Some teacher turnover each year is necessary. It helps facilitate a good fit for school, teacher, and curriculum needs in addition to weeding out some of the lower-performing teachers. But recent studies have found that many teachers - up to 75% in urban districts - stay with a school for under five years. These large and frequent turnovers create a negative learning culture, since school stability is harmed.
That the turnover problem disproportionally affects low-income, predominately African-American schools is of direct concern to our learning community and its students. Turnover makes it difficult for students to connect with their teachers because they are uncertain if the teacher will be there the next year. The "if they don't care, then I don't care" attitude is catching and contagious, but curable.
The turnover doesn’t only affect student’s emotional needs, school climate, or staffing deficiencies. The estimated cost of one teacher leaving an urban school is $15,325, after factors like recruitment, administrative processing, induction, and personal development are aggregated. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article derived this number from a study conducted by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). The study is based off a recent study of five public school districts, including Chicago’s and Milwaukee’s.
Especially in a privately-funded school, every parent’s voice and involvement can help keep these important dollars within the school - not walking out the door every five years or less.
Quick, effective change often starts from the bottom and rises to the top, and one way of increasing teacher retention is to increase parent involvement at school and at home. Once factor cited in improving teacher retention is positive behavior of students in the classroom.
If parents instill a strong sense of discipline at home, teachers can spend more time teaching material than teaching behaviors in the classroom. Teachers then feel that they have more professionally rewarding careers since they are achieving what they went to school for four years to do- teach their content.
Negative parent-teacher relationships- another curable measure- are another reason teachers say they stay with a school for less than five years. Ways to improve this are for teachers to have open, clear lines of communication about family goals and for parents to be appreciative or open to contributing in the classroom.
Although, lack of parent involvement isn’t the only reason for turnover; positive school climate and the amount of influence teachers have in affecting school decisions also improve teacher retention.
That the turnover problem disproportionally affects low-income, predominately African-American schools is of direct concern to our learning community and its students. Turnover makes it difficult for students to connect with their teachers because they are uncertain if the teacher will be there the next year. The "if they don't care, then I don't care" attitude is catching and contagious, but curable.
The turnover doesn’t only affect student’s emotional needs, school climate, or staffing deficiencies. The estimated cost of one teacher leaving an urban school is $15,325, after factors like recruitment, administrative processing, induction, and personal development are aggregated. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article derived this number from a study conducted by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). The study is based off a recent study of five public school districts, including Chicago’s and Milwaukee’s.
Especially in a privately-funded school, every parent’s voice and involvement can help keep these important dollars within the school - not walking out the door every five years or less.
Quick, effective change often starts from the bottom and rises to the top, and one way of increasing teacher retention is to increase parent involvement at school and at home. Once factor cited in improving teacher retention is positive behavior of students in the classroom.
If parents instill a strong sense of discipline at home, teachers can spend more time teaching material than teaching behaviors in the classroom. Teachers then feel that they have more professionally rewarding careers since they are achieving what they went to school for four years to do- teach their content.
Negative parent-teacher relationships- another curable measure- are another reason teachers say they stay with a school for less than five years. Ways to improve this are for teachers to have open, clear lines of communication about family goals and for parents to be appreciative or open to contributing in the classroom.
Although, lack of parent involvement isn’t the only reason for turnover; positive school climate and the amount of influence teachers have in affecting school decisions also improve teacher retention.
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