Tanner: Is Listening the Antidote to Teacher Turnover? Research Shows It Could Be
As the school year progresses, many district administrators are in a frantic race to fill teaching positions. As someone who has served as a superintendent, I vividly remember the excitement of our human resources director when we announced that all the positions had been filled. However, over time, I became disheartened as the list of "hard to fill" positions steadily grew, encompassing not only science, math, and special education, but almost every teaching category. When I learned that elementary teachers were now considered to be in critical shortage, I knew that the landscape of recruitment and retention in education had changed.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the proportion of schools struggling to fill vacancies tripled from the 2011-12 to the 2015-16 school years. During the same period, the percentage of schools finding it very difficult to fill positions doubled. While some teachers retire, get promoted, or leave for personal reasons, unfortunately, dissatisfaction with teaching itself is also a significant factor contributing to departures. As an administrator, I initially believed that I could address the problem of teacher retention from a top-down approach. However, it turns out that there are various complex factors contributing to this issue, making it challenging for district leaders to effectively tackle it solely through initiatives such as salary raises, benefits, professional development, and mentoring.
The main challenge in understanding and addressing these issues lies in the fact that district leaders have limited access to authentic and unfiltered perspectives that determine whether a teacher decides to stay or leave. This is because we lack a scalable method to provide all teachers with opportunities to voice their opinions. Traditional employee engagement or retention surveys are not designed with educators in mind, often asking generic questions such as whether they have colleagues they consider friends or if their opinions are taken seriously. These types of questions leave administrators struggling to make sense of the responses and develop context-specific solutions.
In our district, we recognized the need for a better approach. We were determined to find a survey that was grounded in research on teacher retention. Instead of relying on assumptions and general perceptions, we needed a tool that would give district and school leaders a solid foundation and clear guidance in addressing staff attrition. It was crucial to not only collect data but also implement a process to share the results. Additionally, we aimed to differentiate among educators to better understand their challenges and respond to them more specifically. For example, when we discovered that science teachers, more so than any other group, felt that the professional development they received did not support their growth, we met with them to gather their input and involve them in planning the content and methods of professional development.
I witnessed a similar impact while working with a principal near Columbia, South Carolina. The principal was surprised to find that her attempts to show appreciation to her teachers were not received as well as she had imagined. This realization prompted her to seek a better understanding of how teachers prefer to be recognized and appreciated. She was willing to listen and implement new approaches, which, in turn, led to several initiatives driven by teacher input and resulted in a 100 percent staff retention rate that year.
An increasing number of districts are adopting a similar process, recognizing that gathering specific feedback from teachers on key factors influencing retention can lead to the development of well-defined action plans. In my work with districts, I have witnessed leaders utilizing Upbeat, a technology-based survey focused solely on teacher engagement. This tool allows for comparisons of findings across schools and districts, providing real-time results that can lead to immediate action.
School leaders, from suburban districts to major cities, are now realizing their potential to receive and act on timely insights from teachers that were not previously accessible. A good example is Newton County, Georgia, where leaders responded to the frustration expressed by hard-to-replace science teachers regarding resource allocation. They increased school-level budgets to ensure that the supplies needed for class experiments were provided. In another instance, a principal addressed teachers’ desire for more involvement in the hiring process by inviting them to identify core traits they look for in a colleague and participate in job interviews. At the Bucktown campus of the Chicago International Charter School within the Distinctive Schools network, leaders responded to teachers’ interest in parental partnership by bringing educators and families together to redefine the scope of parent engagement. They introduced newly designed events that increased opportunities for involvement. These actions, driven by timely and school-level data, empowered leaders and resulted in an 11 percent increase in teacher retention.
By observing the successes of these districts, it becomes evident that listening to teachers and promoting retention go hand in hand. Teachers are naturally more inclined to share their perspectives when they know that their feedback leads to meaningful change. As teachers witness the impact of their input on school policies and practices, it fosters a culture of continuous learning, growth, and sustainability.
Dr. Brenda Tanner, an ex-superintendent, currently holds the position of head of leadership at Upbeat. Her role involves collaborating with K-12 districts to implement a well-researched predictive analytics survey aimed at assessing employee engagement and minimizing staff turnover. She brings extensive experience to the table, having served as both a chief academic officer and chief personnel officer in South Carolina. Furthermore, she has contributed her valuable insights as a board member of the Northwest Evaluation Association and as a faculty member at the esteemed Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Additionally, Dr. Tanner actively participates as a board member of The Futures Institute, further emphasizing her dedication to educational leadership and advancement.