Introduction: Why it’s Hard to Retain New Teachers

Nearly every teacher I know has some horror story from their first year. Ask and they’ll tell you how they never left school before 9:00 PM or cried in their cars at least once a week. Often, their stories are about loneliness, lack of guidance, and lack of support.

“I never saw another teacher’s classroom.”
“I had no idea if what I was doing was right or wrong,”
“When I asked for help, they just told me ‘You’ll learn.’”

Instead of asking why it’s so hard to retain new teachers, maybe we ought to be asking why we make it so hard to be a new teacher.

New teachers are often hired at the last minute, and given the toughest assignments, the most difficult students, and the worst classrooms the building has to offer. After a year, or maybe a few, many of these teachers are gone. And who could blame them?

But our schools need these teachers. Our students need these teachers. There is no program, no technology, and no curriculum that would make more difference than teachers can make. Even factors outside of school, like students’ socio-economic status, can be overcome by teachers. A good teacher five years in a row can make up the difference between low- and middle-income achievement.

“Research proves this point repeatedly –
teacher instructional effectiveness is the most critical component of
improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap.”

Most new teachers dream of making this kind of difference in kids’ lives, but once hired, they are given keys to a classroom and sometimes little else.

Every year, about a half million teachers in the U.S. change schools or leave the profession entirely. It’s a huge waste of money, costing more than $2 billion, and it’s a waste of the teachers’ potential.

To retain the teachers we hire, we need to provide them with 3 things:

1. Set them up for collaboration with colleagues.
2. Offer them ongoing professional development they can apply to their work.
3. Include them in a comprehensive, multi-year induction program, that introduces them to their roles and to the school.

1. Collaboration

Teaching can be a very lonely profession.

Katie was an outstanding fourth-grade teacher, often recognized for her excellence. But her colleagues, who taught in neighboring classrooms, never saw her teach. They knew everyone thought Katie was great, but they never got the chance to learn from her.

Ruth had been teaching for 37 years. When she retired, there was no tradition or protocol for Ruth to share the wisdom or even the physical materials she had accumulated over her long career. The legacy of the effective classroom culture she’d built retired right along with her.

When veterans like Ruth and superstars like Katie teach (and eventually retire) in isolation, the teachers around them can’t learn from them. One teacher, Gail, put it like this:

“I never sat in anyone else’s classroom even once.
Mine is the only teaching style I know.
I felt that sometimes I was reinventing the wheel.”

Teaching in isolation isn’t good for any teachers or for students. So much potential for growth and learning is lost. But isolation is the most demoralizing for new teachers. Whether they’re new to the profession or to the school, new teachers need a community of colleagues. So often, schools fail to provide this one simple thing that can make a world of difference.

But teaching does not have to be a lonely profession.

Get Teachers into Each Other’s Classrooms

One school district in Arizona pays several master teachers (in various grade levels and content areas) to get their own classrooms ready early so that they can show them to visiting cohorts of new teachers before the start of the year.

The master teachers explain procedures and routines they use, and new teachers are encouraged to photograph classroom organizational methods. The master teacher leads a simulated first day of school with the new teachers acting as the students. Together, they debrief the simulation, and they work together to develop classroom management plans.

Let new teachers see expertly organized rooms.

Teachers, especially new ones, want to see what other teachers do in their classrooms. Give them the time, permission, and structure in which to learn from colleagues. Even without a formal visit to a demonstration classroom with a master teacher, a new teacher could benefit from opportunities to observe their more experienced colleagues at work (setting up their classrooms, teaching their students, and more).

Let Teachers Plan, Reflect, and Evaluate Together

In both Japan and Finland (two countries known for high academic achievement) all the teachers in a school share a common office. Teachers work in groups to design lessons collaboratively. New teachers join more experienced teammates for regular group sessions that include ongoing cycles of planning, reflection, and evaluation. They share ideas and problem solve together.

Research shows that teachers’ collective efficacy has one of the greatest effect sizes on student achievement. That is, when teachers, as a group believe they can positively impact student achievement…then they can. Collaboration makes collective efficacy possible.

When teachers brainstorm, trouble-shoot, and create curriculum together, they help each other become more effective and empower one another to believe in their effectiveness. It helps teachers develop professionally and achieve results in their classrooms.

When it comes to teachers’ impact on students, collaboration…

• is more than three times as powerful as socio-economic status
• is twice as strong a predictor as past achievement
• has triple the effect of home environment and parental involvement

 Okay, but does collaboration really get teachers to stay?

 Besides “a good principal” there are two job conditions that study after study has shown new teachers value even more highly than “more money.” They are…

• the chance to work collaboratively with effective teachers
• an orderly, focused, and consistent school atmosphere

Ironically (or maybe obviously?) the two factors that build a consistent school atmosphere are…

• instructional leadership
• staff members working collaboratively

In other words, teacher collaboration is key to creating a school where new teachers want to stay.

2. Professional Development

In no other profession besides teaching are beginners left to their own devices.

Doctors, police officers, and baristas alike receive substantial on-the-job training. If you were hired to deliver Domino’s pizzas, you would train for nine days before making a delivery drive on your own. Starbucks, McDonald’s, Walmart, and more provide new hires with training unique to their company, regardless of prior coffee-making, burger-flipping, or customer-greeting experience.

The training, or professional development, offered to new teachers by schools is typically very different. Instead of training on the basics, new teachers are frequently trained on whatever new method, curriculum, or technology the school system has most recently adopted. Alongside veteran teachers, new teachers receive training on the new way to teach math, or how to use the new online portal.  Professional development on new initiatives only is not sufficient for new teachers. They need training on the basics.

School systems invest everyone’s training time (and plenty of money, too) into systems and curriculums each year, but these are never the “silver bullet” for improving student learning that schools hope they’ll be. Well prepared and appropriately trained teachers are the real way to improve student learning. Research also tells us that the best-trained teachers are the ones who stay!

Instead of constantly innovating, we need to build teacher capacity.

“Fads and innovations do not teach students; teachers teach students.”

Some school systems already know this. In fact, many of the highest-performing countries around the world focus on building teacher capacity. Their efforts begin pre-service, and they continue until retirement. For teachers who are just starting out, schools in high-performing countries offer professional development that is sustained, well-organized, and includes many components.

In Shanghai, China, time is blocked off in a new teacher’s schedule for high-quality professional development with aims like…

• Diagnosing Learning
• Developing Effective Lessons
• Reflecting on Practice
• Conducting In-Class Research

Teachers volunteer to change schools in order to spread effective practices. Moves to challenging schools are incentivized with raises and promotions.

In Singapore, a teacher-run organization provides new teachers with training in effective teaching and learning. The four core components of The Singapore Teaching Practice Model, defined by teachers, are…

• Positive Classroom Culture
• Lesson Preparation
• Lesson Enactment
• Assessment and Feedback

Singapore’s teachers undertake 100 hours of professional development per year to build their capacity in all four areas.

In Ontario, Canada, newly elected officials improved student achievement quickly by focusing on teacher capacity-building instead of innovation. In four years, Ontario high schools increased their graduation rate from 68% to 80%. Growth continued due to the new emphasis on teacher capacity. Now, Ontario schools rank in the top ten internationally in math, science, and reading.

While building the capacity of new teachers is not the main focus of professional development across the United States, there are some U.S. districts that do it very successfully. Both Clark County, Nevada and the Flowing Wells district in Arizona have outstanding programs for the capacity-building of new teachers.

Clark County, Nevada offers professional learning designed to support new teachers through their first two years and retain them for their whole career. The program emphasizes… • Classroom management                         • Instructional engagement                       • Creating a positive classroom climate With this professional development program, Clark County has significantly reduced their attrition rate for new teachers, saving the district $1,320,000.

In Arizona, the Flowing Wells Unified School District program of professional development for new teachers covers… • Effective instructional practices   • Classroom management procedures & routines       • Unique aspects of the community Since the program began in the 1980s, the district has become known for transforming novice teachers into experts. Flowing Wells district is now home to more teacher-of-the-year nominees and winners than any other district in the state.

3. A Comprehensive, Multi-Year Induction Program

If you started out as a teacher (as most school leaders did), what do you recall from your early days on the job? Standing alone in an empty classroom wondering where to start? Guessing your way through the first few weeks (and months), hoping no one would notice how behind you were or how much you had yet to learn? For most new teachers, uncertainty is the norm.

We know we’re not setting new teachers up for success, but what else can we do? One rural school district in Missouri seems to have cracked the code: offer an induction program that is comprehensive, coherent, and continuous (lasting for multiple years).

In 2008, the rural district of Moberly, Missouri launched S.H.I.N.E. (Supporting, Helping, and Inspiring New Educators). Frustrated by the pattern in which schools seemed to be starting from scratch each year due to high teacher turnover, the then assistant superintendent Gena McCluskey tapped middle school teacher Tara Link to start the program.

Instead of the “one and done” induction-in-a-day model seen in most U.S. school districts, the S.H.I.N.E. program’s version of new-teacher induction is comprehensive, coherent, and continuous.

Before the start of the school year, S.H.I.N.E. offers:

• resources for finding housing
• opportunities to get to know the community
• an invitation to visit their school
• support from a retired teacher
• books on instruction & classroom management
• a visit to a model classroom
• guidance on organizing a classroom
• help making a classroom management plan
• technology training

…and more

During a teacher’s first year, the S.H.I.N.E. program offers them professional development sessions specifically for new teachers (not PD aimed at all teachers on new programs or innovations). These cover…

• lesson planning
• instruction
• student learning
• classroom management
• technology

New teachers are also assigned a coach in their same content area and grade level, as well as a cohort for weekly collaboration sessions. The S.H.I.N.E. director visits them weekly to check in and discuss how things are going. New teachers watch a video of themselves teaching, and they are guaranteed time to observe other teachers in action, all within their first year.

In the second year, new teachers continue to meet with their cohorts and their coaches, and they continue professional development that is uniquely designed for new teachers. They observe in other classrooms and reflect on videos of themselves teaching.

Not many U.S. districts provide new teachers with this level of continuous, comprehensive support, and the numbers speak for themselves. Moberly’s retention rate for beginning teachers is over 83%, far outpacing their state’s average.

Wait, what about mentors?

Many U.S. districts do provide new teachers with teacher mentors — a more experienced teacher they can call or meet with periodically to help them through that tough first year. That’s kind of like an induction program, right?

Wrong. Research has found no correlation between mentoring and the retention of new teachers. Typically, mentors see their roles as helping new teachers survive (not thrive). Mentoring is not induction. It is inconsistent and it is not comprehensive.

Getting Started

Maybe by this point you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. On the one hand, you have hope that new teachers can have better experiences than what we’ve come to accept. On the other hand, it’s too bad you don’t work in a district that already has that figured out. With all that’s on your plate, you may not see yourself launching a districtwide, comprehensive, multi-year induction program anytime soon.

If that describes you, here are 3 concrete steps you can take within your current leadership role in the district where you are today.

1. Conduct Stay Interviews

You probably know what an exit interview is, but have you heard of a stay interview? Sometime in the early fall, meet with a newer teacher whom you don’t want to lose and ask them how things are going. More specifically, ask…

• How are you doing?
• What do you wish you could do more or less of?
• What are your goals?
• How do you feel about the impact of your work?
• What can I do this year to help you thrive?
• What can I do next year to keep you excited?

Don’t use this time to evaluate the teacher or discuss their performance. Instead, listen to find about what they need. Remember, however, that teachers will only be truly honest when they feel psychologically safe and don’t fear retaliation. You can help them feel safe by being clear about the meeting’s purpose, giving them time to prepare, and speaking with them in a comfortable setting. Several Arizona districts that have implemented stay interviews enjoy new teacher retention rates of 90% or more!

2. Teach New Teachers

Before the school year starts, train new teachers on these three basics:

1. Procedure-based classroom management
2. Planning and delivering instruction
3. Creating a positive classroom culture

Training could come from you, from other leaders or coaches, from more experienced colleagues, or even from books or other resources (See THE MAIN IDEA’s summary of THE First Days of School, for example). Make sure it is structured to provide new teachers with what you want them to know. That will do so much more than simply saying, “Let me know if you need anything!”

3. Get Teachers Working Together

Give your teachers time and encouragement to collaborate. Get them together for the purpose of learning from one another, helping each other troubleshoot, asking their questions, and sharing their successes. Teacher collaboration does wonders for both teacher retention, teacher development, and student achievement.

THE MAIN IDEA’s PD suggestions that go along with this book are not included in this html link. To see those ideas, go to www.TheMainIdea.net and download the full book summary.