Retention is Public School’s Top Priority
One of the lessons I learned from an important sales leader early in my career was that retaining a client is a much easier task than gaining a new one. It was my responsibility to find new clients and then keep them satisfied enough to keep my net-new pipeline producing positive revenue results.
Watching school districts continuously struggle with this nationwide problem of teacher shortages isn’t hard to understand on the surface. Teachers have been underpaid, overworked, and ultimately responsible for doing the work some parents should be doing. This has simply been accepted in our society…until now.
Now, we watch as school districts are paying out incentivizing (but dangerous) signing bonuses to attract talented and qualified teachers into their ranks. We are watching the growth of technology offer live classroom instruction by virtual teachers. In addition, many district leaders are heading for greener pastures or retiring outright. While education is no stranger to innovating through challenges with patience and grace, this time around we have not a singular crisis, but one with a myriad of distractions for district administrators. Community infighting, continuous struggles in the classroom, and an ongoing recovery from COVID (not to mention new threats of school closures) have landed squarely on the education professional’s desk with no time to spare to solve the problems.
Some solutions for retaining talent and rebuilding public school systems include:
Professional Development
For decades, a professional career as a teacher has been seen as an admirable professional path for women and men alike. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, public school teachers have a higher educational attainment in 2022-21 than a decade earlier in 2011-12. Specifically, 51% of school teachers hold a master’s degree as their highest degree. To continue to engage and retain teachers, it is critical to invest in ongoing professional development opportunities to help them grow in their careers.
Another possibility is providing mentorship programs for new teachers to ease their transition into the profession and grow their capabilities as a professional. Entering a career in any field is difficult. However, pairing tenured teachers with incoming teachers helps to ease the adjustment period and ensure that new teachers stay involved and optimistic about their future.
Diversity and Inclusion
Creating a classroom of today requires intentionality and strategic leadership from the top. Research by the Learning Policy Institute revealed that all students benefit from
having teachers of color. When taught by teachers of color, students of color have better academic performance, improved graduation rates, and are more likely to attend college.
EdWeek shared that in the 2015-16 school year, over 80 percent of teachers were white and less than 7 percent were Black, according to federal data. Meanwhile, the white student population has steadily declined since 2000—from 61 percent to 44 percent in 2017—while the Hispanic student population rose by 50 percent since 1997 and the Asian student population by 46 percent. Black students comprise about 15 percent of all K-12 students—although they increasingly attend schools with at least 75 percent non-white enrollment, as do Hispanic and American Indian students: 58, 60, and 30 percent, respectively, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.”
Growing efforts to attract and retain teachers with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion are linked to positive academic, social-emotional, and behavioral student outcomes. These results are partly driven by mindsets and practices aligned to “culturally responsive teaching.”
Competitive Compensation
Money, money, money! We’ve heard it said before that teachers do not enter the field to make a lot of money. However, we have taken one’s personal calling to teach as a way to cut costs and pay educators the bare minimum. Gone are the days where we – as a body of educators, administrators, and education consultants – will ignore the fact that educators should be making more than a living wage. Policy changes, federal investments, and COVID relief monies have sweetened the deal to better compensate teachers for their time, expertise, and work as an educator.
If you want to attract and retain teachers, competitive compensation is low hanging fruit in the realm of establishing a solid core of educators. By offering competitive salaries and benefits packages to attract and retain high-quality teachers, you will prevent turnover amongst your staff and ensure a more stable school environment.
Overcoming the teacher retention crisis is a long-term goal that requires continuous commitment and evolution from districts, policymakers, and the greater community. By tailoring strategies to the specific needs and challenges of one’s district, you will increase the opportunity for success. Afterall, education is not “one-size fits all.”.
From one founder to another,
Ted