This article describes how, in the face of staff shortages and teacher turnover, Worcester (Massachusetts) Public Schools is supporting multiple avenues to recruit and retain quality educators in the district. High-quality professional learning is one of those avenues for ensuring a strong and stable workforce. The district's Office of Curriculum…

The United States has been cultivating STEM talent for decades with great success, but that robust talent pipeline is threatened by a growing STEM teacher shortage. Left unaddressed, that shortage could curtail employment in STEM professions and the many related careers that increasingly require some degree of scientific and technological…

The unprecedented challenges of teaching during COVID-19 prompted fears of a mass exodus from the profession. We examine the extent to which these fears were realized using administrative records of Massachusetts teachers between 2015-2016 and 2021-2022. Relative to prepandemic levels, average turnover rates were similar going into the fall of…

Most states responded to the onset of the pandemic by temporarily granting teachers Emergency licenses. These licenses allowed teachers to work in classrooms without passing the typical licensure exams. Since then, several states have extended their use of Emergency licenses, raising questions about how these policies impact the composition of the…

We study personnel flexibility in charter schools by exploring how teacher retention varies with teacher and school quality in Massachusetts. Charters are more likely to lose their highest and lowest value-added teachers. Low performers tend to exit public education, while high performers tend to switch to traditional public schools. To…

Teacher shortages continue to be a challenge for state policymakers, and while national media coverage paints a picture of widespread shortages, a closer examination reveals that shortages tend to be concentrated in specific subjects and schools. The primary policy response to shortages is often to recruit more teachers, but research demonstrates…

This study explored why some special education teachers (SET) have chosen to remain in the profession despite the rapid implementation of change that they do not control or value. SETs have left the profession at alarming rates in the last decade and continue to do so, creating a knowledge and skills gap of experienced teachers to work with our…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted teacher candidates' capacity to complete licensure requirements. In response, many states temporarily reduced professional entry requirements to prevent a pandemic-induced teacher shortage. Using mixed methods, we examine the role of the emergency teaching license in Massachusetts, which provided an opportunity for…

A formal induction and mentoring program is critical for supporting and developing novice teachers as they enter the K-12 classroom because it has been found to improve teacher retention rates, teaching practice, and student outcomes. Districts across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offer induction and mentoring programming to their novice…

Teacher shortages in some regions, schools and content areas have caused states to consider fast-tracking teachers into the classroom through avenues that include little or no clinical preparation. Teachers who enter the profession through these pathways are less likely to be prepared, less effective and less likely to remain in the profession…

Teachers face many challenges in the first years of their careers. Without support and guidance from experienced, highly qualified teacher mentors, the demands of the classroom can overwhelm novice teachers. It comes as no surprise that one-third of teachers leave the profession within their first five years. This policy update draws on research,…

Beginning teachers of color leave the country's schools at higher rates than their White colleagues. National attention has turned to the development of induction, or beginning teacher support, programs to help stem beginning teacher attrition rates. Despite having developed a comprehensive induction policy to support beginning teachers,…

The purpose of this Action Research study was to investigate and improve teacher retention at Southside Public Schools, an urban public school district in Massachusetts. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of an interview with the school district's superintendent, a focus group that included Southside's director of human…

Teacher attrition is problematic in schools serving marginalized populations. Teacher attrition rates are 50% higher in Title I schools than in non-Title I schools (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Furthermore, attrition among teachers whose main teaching assignments are in mathematics and science is 70% higher in Title I schools as…

For any labor market to function properly, clear information is needed to guide decision making; its absence invariably leads to less than optimal decisions and inefficiencies. While the broader labor market is riddled with imperfect information, the teacher labor market is particularly vulnerable--largely for the lack of the most basic…