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The good news? North Carolina teachers are more likely to stay in their jobs than other similarly compensated North Carolina state employees. The bad news? Attrition is increasing after a brief lull during the pandemic, according to a Department of Public Instruction (DPI) report released last year.
Every classroom without a qualified teacher harms students. It is critical that school leaders are prepared to develop, implement, and act on school and district teacher recruitment and retention (TRR) plans. We recently shared our research on teacher attrition in rural North Carolina at the American Educational Research Association conference and are eager to ensure school leaders can put our insights to action.
Opportunities for informed local leadership
No schools we studied had a teacher recruitment or retention plan. A high school principal told us, “I don’t have a plan written on paper as far as how to retain teachers…”
Yet many school leaders desired a school culture that values teachers. As one principal told us, “You know I want my teachers to say, ‘I never want to work anywhere else…’ Part of that is having a culture where they feel respected.”
One of us presented at the N.C. School Board Association leadership conference in June 2023 to hundreds of board members. Attendees were asked to raise their hands if they knew the answers to these questions:
- What percent of teachers leave in your district each year?
- How do your districts’ retention rates compare with similar districts?
- What is your teacher retention plan?
- Why do teachers leave?
Less than five people knew the answers.
Data-informed decision-making is good decision-making. We call on school leaders to use these publicly available data sources to develop or update their teacher workforce plans. Below are three of these resources to develop actionable insights to improve teacher retention.
- State of the Teaching Profession Reports. Annual reports from DPI provide data sources to gather teacher attrition and recoupment rates by LEA. The link in Appendix B of each annual report allows you to access the data dashboard with numbers and rates of state teacher attrition (exited the state), teacher mobility (transferred within the state), and LEA teacher attrition (total departed with both numbers combined). Use these benchmarks to compare over time or to other LEAs.
- North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey. The anonymous survey is conducted every two years. Data can be sorted and examined by state, by LEA, or even by individual schools going back to 2020. Begin by selecting “Individual Item Analysis” for your context and look at the survey results on a few questions that are related to teacher retention. These include questions like, “Overall, my school is a good place to work and learn” in the Retention section, and questions about support from school leadership and the broader community. Because each school context is different, other survey items like facilities or support for professional learning might also provide insights about teacher retention. (Editor’s note: The survey has been recently revamped and year-to-year results might not be comparable. The latest results are here.)
- North Carolina School Report Cards. DPI website that provides school performance data and more going back to 2015. Sort by county, district, or school. Summary reports provide comparisons with the state of North Carolina overall across a variety of fields, and an overall performance grade. These data include measures of student performance, teacher qualifications, school environment, and finances that can be useful starting points for analyzing change over time and shaping future plans.
School and district leaders play a critical role in addressing teacher recruitment and retention. However, to lead effectively, you must be equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary for data-informed decision-making. One of the most impactful ways to ensure this preparation is by selecting high-quality educator preparation programs (EPPs) that explicitly train future educators and school leaders in evidence-based workforce planning.
Tips for taking action
Principals should develop a data dashboard to track their schools’ data. Tracking can reveal trends over time, rather than having one-off explanations for why a teacher left. This approach prepares principals to develop data skills for greater leadership roles, like the superintendent.
Superintendents should have a data dashboard for the schools in the district. Ideally, the principals’ data would feed into a master report for the district, that could be shared with the school board and other stakeholders.
School boards should ask for a written TRR plan and should understand their role in that plan. For example, school boards can create financial recruiting or retention incentives. Being able to track what incentives work best creates value for the district and community.
Superintendents and principals evaluating EPP partnerships should look for programs that:
- Embed workforce data analysis in coursework that prepares candidates to interpret teacher workforce trends and apply data-driven strategies to improve retention.
- Integrate decision-making frameworks that develop educators’ ability to assess, plan, and implement solutions for school and district challenges, including TRR.
- Provide practical leadership training that offers real-world application through internships, case studies, and partnerships with local districts better equip leaders to address workforce challenges.
- Emphasize retention-focused school culture that instills the importance of strong instructional leadership, mentorship, and teacher support systems as key drivers of retention.
The challenges of teacher recruitment and retention will not resolve themselves. School leaders need to take action. Further, by partnering with educator preparation programs that emphasize decision-making and data literacy, superintendents and principals can build a workforce that is not only highly qualified but also sustainable — ensuring that every classroom has the dedicated teacher it deserves.
