New Report from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning Finds Harsh Budget Cuts Put Teaching Quality at Risk

Sacramento, CA, December 14, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Cumulative cuts of more than $20 billion from California’s schools over the past three years have made it tougher for teachers to help students meet increasing expectations for academic achievement and have badly damaged the state’s ability to recruit and prepare new teachers needed for the future, according to the annual report on California’s teaching workforce released today by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.

“California’s teaching workforce is running on empty,” said Margaret Gaston, President and Executive Director of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning. “The disinvestment in building a top quality teacher workforce is at odds with rising demands for students’ academic success. The fiscal crisis has so severely damaged the pipeline for recruiting and training new teachers that teaching quality may be put at risk for many years to come.”

California’s Teaching Force 2010: Key Issues and Trends is the latest report in a twelve-year effort by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning to help policymakers, the philanthropic community and others understand the critical need to strengthen the teaching profession in order to meet the state’s ambitious goals for students’ academic excellence. Research for the report was conducted by SRI International and includes an in-depth look at thirteen focus school districts and five focus institutions of higher education in California.

Amid intense scrutiny and increasing expectations for teachers, this year’s report details the impact of the recent budget cuts and policy shifts on California’s teaching workforce, finding tough times for teachers and a severely damaged teacher pipeline. The report also examines the state’s system of teacher evaluation and makes clear the critical need for an effective data system to strengthen education in the state.

“These are very tough times to be a teacher in California,” said Patrick Shields, Director of the Center for Education Policy at SRI International. “The expectations have never been higher, but drastic budget cuts are having a direct impact in the classroom and are damaging the systems of supports and resources teachers need to improve student learning.”

The full report and its recommendations, as well as summary materials, are available on the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning’s website at www.cftl.org.

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