Inexperienced teachers are often sent to low-income schools in Sacramento. Why that matters

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Emily Whalen teaches fifth graders at Jefferson School in Natomas. But she wasn’t always a teacher of children.

For three years, Whalen, 28, trained dolphins at SeaWorld. It was a job she loved, and it was through that job that Whalen realized her true passions: working with children and education.

“At first I was nervous,” Whalen said of her recent career change. “It’s three times the amount of work I expected. But my time management skills have really helped me, and I have caught on very quickly.”

This school year is her first teaching in Natomas Unified School District after receiving her teaching credential last year.

There are hundreds of other teachers like Whalen in the Sacramento region who are new to the profession. And like Whalen, a significant number of those new teachers are working in schools with a high number of economically disadvantaged students, a Sacramento Bee analysis of state education data shows.

About 10,000 teachers in the Sacramento region worked at schools where most students were eligible for free or reduced lunch during the 2018-19 school year, according to the California Department of Education. About 13 percent, or 1,320, of those were teachers with only one or two years of experience.

By comparison, just 8 percent, or about 765, of the roughly 9,400 teachers at schools where most students were not eligible for free or reduced lunch were in their first or second year on the job. Data on how many students are eligible for school meals is a strong indicator of how many low-income students attend those schools.

Teaching experience matters. Teacher tenure is tied to student achievement, according to research published by the Learning Policy Institute. As teachers gain more experience, their students are more likely to perform better on exams, read at a higher level and have fewer issues with discipline and attendance.

Among the 15 districts in the four-county Sacramento region with the most teachers, Natomas Unified – representing one of the region’s fastest-growing communities and a burgeoning economic engine – had the highest proportion in their first or second year on the job.

About 27 percent of Natomas Unified teachers were new during 2018-19, a figure that includes the district’s charter schools. And roughly 56 percent of Natomas Unified’s students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

On average, teachers at local schools where most students were on free or reduced lunch in 2018-19 had about 13.4 years of teaching experience, while teachers at other schools had about 15.1 years on the job.

Whalen said she recognizes statistics like that might make some parents take pause, but stresses that new teachers receive support and resources.

“We have a lot more to lose, so we have a lot more to prove,” Whalen said.

Sacramento teacher experience

Teachers are launching their careers throughout the Sacramento region. But data suggests those with less experience are concentrated in pockets.

About 16 percent of teachers in Sacramento City Unified had little experience in 2018-19, and 71 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. Then came San Juan Unified, where 15 percent of teachers had little experience and 52 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Charter schools in the Sacramento region had some of the highest proportions of teachers with little experience.

About 17 percent of the roughly 2,550 teachers in the region’s charter schools in 2018-19 were in their first or second year on the job. At charter schools where most students were eligible for free and reduced lunch, about 21 percent of teachers were in their first or second year on the job, compared to 15 percent of teachers at other charter schools.

Teachers improve dramatically within the first few years of their careers, research shows. But the data from the Learning Policy Institute also revealed teachers improved more quickly at supportive schools, where new teachers had experienced colleagues, mentorship, additional resources and strong professional working environments with effective leadership.

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires that states set performance goals for low-performing schools. But the law requires states measure schools by more than just test scores. Districts are required to identify and address teacher equity gaps, including the need to evenly distribute more experienced teachers in schools. Districts are also discouraged from concentrating new teachers in high-need schools, where there are more low-income and minority student populations.

But in the case of public schools throughout the country, including Sacramento-area schools, that isn’t always the case. Some schools in Natomas with newer teachers were also ranked among the Sacramento area’s lowest performing schools.

Twenty of the 32 teachers at Bannon Creek Elementary School — about 63 percent — had only one or two years on the job in 2018-19. About 84 percent of the school’s students were eligible for free or reduced lunch. At Leroy Greene Academy, 26 of 45 teachers had one or two years experience; 60 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

And at American Lakes School, 19 of 35 teachers had one or two years experience, while 87 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

The district is also experiencing rapid growth according to district spokeswoman Deidra Powell. The student population increased after a construction moratorium in Natomas was lifted in 2017.

Natomas Unified requires more teachers for many reasons, including its full day kindergarten classes and specialized programs in partnership with the police and fire department. And more than 70 teachers retired at Natomas Unified in 2017, offering opportunities for new teachers to take their place, Powell said.

“We wanted to keep the class sizes down,” Powell said. “So when we have less students in a classroom, we need more teachers.”

Natomas schools and new teachers

Some inexperienced teachers, like 26-year-old Amy Naumovski, chose low-performing schools.

The Rancho Cordova native started out in engineering. She recalled being one of the few women in her UC Davis engineering classes and trying to shake off the feeling of imposter syndrome.

“I felt that stigma being a woman,” Naumovski said. “I remember how hard it is. But I remember teachers in high school who pushed me to get through, and I want to be there for people who feel like they don’t belong.”

It can be draining, Naumovski says. But she sees value in being a young, energetic teacher with whom her students can relate.

“I am not that much older than my students,” she said. “We have a bond and I know what they are talking about, like TikTok and Snapchat.”

Naumovski started her teaching career this year at Natomas Unified School District’s Inderkum High School. She has her full math teaching credential, which allows her to teach every math subject between eighth grade math and calculus.

The school is only a few miles from Sacramento International Airport. More than 2,100 students shuffle every morning to classes in a main campus building that somewhat resembles a modern airplane hangar. Inderkum High offers rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) classes, and the school shares its property with American River College’s Natomas center.

And more than half of the student body is disadvantaged.

“There is a lot more going on in our community,” Naumovski said. “You deal with emotions, (students) worry about where they are living, or a friend that passed away.”

For Naumovski, the decision to choose Natomas Unified was an obvious one. Her credential program at California State University, Sacramento, encouraged her to work with underserved students and focus on social justice.

Deidre Sessoms, chairwoman of Sacramento State’s teaching credentials program, said social justice has long been rooted into the program so teachers are prepared to serve students in all communities.

“I wanted to be somewhere where I can make a difference,” Naumovski said. “And I wanted to be somewhere where I could be a good teacher.”

Of the 12 teachers in her math department, five are new, Naumovski said. She said there are benefits to having both experienced and new teachers on campus.

“There is always something a veteran teacher knows, like structure,” she said. “But a new teacher comes in with different ideas. Your education is based on new research.”

“Ideally you would have a mix across all schools of newer trained, newly-educated teachers bringing their enthusiasm, energy and research-based practices alongside those veterans who have effectively served their population for many years,” Sessoms said.

“That’s not the reality we live in yet.”

Teacher placement

Sacramento State offers 14 teacher credential programs. Each year, about 400 multiple- and single-subject credentialed teachers finish the program and get to work.

Pia Wong, associate dean for research and engagement at the College of Education, has worked at Sacramento State for 24 years; among her many roles was field teacher placement coordinator.

“We want to prepare teachers who are well-equipped, who are prepared to work within your typical California public school students: English Learners, low-income and culturally and developmentally diverse,” Wong said. “It wouldn’t serve our mission if we only prepared teachers for a well-resourced school where parents had lots of extra time and money to devote to the school.”

Teacher placements are done in part by having strong working relationships with school districts. Sacramento State tends to place student teachers in the urban core, mostly in Title 1 schools where at least 40 percent of students come from low-income families. Those schools tend to be in the Sacramento City Unified, Elk Grove Unified, Washington Unified, San Juan Unified and Folsom Cordova Unified districts. The Folsom Cordova campuses are in the Rancho Cordova side of the district.

On-going discussions with district staff play a role in determining which schools host student teachers and which teachers serve as mentors. The hope is that this kind of coordination ensures an effective clinical experience for the student teacher and provides districts with early access to future teachers.

“We don’t want them to get there and not feel prepared and have to leave,” Sessoms said. “We want them to feel like they can make good decisions, and serve those students in the best way possible.”

Wong said schools with a higher proportion of new teachers should recognize that it’s occurring and provide proper resources.

“There is nothing inherently bad or dangerous about half a department being new,” Wong said. “It’s what the district and veteran teachers do knowing that new teachers will struggle while also taking advantage of the assets they bring with them.”

Why are new teachers concentrated at some schools?

The number of students entering the credential program at Sacramento State has decreased over the past few years, according to Sessoms. The economy, particularly the recession of a decade ago, left many teachers less confident that they would hold onto their jobs. During Sacramento City Unified’s most recent budget crisis, the district began pink slipping teachers, and it was often the newest teachers being laid off.

Salary plays a key role attracting teachers. Natomas Unified offers the lowest average salary among large districts in the region, while Roseville Joint Union High offers the highest average salary. Just 4 percent of teachers at Roseville Joint Union are inexperienced – and 26 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

With the nationwide teacher shortage affecting local schools, some teachers fresh out of credentialing programs may assume landing a job in their desired school district may be easy. But that depends on who is hiring. Some school districts have very few vacancies, and others have more than a dozen.

Placement often simply depends on who can offer a contract at the right time. Some districts begin their hiring process months earlier than others, allowing them to pick from dozens of applicants.

“It’s hard for our alumni who never fail at anything in their lives to get pink slipped,” Wong said. “It’s not about performance.”