The severity of the teacher shortage, particularly in Southern Nevada, is well known. The Clark County School District began the 2014-2015 school year with over 700 unfilled professional teaching vacancies, and currently still has over 600 vacancies. While all students are impacted in one way or another, the vast majority of classroom vacancies are in schools serving children living in poverty and disproportionately impact children in homes where English is not a primary language. Dr. Edith Fernández, Associate Vice President of the Office of Community Engagement & Diversity Initiatives (CEDI) is involved with the Nevada Consortium. “We represent a broad and diverse group of Nevada stakeholders who began meeting in the fall of 2014 to discuss possible solutions to the social and economic implications of teacher shortages in Nevada,” she said.
Who: Dr. Edith Fernández, AVP Community Engagement and Diversity Initiatives
What: Nevada Consortium on the Teacher Pipeline
When: February 18, 2016
Where: Public Education Foundation
Why: NSC is involved in discussions regarding possible solutions to the social and economic implications of teacher shortages in Nevada
The Nevada Consortium on the Teacher Pipeline includes individuals representing various organizations, viewpoints, and perspectives from the broadest possible range of constituencies. The group was founded on the belief that the teacher shortage is a complex and community-wide problem and that effective solutions must be similarly sophisticated. As of February 2015, the consortium has convened eight times. Dr. Fernández along with Dean Metcalf from UNLV’s School of Education and Dr. Martinez from the Lincy Institute have convened and led this group; over 150 individuals have participated.
The goal of the Consortium is to identify key policies and interventions to alleviate the teacher pipeline crisis. “In its February meeting, the Consortium was able to reach majority agreement on six legislative items that, we believe, are likely to help ease the teacher shortage in Nevada,” Dr. Fernández said.
Below are the affiliations of the members of the Nevada Consortium on the Teacher Pipeline:
HOPE NV
United Way of Southern Nevada
Clark County Association of School Administrators
National University
University of Nevada Las Vegas
College of Southern Nevada
Charter School Association of Nevada
Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance
Nevada System of Higher Education
Nevada Department of Education
Nevada State College
Dean’s Doctoral Fellow
Clark County Black Caucus
Latino Leadership Council
Lincy Institute
Wynn Resorts
Nevada State Education Association
University of Nevada Las Vegas/Latino Leadership Council
Area Coordinator Field Services for BYU I in Clark County
Clark County School District
Nevada Succeeeds
mNET
University of Phoenix
Clark County Education District Association
Political Advancement of Latinos
Western Governors University
Nevada Partners
Interested in learning more? Reach out to the Office of Community Engagement and Diversity Initiatives at CommunityEngagement@nsc.edu.
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