DOE Fires 825 Teachers Over Noncertification

By HOWARD MEGDAL

The city Department of Education announced last week that 825 Teachers who had not completed their state certification or allowed it to lapse have been fired as part of the department's efforts to comply with state law.

"Each year, we terminate those Teachers who, for whatever reason, did not complete or fulfill all certification requirements," DOE spokesman Keith Kalb said in a July 11 statement. "As in prior years, we were able to minimize the number of terminations through aggressive outreach and counseling efforts."

Tried to Help

The department's support, Mr. Kalb said, included multiple letters and phone calls to Teachers in danger of termination advising them to seek certification counseling, offering one-on-one sessions to help Teachers understand the certification requirements, working with Principals to reinforce these opportunities, and attempting to expedite the process with the State Education Department for Teachers whose jobs were in danger.

The number of Teachers fired for lacking certification was more than 1,100 last year.

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten expressed confidence that the move would not create a Teacher shortage.

"With the exception of some shortage areas, the DOE, through aggressive recruiting, should be able to find enough certified teachers to fill any vacancies," she said in a July 11 statement. "For us, the big issue is retention: We are losing almost half of our new Teachers within five years. If educators were treated with respect and given the things they need - like smaller class sizes, a safer classroom environment and the proper supports - they would be staying longer and there wouldn't be as much turnover."

In 2002-2003, 13 percent of city Teachers were not certified, according to DOE. That group now comprises less than one percent.