Q & A
LaTanya S. Sothern @LaTanyaSothern
The Teacher Certification Challenges and Changes and How It Impacts Public Schools
@LaTanyaSothern
Dr. Mike Robinson: Is the best way to solve the teacher shortage crisis to lower the requirements for teacher certification?
LaTanya S. Sothern: Absolutely not. I do not think the best way to solve the crisis is to lower the requirements for certification. I will say that I disagree with the widely-held narrative that relaxing the requirements during this season or reimagining teacher certification is equivalent to lowering the requirements. I believe there could be multiple pathways to attaining certification, especially when teachers have difficulty passing specific standardized assessments. History has shown that standardized assessments are already ineffective predictors of success at the college level, leading to their elimination as a requirement for many institutions of higher learning. "These assessments are now presenting themselves as barriers to gaining or maintaining employment for those who want to teach, despite society's vilification of teachers.
Dr. Mike Robinson: To what extent would an increase in teacher pay and better work conditions address the teacher shortages facing many school districts?
LaTanya S. Sothern: It would help the situation significantly, but the problem is so deeply-rooted that a systemic overhaul in how teachers are cultivated and developed would be necessary. State schools could offer a 50 - 100% tuition refund for grads who enter the profession after graduation. Preferred loans and the expansion of programs like Teacher Next Door to include more prospective homeowners are some examples of what could be done to make entering the profession more attractive. It’s not so much the pay but the reduced quality of life that teachers face due to the debt many incur after they graduate. If those financial issues were removed, that would help.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Should the State Department of Education determine the criteria for teacher certification, or should the local school districts?
LaTanya S. Sothern: I believe the State should determine the criteria but give the local school districts some flexibility in looking at educators’ cases on a case-by-case basis. For example, suppose a school system is losing proficient or higher teachers simply because they cannot pass an assessment. In that case, that loss will impact the scholars in question and the generations that come, which eventually transfers to an economic and sociological risk that ensues when the children who have lost teachers struggle to be college and career ready.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Do you believe Praxis exams hinder educators of Color?
LaTanya S. Sothern: Yes. Forbes magazine reports that 62% of black and 43% of Hispanic candidates fail the elementary Praxis test even after multiple attempts. Some may wonder if that indicates that most teachers of color cannot teach well, but I beg to differ. Throughout my 25+ years in education, I have seen educators who struggle with passing the assessment perform academic miracles in classrooms, transforming children along the tier path. Many of these teachers, like myself, entered teaching with a mission to support the very children who look like us. But we also know that many teachers of color, even though they may be college graduates, are missing some foundational knowledge due to the systemic inequities of the school systems that raised them. Therefore, we must find ways to celebrate their brilliance in the classroom and simultaneously support the gaps that are a part of their academic background.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you say to those who see the high standards for teacher certification as a way to ensure the best educators are leading the classrooms?
LaTanya S. Sothern: I challenge anyone to define what high standards are and would ask clarifying questions. Are the standards based on performance or based on some arbitrary numerical cut-score? How was this cut score determined? Are other districts with lower cut scores suffering from reduced teacher quality? What is the data that demonstrates that the majority of educators who earned this cut score are effective teachers? How are their students performing? Are we capturing this data to verify the claim that the cut score is the indicator of teacher proficiency? There are questions that I would pose to those people and ask them to provide actual data to verify these claims.
LaTanya S. Sothern Bio
LaTanya S. Sothern has been an educator for over 25 years. She is a passionate supporter of children and ensuring equity in education for all students. A native Washingtonian, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Communication and Economics from American University and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from Howard University. She is pursuing her Doctorate of Education in School System Leadership at the University of Maryland College Park. Ms. Sothern is certified in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and School Administration and is National Board Certified as an Early Childhood Generalist. She serves as a Principal in Prince George’s County Public Schools, where her instructional leadership has also included district-wide professional development, mentoring teachers, and creative community outreach initiatives.
Ms. Sothern is an entrepreneur and a published author of two books featured by the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus conventions. She is the 2018 recipient of the ACHI Magazine DMV Educator of the Year and the American University NAACP Mentor of the Year awards. She and her husband Greg facilitate events and workshops for married couples, with a particular focus on those who are parents of special needs children. They have been happily married for over 20 years and reside in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with their two sons.
LaTanya S. Sothern: Absolutely not. I do not think the best way to solve the crisis is to lower the requirements for certification. I will say that I disagree with the widely-held narrative that relaxing the requirements during this season or reimagining teacher certification is equivalent to lowering the requirements. I believe there could be multiple pathways to attaining certification, especially when teachers have difficulty passing specific standardized assessments. History has shown that standardized assessments are already ineffective predictors of success at the college level, leading to their elimination as a requirement for many institutions of higher learning. "These assessments are now presenting themselves as barriers to gaining or maintaining employment for those who want to teach, despite society's vilification of teachers.
Dr. Mike Robinson: To what extent would an increase in teacher pay and better work conditions address the teacher shortages facing many school districts?
LaTanya S. Sothern: It would help the situation significantly, but the problem is so deeply-rooted that a systemic overhaul in how teachers are cultivated and developed would be necessary. State schools could offer a 50 - 100% tuition refund for grads who enter the profession after graduation. Preferred loans and the expansion of programs like Teacher Next Door to include more prospective homeowners are some examples of what could be done to make entering the profession more attractive. It’s not so much the pay but the reduced quality of life that teachers face due to the debt many incur after they graduate. If those financial issues were removed, that would help.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Should the State Department of Education determine the criteria for teacher certification, or should the local school districts?
LaTanya S. Sothern: I believe the State should determine the criteria but give the local school districts some flexibility in looking at educators’ cases on a case-by-case basis. For example, suppose a school system is losing proficient or higher teachers simply because they cannot pass an assessment. In that case, that loss will impact the scholars in question and the generations that come, which eventually transfers to an economic and sociological risk that ensues when the children who have lost teachers struggle to be college and career ready.
Dr. Mike Robinson: Do you believe Praxis exams hinder educators of Color?
LaTanya S. Sothern: Yes. Forbes magazine reports that 62% of black and 43% of Hispanic candidates fail the elementary Praxis test even after multiple attempts. Some may wonder if that indicates that most teachers of color cannot teach well, but I beg to differ. Throughout my 25+ years in education, I have seen educators who struggle with passing the assessment perform academic miracles in classrooms, transforming children along the tier path. Many of these teachers, like myself, entered teaching with a mission to support the very children who look like us. But we also know that many teachers of color, even though they may be college graduates, are missing some foundational knowledge due to the systemic inequities of the school systems that raised them. Therefore, we must find ways to celebrate their brilliance in the classroom and simultaneously support the gaps that are a part of their academic background.
Dr. Mike Robinson: What do you say to those who see the high standards for teacher certification as a way to ensure the best educators are leading the classrooms?
LaTanya S. Sothern: I challenge anyone to define what high standards are and would ask clarifying questions. Are the standards based on performance or based on some arbitrary numerical cut-score? How was this cut score determined? Are other districts with lower cut scores suffering from reduced teacher quality? What is the data that demonstrates that the majority of educators who earned this cut score are effective teachers? How are their students performing? Are we capturing this data to verify the claim that the cut score is the indicator of teacher proficiency? There are questions that I would pose to those people and ask them to provide actual data to verify these claims.
LaTanya S. Sothern Bio
LaTanya S. Sothern has been an educator for over 25 years. She is a passionate supporter of children and ensuring equity in education for all students. A native Washingtonian, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Communication and Economics from American University and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from Howard University. She is pursuing her Doctorate of Education in School System Leadership at the University of Maryland College Park. Ms. Sothern is certified in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and School Administration and is National Board Certified as an Early Childhood Generalist. She serves as a Principal in Prince George’s County Public Schools, where her instructional leadership has also included district-wide professional development, mentoring teachers, and creative community outreach initiatives.
Ms. Sothern is an entrepreneur and a published author of two books featured by the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus conventions. She is the 2018 recipient of the ACHI Magazine DMV Educator of the Year and the American University NAACP Mentor of the Year awards. She and her husband Greg facilitate events and workshops for married couples, with a particular focus on those who are parents of special needs children. They have been happily married for over 20 years and reside in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with their two sons.