The teacher shortage will be a major hurdle for school leaders over the next several years with declining enrollments in teacher preparatory programs and many teachers changing professions in their first five years. The "2021 Illinois Educator Shortage Survey," authored by Shereen Oca Beilstein and Tom Withee, and sponsored by several…

Finding and retaining qualified teachers has been challenge for public schools in the United State over the past few decades. Teacher retention is one of the major factors impacting the number of qualified teachers available to our school system. This qualitative study was to help provide a better understanding of the teachers and administrators'…

The purpose of this study was to understand the deciding factors of teachers who have accepted a teaching position, or continue to remain in a teaching position, in rural K-12 public schools in central Illinois. Staffing a school of fully qualified teachers remains one of the most important and difficult challenges to school districts throughout…

Teachers contribute more to reading and math outcomes than any other factor of schooling. However, teacher shortages are pervasive. How can schools and districts recruit high-quality educators, hold onto to the ones they already have, and reflect the diversity of their students? This infographic highlights innovative models beyond the traditional…

While the majority of U.S students are children of color, only 20% of teachers are people of color. What's more, 40% of the nation's public schools do not have a single teacher of color on record. Research shows that all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit socially, emotionally, and academically from a diverse teacher workforce.…

Many school districts in the United States are facing growing concerns regarding the shortage of qualified candidates for teaching positions. This problem has existed for some time, and its deleterious effects are exacerbated in school districts that have significant teacher turnover. School districts with higher teacher retention can mitigate…

Nearly half of the new teachers entering education leave the profession within their first five years, creating what many describe as a revolving door of educators (Ingersoll, 2003; Ingersoll et al., 2018). This qualitative research study used Delphi methodology to facilitate an anonymous panel of Illinois educators tasked with gaining consensus…

This article examines the paradox of Teach For America's diversity gains and its support for policies that contribute to Black teacher decline in urban communities. TFA has countered claims that its expansion is connected to teacher displacement, but its two-pronged structure--as an alternative certification program and an influential policy actor…

The study examined whether the Chicago Public Schools' Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), which provides mentoring, leadership opportunities, and financial incentives to teachers, improved student academic achievement and teacher retention. The study examined the academic achievement of more than 7,600 students in grades 4-8 from 34 schools in the…

The goal of this dissertation is twofold: 1) To develop a framework and method for simultaneously examining many different school organizations and their relation to patterns of school change and 2) To utilize that framework to obtain a district-wide understanding of the organizational functioning and change patterns of Chicago Public School (CPS)…

The study examined whether the Chicago Teacher Advancement Program, which provides financial incentives for teachers, leads to improved student achievement and teacher retention. The study analyzed data on more than 67,000 students in grades 4 through 8 and on more than 8,000 teachers in about 260 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools…

In 2007, using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began piloting its version of a schoolwide reform model called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and take on increased responsibilities through promotion (to mentor…

In 2007, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began implementing a schoolwide reform called the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) using funds from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and private foundations. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to mentor or master teacher as well as annual…

The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) was developed in the late 1990s by the Milken Family Foundation as a schoolwide policy to improve schools by raising teacher quality. Under the TAP model, teachers can earn extra pay and responsibilities through promotion to Mentor or Master Teacher and can earn annual performance bonuses based on a…

In this paper, we report the results of a pilot study of the cost of teacher turnover in five school districts. We examine the rate of turnover, the relationship between turnover and teacher and school characteristics, and the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training replacement teachers. We find evidence that turnover costs,…