Today, May 10, is the California Day of the Teacher, an annual celebration that takes place on every second Wednesday of May to applaud the instructors who enrich the lives of California’s 6.2 million public school students. According to the California Department of Education, California’s K-12 public schools are home to almost 300,000 teachers.
“Research has shown that teachers are the most essential players in the public school system,” said CSBA President Susan Henry. “On this California Day of the Teacher, we must recognize the tireless dedication that makes California’s teachers some of the best in the world.”
The California Day of the Teacher was passed into law in 1982 from legislation co-sponsored by CSBA and a variety of other educational professional associations, including the Association of Mexican American Educators. Today’s holiday was modeled after the traditional “El Día de Los Maestros” observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
To understand the importance of effective teachers, one usually only needs to look to one’s own positive experiences with educators. As a California Senate resolution declared last week, “no other professional touches as many persons with such a lasting effect” and “good teaching grows in value and pays dividends far beyond the classroom.”
CSBA has collected a few recent studies and other resources that highlight how important teachers are in students’ lives and how school boards can support these educators despite the recent statewide teacher shortage:
- Storm Brewing: How Districts are Dealing with The Teacher Shortage Crisis — California Schools Magazine
- This recent feature in CSBA’s quarterly magazine examines the current teacher shortage and how some districts are dealing with the issue.
- California Teacher Shortages: A Persistent Problem — Learning Policy Institute and CSBA
- This brief and fact sheet published by the Learning Policy Institute and CSBA explores the results of a Delegate Assembly survey regarding the current teacher shortage.
- Through Our Eyes: Perspectives and Reflections From Black Teachers — Education Trust-West
- This qualitative data report was conducted through nationwide focus group sessions of 150 black teachers and brings light to both the challenges that black teachers face in the public school system and the positive effects they have on the students they reach.
- Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators — Learning Policy Institute
- This research review from the Learning Policy Institute focuses on the most effective strategies available for recruiting and retaining teachers at the district, state and federal levels. The Learning Policy Institute also offers a variety of other reports, briefs and fact sheets about educator quality.
Posting about teachers today on social media? Use the hashtag #DayOfTheTeacher, and share your celebrations directly with us on Twitter at @CSBA_now and Instagram.
For more on teachers, visit CSBA’s teaching resource page at https://www.csba.org/GovernanceAndPolicyResources/StudentAchievement/Teaching.aspx.
