Teachers from other countries are being hired to fill vacancies in public schools. All states, in order to meet the demand, hire foreign teachers under various programs. The South Carolina Department of Education and a few private agencies sponsor teachers on a J-1 visa and place them in school districts that are willing to participate in the…

As schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, teachers were forced to provide virtual instruction as students remained home in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. As veteran teachers navigated through the abrupt changes, new teachers also worked to continue their growth and development while learning how to best serve…

This study investigated the effectiveness of alternative routes to teacher certification programs in three small rural school districts in South Carolina Public Schools. The need for teachers across the United States is anticipated to increase as a result of turnover. Specifically, this research analyzed the existing data in the three districts,…

An abundant and longstanding body of scholarship has underscored the White femininity of the U.S. K-12 teaching workforce and the need to diversify its ranks. Black males, in particular, potentially struggle with the notion of becoming teachers given their often highly negative lived experiences with schools and schooling including low…

Many school administrators face difficulties hiring teachers with the requisite job credentials and qualifications. In this paper, we argue for the potential of salary structures to influence teacher staffing. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to examine whether restructuring teacher compensation salary schedules is associated with…

Teacher attrition is endemic in education, creating teacher quantity and quality gaps across schools that are often stratified by region and racialized nuance (Cowan et al., 2016; Scafidi et al., 2017). This reality is starkly reflected in South Carolina. Not too long ago, on May 1, 2019, a sea of approximately 10,000 people, dressed in red,…

Rural school districts throughout the country face increasing challenges with recruiting and retaining beginning teachers due to job demands that include a lack of mentoring, lower salaries than their urban and suburban counterparts, geographic isolation, requirements to take on additional nonteaching duties, and teaching assignments that include…

This article investigates the critical influence principals have on mitigating or exacerbating teacher turnover. Both South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) data and National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) from Academic Years 2016 to 2020 were used to analyze the research question. A Restricted Maximum…

Administrative support has been frequently identified as the most important factor influencing teachers' employment decisions (Burkhauser, 2017; Ladd, 2011). While many rural schools operate in hard-to-staff contexts that suffer from severe teacher shortages, it is unknown if rural teachers require rural context specific administrative support.…

Attracting and retaining teachers in South Carolina's I-95 "Corridor of Shame" districts has become increasingly difficult with attrition rates growing statistically higher every year. Consistent teacher attrition impedes student achievement, disrupts the learning environment, and costs school districts more money. The research question…

Due to the steady growth of Montessori in the public sector over the past 20 years, the question of whether authentic Montessori can be implemented in public schools is often raised. To try to shed light on this question, in 2011, the authors began a research study of more than 315 South Carolina public school classrooms (with approximately 7,500…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact the job satisfaction and retention of teachers at a rural high school in South Carolina. An electronic survey was given to 22 teachers in order to collect information on job satisfaction and teacher retention. Several factors were identified that impact job satisfaction and teachers…

This Special Issues Brief from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) outlines the unique characteristics of high-need schools, supports state and district leaders as they consider their role in implementing initiatives with a focus on equity, and explores how programs can be customized to meet the unique circumstances of a…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between principal leadership styles, specifically change and influence styles, and teacher retention in the Low-Country region of South Carolina. Utilizing the Change Style Indicator and Influence Style Indicator, the researcher surveyed 25 principals from Berkeley, Charleston,…

Retaining effective teachers is a challenge in every classroom, but nowhere more than in special education classrooms. The purpose of the study was to conduct a program evaluation using archival data that were collected as a part of the Special Education Advanced Mentor Training (SEAMT) in South Carolina. Drawing on Erikson's Intimacy vs.…