Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and diverse teachers. What role do states play in supporting strategic use of salaries? This report examines the state teacher compensation policies that influence districts' potential strategic use of teacher pay. It analyzes…

Alarming percentages of early career special educators, as many as 50%, leave education within five years (Edgar & Pair, 2005; Menlove, Garnes, & Salzberg, 2004; Plash & Piotrowski, 2006). These statistics are cause for grave concern. The purpose of this survey research study was to discover early career special educators' perceptions…

In response to recent anecdotal reports that Maine is experiencing heightened staff shortages, this study was designed to understand the current and future issues facing recruitment, induction, and retention of teachers and administrators in Maine's public schools. This report includes analysis of current administrative data on teacher and…

Most children in the U.S. spend time in some form of early childhood education (ECE) program prior to entering kindergarten. In fact, children spend an average of 25 hours per week in nonparental care, including center-based care and informal family, friend and neighbor care. Children develop a foundation for learning during these early years, so…

This report examines the ongoing effort to revamp teacher evaluations. After collecting and synthesizing data from 17 states and the District of Columbia, it provides five major lessons for policymakers. New evaluation systems are just one part of sweeping changes in American schools. Because the number and extent of these changes are daunting,…

There have long been anecdotal reports that some Maine districts have difficulty filling vacancies and retaining teachers. This is a common lament for schools in rural areas, and for schools across the state in hiring teachers for certain subject areas-namely math, science, special education, and foreign languages. Current policy initiatives in…

Business leaders in Maine cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students' lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation's most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. Maine students have made progress in math over the…

Teacher attrition is a persistent dilemma, with much research conducted on why teachers leave the profession. Yet, limited research exists on why teachers stay, despite the profession's many stressors. This exploratory study examined teachers' perspectives on the role that hope plays as a sustaining influence. A purposive sample of 25 mid-career…

This study describes the characteristics and experiences of beginning public school teachers in the Northeast and Islands Region states and compares them with the characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers nationally using data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study uses data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing…

This summary describes a study that examines characteristics and experiences of beginning public school teachers in the Northeast and Islands Region states and compares them with the characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers nationally using data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study uses data from the 2007/08…

This report provides state-, regional-, and district-level decisionmakers in the Northeast and Islands Region with a description of the "Compendium of Strategies to Reduce Teacher Turnover in the Northeast and Islands Region," a searchable database of selected profiles of retention strategies implemented in Connecticut, Maine,…

Schools throughout New England face a common problem: a shortage of teachers who are fully qualified to teach science, mathematics, special education, bilingual education, foreign languages and English. Shortages are expected to spread soon to other teaching fields due to a second common problem: New England has the oldest teaching force of any…

This paper presents the Maine edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook". The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals examine…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…