave the field within five years of graduation from college. The attrition rate is especially high in urban districts that serve an increasingly more multicultural and multiethnic student population. Nearly 40 percent of Illinois school children are from minority backgrounds and/or speak a first language other than English. Conversely, teachers from minority groups or with English as a second language make up only 14 percent of the K-12 workforce.

A Solution

Illinois community colleges are central to any effort to address the shortage of K-12 teachers, and in recruiting and retaining a qualified and diverse teacher population. In fiscal 2001, the state's 48 community colleges enrolled nearly a million students, more than half of them in college credit programs. Forty-one percent of African Americans and 38 percent of Latinos seeking college degrees in Illinois do so at the state's community colleges.

Most university teacher preparation programs admit students in their junior year. A significant percentage of juniors who enter these programs are transfer students from community colleges. Still, the community colleges' role in undergraduate teacher preparation has not been consistent or well defined. The development of the Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree as a joint effort between the state's public universities and the community college system will offer unparalleled opportunities for future teachers, the institutions that prepare them, and the State of Illinois.

The proposed AAT in Secondary Mathematics builds upon the Illinois Articulation Initiative's general education core curriculum. It will enable community college students who are interested in teaching mathematics to gain early field experience through classroom observation, job shadowing, and volunteer activities with after-school programs. It is critical that this kind of hands-on experience be available during a student's first two years of college. Far too often, students have gotten well into their college courses in education fields before discovering that teaching is not their best career choice.

Under the AAT framework, colleges of education can be assured that students transferring to their institutions are as well prepared as those students who were already attending that institution. The AAT general education core curriculum will prepare teachers to meet high standards in language arts, global diversity and technology. Education courses to be offered at the community college level are based on NCATE and State Board standards and have been jointly developed by teams of community college and university faculty. Transfer students will carry with them an electronic portfolio documenting their achievements and ensuring they have met these standards. In addition, community college students must pass the Enhanced Test of Basic Skills as a requirement for program completion.

A New Partnership

Perhaps the best thing to come out of the AAT initiative is the partnership between community college and university faculty and administrators who participated in its development and will continue to work together to implement the AAT degree and curriculum. Some institutions have already hired jointly appointed faculty; others are planning further collaborative activities, including professional development seminars. Ultimately, these joint initiatives will strengthen the trust between two- and four-year institutions and provide more opportunities for students.

Still, challenges remain. During this time of fiscal constraint, community colleges may not have the funds to hire full-time education faculty. And despite the partnership with four-year schools, they will have to compete with those schools for qualified, ethnically diverse faculty candidates. Also, much more work has to be done on recruitment strategies to attract recent high school graduates, as well as adult students, into the high-need areas of science and math. Community colleges may enroll the lion's share of minority students seeking degrees in Illinois, but Latinos and African Americans are still underrepresented in math, science, and technology programs.

Community colleges must also adopt an admissions process for the AAT degree - for purposes of advising and career development - that does not itself become a barrier for minority students. Community colleges and universities must also coordinate field experiences and student teacher placements with their K-12 partners to avoid confusion and competition.

Most importantly, community college administrators must continue to push for the development or implementation of additional AAT models in science, special education, bilingual education, career and technical education, and possibly middle school certification, in line with the state MSTQE grant work that is already in progress. And again, even as we push for these new models to be developed and approved, we must continue to nurture our newfound partnerships with the universities and colleges of education.