Addressing the Surge in Teacher Turnover Rates

The loss of a beloved teacher at a school can be a devastating blow. Teachers may leave for a variety of reasons, but with a shrinking number of qualified professionals available to replace them, schools are often left scrambling to fill the gaps.

While some teacher turnover is to be expected, high churn in education can create many negative effects for the school community. With this guide, parents and school administrators can appreciate the importance of teacher retention and take action to encourage it.

Reasons Teachers Leave Schools

Teacher turnover happens at varying stages in an educator’s tenure. Teachers with less experience are more likely to leave their schools, for reasons including:

• School-related issues, such as a lack of administrator support or excessive responsibilities
• Higher salary and benefits available at a different school
• More opportunities outside of teaching

Teachers at private schools tend to have different perspectives than public school teachers. Educators at public schools are more likely to move to a different school, but private school teachers are more likely to cite pay and benefits as a reason they left.

Impacts of Teacher Turnover on Schools

Regardless of the reasons that a teacher leaves a school, they still leave an empty place that schools have to find a way to fill. Impacts of a single teacher quitting include:

• Disrupted learning environments, as teachers often collaborate months ahead of the school year to plan lessons
• Lower academic performance for school students with less-experienced teachers
• Increased costs of hiring and retention for schools
• Higher risk of burnout among remaining educators, who have to pick up the slack
• Difficulty finding a qualified replacement, given lower numbers of teachers entering the workforce

Consistent turnover can lead to an overall “brain drain” for the school, where the education team lacks the experience and resources to improve student outcomes.

How to Improve Teacher Retention

Create a Supportive Workplace

With fewer people showing interest in teaching as a profession, those who do need all the support that they can get. School administrators, who used to count on robust support programs and funding to help new teachers get established, may forget that the current environment often does not provide it organically. Creating programs to foster collaboration and encourage mentorship can make the difference between a new teacher who stays and one who leaves at the end of their first year.

Provide Professional Growth

Teachers want to grow and expand in their roles, just as other professionals. Some teachers want to branch out or break into specialized fields like special education, and they need the support and opportunities to do so. Schools that prioritize teacher career development may be less likely to lose teachers to better opportunities.

Offer Competitive Pay

Since compensation is a big factor affecting teacher turnover, for public and private school teachers alike, competitive pay is a key goal. Administrators may not even know what fair rates look like, or how their peer schools compare in terms of salary and benefits in relation to workload. Teachers should not have to rely on a second income to make ends meet. Competitive pay can help to keep teachers from comparing opportunities at different schools or the private sector.

Focus on Wellness

Staff shortages and problematic working conditions can easily lead to burnout in any industry, but particularly for teachers. Teachers increasingly feel like they are in the middle of a battlefield, forced to accommodate the whims of parents, politicians, and a few poorly behaved students. Administrators can help to stem the tide by creating a buffer between teachers and complicated policy changes and providing opportunities to retain a reasonable work-life balance.

Teacher turnover is a growing problem, but not every school has to let it happen. By focusing on what schools can do to help teachers, such as providing support, career development, and reasonable working conditions, school administrators can increase the likelihood that teachers will choose to stay.