Strengthening Teacher Retention
If the school year hasn’t come to an end yet, it surely will soon. For most, summer is here with excited students, teachers, administrators, and school support staff ready for a well-deserved break after yet another long and challenging year. However, a staggering amount of teachers are announcing the ultimate farewell to education instead of merely saying, “See you next year!”
With LinkedIn full of notifications of transitioning teachers and districts with pages of job postings, it’s apparent that already understaffed schools will continue to face staffing shortages during the upcoming school year. Administration’s are scrambling to fill vacant spots over the summer so that schools can meet the educational demands of the upcoming year. While recruiting new teachers into buildings is always important, district leadership should also make a mindful effort to keep the talent that they have on hand before these teachers choose to leave as well.
As many educators are deciding to exit the field, how can school leadership actively work to strengthen teacher retention to lower turnover and keep their outstanding educators in their buildings?
Increasing Compensation
With inflation on the rise, rent soaring, gas prices increasing, and trips to the grocery store becoming ever more expensive, the cost of living has risen exponentially. Financial hardship is a factor that cannot be ignored. Many companies have been mindful of this burden and have adjusted wages to compensate their employees accordingly. Education is a field that should follow suit.
Districts should work to raise teachers’ overall salary with a guarantee of yearly pay increases. Staff who have been with the district for many years and are potentially underpaid should have their salaries adjusted to meet the new, enticing, and more appropriate wages. Additionally, bonuses should be given whenever available, including those for merit and retention especially if the district is offering sign-on bonuses to new teachers. Also, teachers should be paid higher stipend amounts for assessment and curriculum writing, extracurricular responsibilities, leadership roles, and many of the other ways they support their district. Finally, with the staffing shortage worsening, many teachers have taken on additional roles and responsibilities to fill in the gaps and support the students and school. Administrators should be mindful of what extra duties are given to teachers and make sure that they are compensated fairly and appropriately.
Although rewarding, teaching is a challenging profession–one that often requires taking on part-time jobs and summer work to help educators make ends meet. Inflation aside, teachers in many areas have been inadequately paid for years. Paying educators living wages that they deserve shows respect for them as professionals and is considerate of the hard work that they do each and every day.
Providing Meaningful Support
While pay is a big factor, it’s not the only consideration for teachers in regards to their jobs. Working conditions for teachers have a direct impact on the learning conditions for students. If we want to make sure that students have the best possible learning environments, we need to make sure that the facilitators in the classrooms, the teachers, have what they need to be successful. How can the administration better support successful classrooms in their buildings? Ask for regular feedback from teachers and be sure to support them in the ways that they request.
Education has changed drastically over the past couple of years. Therefore, teachers have had to be very creative and resourceful in their methodologies and practices as a result. With a lot of uncertain territory, teachers need to feel supported in taking risks within their classrooms that could potentially result in meaningful learning experiences with their students.
Administrators should be encouraging teachers to share their ideas with them and with their coworkers in order to come up with creative ideas and solutions for pain points within buildings. Additionally, teacher time should be allocated appropriately so that they have ample opportunity to collaborate with each other as well as school leadership. Teacher ownership in problem-solving for positive outcomes ensures that they feel as though they are valued as professionals within their buildings.
Offering High-Quality Resources
From textbooks to technical tools to classroom supplies, the right materials on hand can make a huge difference in how effectively a classroom runs and, in turn, how much the students are able to achieve. In learning environments that are well-supported with the right resources, the overall workload of the teacher can be lessened since they don’t have to scramble for supplies or appropriate alternatives or do without completely.
If textbooks, novels, and/or independent reading books are limited due to district budgets, Glose for Education’s free collection of over 4,000 classic eBooks is a great resource for secondary teachers in all content area classes. There’s a variety of texts that are appropriate for both middle and high school students. Also, Glose for Education’s digital platform allows multiple students to access the same text, offering all readers the opportunity to tap into a high-interest book making it easy for an entire class to read as part of the curriculum.
Glose for Education is an inclusive and accessible social eReading platform that digitally connects students and teachers to transform reading into a social, fun, and engaging experience. With Glose’s digital platform, students have instant access to popular classics on all devices, so students can read in the classroom, at home, and on the go. Leveraging digital resources like Glose for Education allows students to engage one-on-one with interactive reading resources so that they can work independently while tapping into the built-in support if needed. Teachers, create a FREE account to enable students to instantly access great books in your classroom.
Teachers, learn how you can try Glose for free.
Retaining high-quality teachers ensures the best possible learning environments for students. Within collaborative and nurturing classrooms created by excellent educators, students can better reach their academic potential and their confidence soars. To keep the best of the best, districts should offer the right compensation, support, and resources.
About the author:
Katie Witte is a secondary English educator of 10+ years who has worked with students ranging from 5th to 12th grade. Within her current role with Fort Wayne Community Schools, she serves her district as a lead teacher, assessment writer, curriculum collaborator, program manager, and quality improvement team member.
Most of her experience has been working with learners within a nontraditional school setting at the Allen County Juvenile Center. Her inclusive instruction is designed with social-emotional consideration to support her students with positive outcomes in their academic achievement and personal growth. As a dedicated lifelong learner, she has a BS in Business Marketing, a BS in Education, and a MA for Teachers in English all from Indiana University Fort Wayne.
