Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles checks on a Audrey H. Lawson Middle School student doing his class worksheet.
Before this school year, I assumed my children's teachers were trained and certified.
They understood how to manage a classroom, prep for lessons, encourage students and were skilled at the art of teaching. It's an assumption any parent would make.
Then, I received a letter last month from the school informing me that my child had been taught for more than four consecutive weeks by a teacher who was not certified. By Monday, the news was even more concerning. The Chronicle education team reported that Houston ISD has hired at least 830 uncertified teachers, or about 7% of its teaching staff, for 2023-24 school year.
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Now what? As parents, we could storm to the school principals' offices demanding that our children be placed with certified teachers, but given the high turnover of teachers in HISD, it would be a ridiculous request and probably compound the stress that many of the principals already face.
Uncertified teachers in the classroom aren't something new. First-year teachers are sometimes working on getting certified. Long-term substitutes filling in for teachers on leave or teachers from private schools might not be certified.
What's different now is that HISD and other districts across the state, many of them designated as a District of Innovation, are using uncertified teachers to fill the growing vacancies left by teachers who are calling it quits. HISD obtained waivers from the Texas Education Agency for the first time in at least a decade to hire uncertified teachers amid a nationwide teacher shortage.
According to TEA, teachers in Texas must have a bachelor’s degree, complete an educator preparation program, pass the appropriate teacher certification exams and submit an application to the state. A certification waiver allows districts to hire applicants to teach even if they do not have certification, teaching experience or an education degree. Just because a teacher is uncertified does not mean he or she is untrained.
What does that mean for parents and students?
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It's important to know that teaching certification is more than a piece of paper or an online certificate. It's a profession, not something picked up because you were a student in a classroom once.
Shea Culpepper, clinical professor and director of the teacher education program at the University of Houston College of Education, calls HISD's hiring of more than 800 uncertified teachers "problematic," but not unique.
"All of our partner districts are facing this issue," she said. "I don't think any district is setting out to put unprepared and uncertified teachers in the classroom. But it's problematic because the quality of the teacher impacts the trajectory of a child's life."
Parents need information. You can check to see if your child's teacher is certified on the TEA's web site. If not, Culpepper suggests finding out if your child's teacher is working toward a certification and asking what supports are in place for the teacher if they are uncertified.
"A quality certification program will give teachers the knowledge and highly specialized skills to be able to teach in a classroom," Culpepper said. "What's even more important is that it offers opportunities for novice teachers to practice, get feedback, and hone their skills in teaching before they're responsible for K-12 student learning. They get that feedback from experts in the field and from experienced teachers. So if teachers are coming into the classroom uncertified, that's what they are missing. Teaching is hard work. To be really good at it, you need to be prepared for it."
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UH's College of Education certifies teachers through a traditional undergraduate program in which students do a yearlong teaching residency (or student teaching); an alternative certification program, which launched in 2023, for those with bachelor’s degrees who need high-quality training; and a new graduate program in which students can earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while also pursuing teaching certification.
Imagine if your child is learning to read and has an uncertified teacher who is not skilled in reading pedagogy. That's a real problem since less than half of the HISD students in the first through third grades are reading at grade level.
"When you have someone in the classroom who has been trained in, say, literacy instruction and who has an understanding of phonics and all of the methods we use, it is easier for them to provide instruction for that student to be able to read by end of the year than someone who doesn't. A certified teacher has a proficiency in the subject they are teaching," said Reginald Todd, assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas Southern University.
It's not the fault of uncertified teachers in our public school systems. They are trying to fill a void in a fractured system that places little value and respect on the teaching profession.
We know teachers are quitting, and public education is under siege. As parents, that means we have to do more to fill the education gaps. We have to get creative and find more time to teach at home.
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That's a real challenge, too.
My child has an uncertified teacher in Houston ISD. Should I worry?
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07.03.2024
Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles checks on a Audrey H. Lawson Middle School student doing his class worksheet.
Before this school year, I assumed my children's teachers were trained and certified.
They understood how to manage a classroom, prep for lessons, encourage students and were skilled at the art of teaching. It's an assumption any parent would make.
Then, I received a letter last month from the school informing me that my child had been taught for more than four consecutive weeks by a teacher who was not certified. By Monday, the news was even more concerning. The Chronicle education team reported that Houston ISD has hired at least 830 uncertified teachers, or about 7% of its teaching staff, for 2023-24 school year.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Now what? As parents, we could storm to the school principals' offices demanding that our children be placed with certified teachers, but given the high turnover of teachers in HISD, it would be a ridiculous request and probably compound the stress that many of the principals already face.
Uncertified teachers in the classroom aren't something new. First-year teachers are sometimes working on getting certified. Long-term substitutes filling in for teachers on leave or teachers from private schools might not be certified.
What's different........
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