Employing high quality teachers is extremely important, but just as important is retaining these great teachers. Classroom teachers are the foundation of our education system and play the most pivotal role in providing a high-quality education experience for our children. We need to have a high-quality teacher in every classroom. By supporting teachers, we can retain them which is a significant investment in our children's future.
Research, and my 32 years of personal educational experience, consistently shows that the quality of teaching is the most significant school-related factor in student achievement. When teachers receive the support they need to be excellent—through professional development, adequate resources, good compensation, and a positive work environment—they can deliver high-quality instruction that leads to better student outcomes. They also come to work energized, confident, and motivated to do their job well, and therefore want to stay in our district. Supporting classroom teachers is not just an investment in individual educators; it is an investment in our entire education system, when we uplift teachers, we uplift everyone.
Unfortunately, there are people that don’t have confidence in our teachers and don’t trust them to do their job effectively. Rather than build on the strengths of our district and fully support our schools they seek to weaken our schools through distrust, expressing a lack of confidence, and pushing for policies that make the job of teachers more challenging, make them feel unsupported and even threatened. This is a primary reason that we are having difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers, which wasn’t a problem in the recent past.
Here are some strategies (some in place already, others are not) that need to be discussed:
Competitive Salaries: Increase teacher salaries to make the profession more attractive.
Bonuses and Stipends: Offer signing bonuses, relocation stipends, and performance-based incentives.
Loan Forgiveness: Implement or expand student loan forgiveness programs for teachers.
Reduce Class Sizes: Lower student-teacher ratios to reduce workload and improve job satisfaction.
Administrative Support: Provide adequate administrative support to teachers, allowing them to focus on teaching.
Professional Development: Offer continuous professional development opportunities to help teachers advance their careers.
Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship programs for new teachers to provide guidance and support.
Career Advancement Opportunities: Create clear pathways for career advancement, including leadership roles and specialization opportunities.
Support Networks: Develop support networks and communities of practice for teachers to share resources and best practices.
Collaboration with Higher Education: Partner with universities and colleges to ensure teacher preparation programs align with state needs.
Business and Community Partnerships: Engage businesses and community organizations to support schools and provide additional resources.
Policy Advocacy: Advocate for policies that support teacher recruitment and retention at the local, state, and federal levels.
Mental Health Support: Increase mental health support and resources for teachers to address burnout and stress.
