The purpose of this quantitative investigative examination was to look at how the four-day school week impacts teacher retention, specifically in Idaho rural school districts. The research question studied was what is the relationship between the four-day school week and teacher retention in rural school districts? Within the quantitative research…

Teacher attrition has been a leading issue within the United States for several decades, especially among novice Title I teachers (Farmer, 2020; Madigan & Kim, 2021). Projections of novice teacher attrition rates show that schools will continue to see a significant increase in rates after the 2021 to 2022 school year due to changes in…

The rural setting is one that must be better understood because of the broader discussions of changing demographics, growing diversity, the need for economic development, and community engagement. Additional research is needed to understand the interconnection of rural spaces and teacher retention. The purpose of this study was to understand the…

When engaging in the process of opening a new school, leaders have endless planning and details to consider. One of the most important considerations lies in assembling a strong team of professionals and working to develop positive school culture. School leadership has a critical impact on the development of culture, and studies have shown that…

Teacher turnover is an issue not only in the state of Idaho but across the nation. This study examined the attrition outcomes of 6,572 beginning teachers in Idaho that were trained in one of four types of teacher preparation programs and started teaching between the 2014-15 and 2019- 20 school years. Teachers in the ABCTE preparation program were…

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…

A four-day school week (4dsw) is becoming more common, especially in areas across the western United States. States with large rural areas are spearheading this change. For example, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have more than 500 districts using a 4dsw. The transition to the 4dsw and the debate over…

The four-day school week (4dsw) is growing in popularity, especially in rural areas across the western United States. RAND Corporation researchers addressed knowledge gaps about the 4dsw by conducting a large-scale study of the implementation and outcomes of the 4dsw that involved the collection of original data in numerous districts across Idaho,…

This brief is the first in a series of reports examining the teacher shortage dilemma. It considers what the research says about teacher shortages and highlights recent state task force findings. Designed to guide state leaders in policy decisions, the briefs that follow examine five strategies states are using to address shortages: (1)…

Business leaders in Idaho 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. Idaho students have made some progress in math over…

Each year, governors take the stage to highlight accomplishments and outline policy priorities for their states. In an effort to provide up-to-date information on education policy trends, Education Commission of the States tracks all education policy proposals and accomplishments featured by governors in these State of the State addresses. At the…

Many school districts in the United States are facing severe teacher shortages (Bordonaro, 2017; Palmer, 2017; Seattle Pacific University, 2017; Whaley, 2017). In several states--including Idaho--the difficulty of hiring qualified candidates has expanded beyond historical high-need content areas such as special education and mathematics to include…