The St. Petersburg Times examined serious incidents of teacher misconduct in their area since 2000 and discovered that such teachers appear more likely to have been working in high-poverty schools.
Four teacher quality experts contacted by the Times said they knew of no studies that looked at the distribution of teacher misconduct. But none was surprised by the results, given a growing body of research that suggests a trend rarely reported or discussed at the district level: the likelihood that high-poverty schools have more inexperienced or subpar teachers or both. Some of the experts speculated the same factors might be in play in this case, including a steady stream of veterans leaving high-poverty schools and a phenomenon called “passing the trash,” where problem teachers are quietly moved from one school to another instead of being fired.
Last year, after a 50-state review, the Associated Press reported finding more than 2,500 cases of teacher sexual misconduct in the past five years. The paper notes the investigation did not look at school demographics.
High-poverty districts have multiple problems in this regard.
They tend to be larger. This means that there is more bureaucracy, and that it is much easier for people to hide. Even when discovered, it is far easier in a large district for administrators to pass the buck, each being able to argue that the responsibility belongs to someone else.
They also tend to have a very hard time finding teachers. Working in an urban district myself, you pretty much find 2 types of teachers: missionary types, and those who can’t get jobs anywhere else. Districts will not get rid of a teacher because that affords them a warm body to place in the classroom. Replacing a Math or English teacher can take months.
And, of course, there is the union issue. The primary problem with unions in this regard is that they treat all their members equally, whether they are deserving or not. Their rules necessitate them defending an incompetent or a scoundrel in the same manner that they would a veteran master teacher.
High-poverty areas tend to be petri dishes for this sort of thing. This is one of the reasons why I continue to teach in such an area – somebody’s gotta stand between the kids and the morons. It is also one of the reasons why I would never send my own child to this district, and I will never stand in the way of a child attempting to leave to find better.