Why Are Teachers Leaving, and Who’s Paying Attention?

Teacher retention is at an all-time low, and it feels as though no one is paying attention—or worse, no one cares.

Our schools resemble leaky buckets, constantly losing valuable educators with little effort to retain them. Principals, who play a crucial role in fostering positive school environments, are often not evaluated effectively. In many states, neither teacher retention nor turnover rates are considered in school administrator evaluations. It’s as if we’re ignoring the problem entirely, hoping it will resolve itself. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

In most professions, HR departments routinely assess and refine their retention strategies. Unfortunately, when it comes to our teachers, we seem to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of losing staff and desperately attempting to hire replacements—without ever taking the time to understand and address the reasons they’re leaving in the first place.

It’s clear that we need a new approach, and we need it quickly.

Consider the healthcare industry. Despite facing many of the same staffing challenges, healthcare providers are focusing on understanding and improving employee retention. In stark contrast, the education sector is often preoccupied with recruitment efforts, and, disturbingly, many states aren’t even collecting teacher retention data.

We need comprehensive state programs that evaluate and support school leadership, similar to the systems in place for hospitals. For example, a simple Google search reveals a National Health Care Retention Report (listed below) that outlines the costs, details, and the urgent need to build retention capacity and understand turnover trends.

Meanwhile, 22 states have not collected any teacher retention data at all in the last five years. And yet, so-called "innovative" programs and solutions are being implemented by every state in an attempt to address the teacher shortage by making the teaching profession more accessible and appealing.

But how can we solve a problem if we don’t even know its full extent? 

It’s time we stop treating our teachers as expendable. We must truly understand why they’re leaving their schools and involve them in the problem-solving processes to address these issues. 

After all, the future of our children and nation depends on it. 

Best wishes always 💕

References:

• DailyPay. (2023). Employee Turnover Rates in the Healthcare Industry. Retrieved from https://www.dailypay.com/resource-center/blog/employee-turnover-rates-in-the-healthcare-industry/
• Education Commission of the States. (2022). 50-State Comparison: Teacher Recruitment and Retention. Retrieved from https://reports.ecs.org/comparisons/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-2022-03
• Learning Forward. (2022). How Districts and States are Addressing Teacher Turnover. Retrieved from https://learningforward.org/journal/tackling-turnover/how-districts-and-states-are-addressing-teacher-turnover/
• Learning Policy Institute. (2023). Tracking State Teacher Workforce Across States. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/tracking-state-teacher-workforce-across-states#:~:text=Based%20on%20our%20analysis%2C%20Vermont,salaries%20and%20more%20supportive%20teaching
• NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. (2023). 2023 National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. Retrieved from https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf