In local classrooms, ranks of male teachers thinning

VIRGINIA BEACH

The teacher in Room 39 is an expert in interpreting kindergartners' crayon drawings, can command silence with a few words, and is the one who painted the colorful butterflies and caterpillars that hang in the school halls.

In this room at Diamond Springs Elementary, the teacher stands out. Brandon Thompson is one of a diminishing group of male teachers.

Nationwide, the percentage of male teachers is at its lowest point since 1970, according to the National Education Association. Federal statistics show that one-fourth of teachers are men.

And local numbers follow the trend.

Among the five school divisions in South Hampton Roads, only Norfolk has increased its percentage of male teachers in the past three years, to 18.4 percent from 16.2 percent, or 52 more male teachers.

They are most sparse in elementary schools.

Shirann Lewis, principal at Diamond Springs, laughed when asked how common male teachers are.

"When I get an opportunity to get a good one..." she said, and grabbed the air. In Virginia, about 8 percent of elementary school teachers are men.

In Thompson's classroom, Dontra Kelly, 6, hopped up from the table to share his drawing of an animal's life cycle.

"It's a lion," Dontra told Thompson.

"You didn't give me a chance to guess!" Thompson exclaimed. "I was just going to say lion!"

Dontra beamed.

"He has an excellent rapport with them, especially with the little guys," said Lewis, who had stopped by to watch.

Kathy Christie, chief of staff at Education Commission of the States, said the effects of male teachers can be seen more in relationships than test scores.

"There's been so much controversy over how we can get African American males engaged in school and proud of being smart. Having role models that are male can help with that."

On the first-grade hall at Diamond Springs is Patrick Raymond's classroom. Raymond, a soft-spoken teacher with a white mustache, has been teaching in elementary schools since 1974.

Male teachers bring a "guy approach" that works well for some students, he said. He plays alongside his students at recess but doesn't give hugs the way female teachers do.

"I'll get arrested," he said. Instead, "I'll give them a pat on the shoulder and say, 'Way to go.' "

Male instructors are more common in the middle and high school grades, where teachers are subject specialists.

"I end up getting a lot of students who need structure and discipline," said Tim Kubinak, a sixth-grade math teacher at John Yeates Middle School in Suffolk. About 30 percent of Virginia's secondary teachers are male, according to the education association.

Several male teachers said low salaries are a turnoff, and Kubinak thinks too many men are drawn from teaching to administrative positions.

"I have a bigger influence in the classroom," Kubinak said.

Patricia Dillard, executive director of human resources for Norfolk schools, said her staff finds more male teachers who have come through alternative "career switcher" programs at Regent and Old Dominion universities and the federal Troops to Teachers program.

Kubinak switched to teaching after a stint as a wildlife biologist, but Thompson knew what he wanted to do in high school.

To get out of study hall, he volunteered to help out some kindergartners and taught a little girl to write her name.

"By the end of five weeks, she could read and write her name like nothing," Thompson said. "I wanted to do that on a bigger level."

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com