I have always wanted to post a blog that says North Carolina should follow Las Vegas’s lead. There is just something whimsical, maybe vertiginous, about it. Anyway, here is my chance. Keith Rheault, Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, will streamline the certification process by allowing those with a bachelor’s degree (and a clean criminal record) to join the state’s teaching profession. This is a response to the severe teacher shortage in rapidly growing Clark County, the county that is being swallowed up by Las Vegas.
The major problem with the new certification process is that the teacher will eventually have to complete the usual drudgery of education coursework and those useless professional development seminars. Yet, this is, at least, momentum in the right direction. As Eric Hanushek points out, school districts that can increase their applicant pool are more likely to hire high quality teachers. Scrapping much of the certification maze/malaise is a good place to start.
