Miss. Code Ann. tit. 37, ch. 149 — Mississippi Teacher Center | Mississippi Code Annotated — Mississippi

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-149-1 Mississippi Teacher Center established; staff; steering committee; duties; legislative findings; Mississippi Troops to Teachers pilot program established; collaboration with national program; status report.

There is established within the State Department of Education, the Mississippi Teacher Center for the purpose of insuring that the children of our state are taught by quality professionals. The center shall serve as an interagency center focused on teacher recruitment, enhanced training and initial instructional support. The center shall have a staff which shall consist of one (1) director, one (1) administrative assistant and professional teacher recruiters. A steering committee shall be established which shall consist of one (1) member from each of the following: the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the Mississippi Community College Board, the State Board of Education, the Board of the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges, the Board of the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, trustees of the local school boards, teachers and the private sector. The members of the steering committee shall be appointed by the State Superintendent with the approval of the board. The steering committee shall direct the work and establish policies for the purpose of operating the center. The center shall provide leadership for the following initiatives: The initiation and monitoring of high school programs for teacher recruitment; The initiation and monitoring of college level programs for teacher recruitment; The establishment of a Beginning Teacher/Mentoring program, as authorized in Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-213; The sponsorship of a teacher renewal institute; The continuation of the Teacher Corps program; The enhancement of the William Winter Scholarship program; Research for the development of professional teaching standards; Provide additional scholarships for any targeted populations needing potential teachers; and Provide assistance to local school districts in identifying and locating specific teacher needs. The Legislature recognizes that a highly qualified teacher in every public classroom in this state is fundamental to a quality education. The Legislature also recognizes that Mississippi has a serious shortage of qualified teachers to serve in the public schools of this state and that it has a responsibility to enact public policy in an effort to remedy that shortage of qualified teachers. There is hereby established a Mississippi “Troops to Teachers” pilot program in the State Department of Education to assist in the recruitment, licensure, referral, placement and compensation of military personnel interested in beginning a second career in public education as a teacher. The Teacher Center in the State Department of Education shall collaborate with the national “Troops to Teachers” program to establish the criteria and procedures for allocation of funds provided by the federal government to administer the pilot program to ensure the most effective placement of such teachers around the state taking into consideration the degree of teacher shortage in each school district. The Legislature shall appropriate funds necessary for the support of this pilot program which will not supplant federal funds provided for that purpose. The Office of the Governor shall transfer any federal funds provided for the Mississippi “Troops to Teachers” program to the State Department of Education for the administration of this program. The Department of Education shall report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2009, on the status of the implementation of the Mississippi “Troops to Teachers” program and the need for its continuation.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-149-3 Mississippi Teacher Center; goals and functions.

The center shall place a priority on its function as a teacher recruitment center. In addition to its other duties, it shall publicize the importance of the teaching profession, operate a teacher placement service, and create and manage a teacher renewal institute. The center shall be authorized to phase into operation its designated functions. Full operation of all the functions of the center shall be in place and operating by July 1, 1996. The center shall develop in-service training materials and shall provide for the establishment of a corps of trainers.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-149-5 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1997, ch. 357, § 1, eff from and after June 29, 1997. [Laws, 1994, ch. 534, § 3].

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-149-7 Professional teacher recruiters; appointment; duties.

The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint three (3) persons to serve as professional teacher recruiters, who shall have the following duties: To educate high school students, through oral presentations made on the campuses of all public high schools and the distribution of written materials, on the importance of teaching as a profession, emphasizing the critical need for teachers in certain geographical areas of the state and the availability of financial scholarships to college students in exchange for service as a licensed teacher in such geographical areas under the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program; To encourage assistant teachers in the public schools to pursue a college education that will enable them to become licensed teachers, informing all assistant teachers of the availability of financial scholarships to both full-time and part-time college students under the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program; To actively recruit, both within the state and out-of-state, teachers to render service to the state as a licensed teacher in a geographical area of the state where there exists a critical shortage of teachers, as designated by the State Board of Education, while receiving a scholarship to pursue a Master of Education degree or Educational Specialist degree at an institution of higher learning under the University Assisted Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grant Program; To actively recruit, both within the state and out-of-state, nonpracticing licensed teachers to return to the teaching profession to render service as a licensed teacher in a public school district in a geographical area of the state where there is a critical shortage of teachers, as designated by the State Board of Education; To actively recruit, both within the state and out-of-state, persons holding a baccalaureate degree in a field other than education who exhibit potential for a career in teaching to pursue a standard teaching license through the alternate teaching route; and To notify teachers of the availability of special home loans, subject to eligibility for persons who render service to the state as a licensed teacher in a geographical area of the state where there exists a critical shortage of teachers, as designated by the State Board of Education.