Our group originally e-mailed an issue worth discussing on SOL’s. However, once we began our Wimba conversation, the topic turned to recruitment and retaining qualified teachers. Many issues surfaced around this topic where small/rural division have a difficult time finding licensed teachers in areas such as Earth Science, math, foreign languages, and reading. We began to narrow our conversations focusing mostly on the area of math. We then began to find ways to help provide teachers in the area of math by using the provisional license, increasing the pay of math teachers, utilizing career switchers, and working with colleges to provide undergraduates with multiple licenses. Providing licensed teachers in the area of math is essential for students and their increased achievement.
