Schools across America are filled with educators who are skilled in their craft but stressed with their work, which is leading to alarming rates of burnout, turnover, and attrition. Much of the existing professional literature addressing public education largely identifies financial limitations as the driving force behind these challenges, but…

A nationwide teacher shortage has been a problem in our country for many years. Teacher vacancies continue to be plentiful, but enrollment in teacher preparatory programs continues to decline. This study aimed to investigate low teacher retention in rural Alabama schools. Through the lens of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, this study examined…

Teachers in predominately Black schools had limited access to mental health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how the response to COVID-19 affected the mental health and well-being (MHWB) of teachers at predominately Black schools during the pandemic to gain an in-depth…

Relative to the theme of this journal edition, "Leadership in a Time of Change," one of the most challenging changes in school leadership recently has been finding qualified teachers to teach in P-12 classrooms. Teacher turnover in P-12 schools has increased significantly (Simon & Johnson, 2015), contributing to the teacher shortage…

The severe teacher shortage in Alabama's rural districts negatively impacts student outcome and educational quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges and coping strategies related to recruiting and retaining teachers in rural Alabama schools. The study's theoretical frameworks are Ryan and Deci's intrinsic motivation and…

When the pandemic took hold, the superintendent of Selma City Schools realized the strategic plan her district had in place wasn't enough. She shares the collective steps her team took to embrace change and rethink what school could look like from the ground up.