Since passage of Maryland State Senate Bill 795, the Baltimore City Public School System has implemented and advanced on a broad, multipronged front to enhance the quality, stability, and effectiveness of its school workforce. Examines four prongs: recruitment, retention, professional development, and performance evaluation of teachers and…

Despite increases in teacher education enrollments, urban schools continue to suffer from serious staffing vacancies, due in part to the shortage of prospective minority teachers. This article lists representative programs operating on Federal, state, higher education, and school district levels designed to recruit teachers for placement in urban…

Presents several day care and preschool program directors' solutions to the problem of finding substitute teachers. (BB)

Discusses shortage of African-American teachers to serve as educational role models and describes New York State's program allowing minority students to enter teacher education programs jointly at two- and four-year institutions. Reviews advantages of joint-enrollment efforts and program characteristics from top proposals submitted to the State…

Describes the Teach for America teacher corps which places recent graduates of selective colleges in teaching positions at inner-city and rural schools plagued by shortages. The program, funded by high-profile benefactors, has participants make a two-year commitment. It has raised great controversy, particularly among educators who value rigorous…

Examines the need for better preparation of teachers to live and work in rural Australia. Uses responses from a rural Queensland community meeting to discuss preparation needs related to multiage classrooms, cultural differences, and school-community involvement. Describes a new internship/mentor program at Queensland University of Technology that…

In this article, the author identifies two current--and competing--discourses concerning teaching and public education in general. One is the "official" discourse, embodied in "No Child Left Behind" language, with a focus on accountability, standards, credentials, and testing, accompanied by punitive measures for failing to…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Project RAISE (Rural America Institute for Special Educators) was a preservice teacher training program specifically designed for preparing special educators for the demands of rural settings. The project was conducted by the Department of Special Education at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and concentrated on training special educators in…

The student population of urban schools reflects widely diverse socioeconomic, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds, yet few teacher training programs are currently addressing the need to recruit and train teachers reflecting this diversity. The Seattle Public Schools/Western Washington University (SPS/WWU) post-baccalaureate paraprofessional…

California State University (CSU) at Chico developed a teacher credentialing program to provide culturally diverse, certified special education teachers for 12 rural counties in northern California. These counties are sparsely populated; include remote areas with difficult access; and contain large Hmong, Meo, American Indian, and Hispanic…

As a result of an expanding school system in Sri Lanka, a demand arose for an increasing number of professional educators. To meet this need, untrained nongraduate persons were recruited into the teaching service. This paper describes the Department of Distance Education (DDE), an organization charged with the planning and implementatiion of…

This report culminates a 2-year effort of the Regents Task Force on Teaching. During the 2 years, the Task Force met many times, conducted eight public forums around the state, conferred with various constituents and public officials, consulted with national experts, and surveyed the literature and experiences of other states. This report presents…

To address the shortage of special education teachers, California State University (CSU), Chico in collaboration with rural, isolated school districts in CSU's service area, designed a two-year, on-the-job training program that recruited, prepared, and supported new special education teachers. Candidates, selected collaboratively by the University…

The Aide-to-Teacher Project is a teacher recruitment and preparation project for culturally diverse paraprofessional classroom aides, initiated at California State University Dominguez Hills in 1987. The program works in collaboration with seven school districts to provide paraprofessionals with the financial, academic, and personal support they…