In a recent Huffington Post article, young professionals regard teaching as a “starter job” rather than a career choice. It's something noble to do for a few years, but new teachers leave for other professions. Maybe you’ve struggled with a “revolving door” at your private school, resulting in expensive and morale-killing teacher turnover. In cases like this, keeping new talent in the classrooms can seem like an impossible task. The first step in retaining excellent teachers is to discover why they quit.
Teachers Love What They Do, Where They Do It
It’s not that they dislike teaching. According to an independent survey of UK teachers, 68% of polled teachers still enjoyed their work, and an astounding 91% of all respondents said they “get a buzz” whenever they see a pupil progress in his or her studies.
It’s not (necessarily) that their pay is too low. One school system in Chattanooga, NC, boosted their faculty recruitment by offering bonuses if previously underperforming classes showed “significant improvement.” Hardly any new teachers from outside the district—only 28 of over 300 teachers were new to the district in 2006—took the Board up on its offer. The study concluded that “money was not the only or even the primary reason that most teachers moved to or stayed” in the district.
“I Refuse”
So where is the disconnect? Why would a teacher leave a career from which he or she receives such professional satisfaction? The same UK poll listed workload as a major concern for those teachers who considered leaving their jobs (79%)—something that may have also prevented prospective teachers in Chattanooga from taking up the challenge of a failing district.
But one former private school social studies teacher and current professor at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in teacher turnover, Robert Ingersoll, says that he quit teaching at K-12 schools due to an “intangible” but “very real” reason. “It’s just a lack of respect” from administrators, he told The Atlantic in an article on teacher turnover, adding that “respected … lines of work do not have shortages.”
Of course, teachers quit for a variety of reasons—family obligations, illness, cross-country moves, etc.—but by and large, this lack of respect and support seems to be the biggest contributor to teacher turnover. Uncommunicative and unsupportive environments leave teachers feeling disenfranchised from the very institution they are trying to support.
One study found that lack of administrative support was the primary reason a teacher might leave or consider leaving. This perceived lack of support meant more to teachers than internal politicking, classroom autonomy, facilities, respect from students and parents, state testing, or school safety.
One teacher, disgusted by his current teaching situation, posted his resignation letter online to air his grievances about the educational system he believed was failing his public school students. “I refuse,” he wrote, “to be led by a top-down hierarchy that is completely detached from the classrooms for which it is supposed to be responsible,” adding that he was “tired of hearing about the miracles my peers are expected to perform, and watching the districts do next to nothing to support or develop them.”
Professional Development and Respect
While certainly inflammatory in its phrasing and delivery, this teacher highlights a common failing within schools: The expectation that teachers will “perform miracles,” whether through higher test scores or improved Portraits of the Graduate, with little to no commitment to their professional development from administrators.
In fact, an expressed commitment to professional development may be the missing factor in schools looking to retain their newest recruits. A study published by Ingersoll states that a simple induction package consisting of mentor support and regular communication with a superior—be it a Department Chair, Principal, or other administrator—increased retention over those schools that had no induction process at all.
On the other hand, Ingersoll’s study noted that beginner teachers who received a more comprehensive induction process—including professional development seminars and group planning time with other teachers in the same subject—were less than half as likely to leave at the end of the first year than those who had no induction.
Professional development, then, isn’t just a way to improve your teachers’ classroom capabilities or morale—by supporting and empowering your faculty, you strengthen your retention rates. Yet, in the 2007-08 school year, only 5% of beginner teachers recorded in the Ingersoll study received a “comprehensive” induction.
No school should have a “revolving door” of teachers. It’s costly, constantly training new teachers; it’s incredibly destructive to faculty morale; and most importantly, it negatively impacts your students’ school experience. An official professional development strategy like one outlined in Comprehensive Faculty Development is not a bonus, but absolutely critical for your retention efforts. Quality professional development like webinars and educational conferences prove to your faculty that you respect their need to grow as lifelong learners and professionals.
Additional ISM resources:
ISM Monthly Update for Business Officers Vol. 12 No. 1 Employee Benefits You Might Not Think of as Benefits
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 11 No. 1 Teachers: The Lifeblood of Your School’s Success
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 11 No. 4 Team Professional Development Adds Value to Lessons Learned
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 33 No. 7 Compensation, Broadbanding, and Teacher Impact
I&P Vol. 36 No. 10 Budgeting for Professional Development
I&P Vol. 32 No. 8 The Changing Paradigm for Professional Development
I&P Vol. 28 No. 14 Scheduling Professional Development for Faculty and Staff
I&P Vol. 28 No. 8 Technology and Your Faculty’s Professional Development
