The U.S. Department of Education's "1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey" indicated that teacher shortages are 50 percent higher in urban schools than in suburban schools. Almost a third of the teachers leave the profession during the first three years and nearly half leave after five years. In schools serving low-income communities,…

Although states have maintained a focus on recruiting and retaining teachers, many schools and districts still face daunting challenges in ensuring a qualified and competent teaching corps. It is particularly difficult for schools considered hard to staff-those with high concentrations of low-performing, low-income students; high teacher turnover;…

Magnet schools gained prominence in education in the 1970s as a tool for achieving voluntary desegregation in lieu of forced busing. The theory behind magnet schools as a desegregation tool is simple: Create a school so distinctive and appealing--so magnetic--that it will draw a diverse range of families from throughout the community eager to…

"Service Plus" was designed as a pilot program to employ teachers in Bedford County, Tennessee over the summer to supplement their income and to develop services the community needed. Operating every summer since 1984, the program has provided employment to teachers in positions in the local human services, parks and recreation, juvenile…

Due to increasingly sophisticated military equipment, the Reserve Components of the armed forces need to raise the educational standards for recruits. A number of U.S. educational institutions have responded to their needs for continuing higher education in the areas of job skill enhancement (such as computer operation), regular courses directly…

The school systems of Tennessee are continuing to make efforts to recruit and retain African-American and other minority teachers. As school systems in the state become more and more diverse, these efforts must increase. The number of classroom teachers with 30+ years of experience further emphasizes the accelerated need to establish and implement…

The school systems of Tennessee are continuing to make efforts to recruit and retain African-American and other minority teachers. As school systems in the state become more and more diverse, these efforts must increase. The number of classroom teachers with 30+ years of experience further emphasizes the accelerated need to establish and implement…

In 1987, the State Board of Education cited a shortage of minority teachers in Tennessee. In 1988, The Tennessee Task Force on the Supply of Minority Teachers issued recommendations to increase the number of minority teachers. In 1989, House Joint Resolution 36 also requested an annual report on the status of minority teachers be submitted to the…

The Tennessee education system has slowly introduced school-based management (SBM) or site based decision making (SBDM). This paper presents findings of a study that investigated Tennessee educators' perceptions of responsibility for teacher hiring. Data were obtained from a survey of 197 teachers, 22 principals, 13 district administrators, and 22…

This publication is the second step in the on-going, continual monitoring and evaluation survey study of Tennessee's Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs; the first was the publication of "Data Tables for the 1969 Evaluation Survey of Tennessee Adult Basic Education programs." The document is divided into six chapters. The first presents…

A number of Appalachian initiatives aim to recruit rural doctors. West Virginia's three medical schools require all students to spend time working in rural clinics, where they develop an understanding of and connections to rural communities. In two rural Tennessee counties, East Tennessee State University maintains teaching medical practices…

This Tennessee edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…

At a 1990 symposium on principals, speakers from Tennessee and other states shared their perspectives on school leadership. The symposium proceedings contains the following presentations: (1) "Under Fire: The School, the Principal and the Preparation Program" (Barbara Nye and Mary Jane Connelly); (2) "The Roles of Principals:…

This collection of articles gathers reprinted materials on teacher attraction and retention for small and rural school districts. The material is organized in two sections: (1) Attracting and Retaining Quality Teachers and (2) Challenging and Enriching Current Staff. Reprints from a number of publications present strategies for addressing the…

To lure highly qualified teachers to low-performing schools, the Mobile County, Alabama, school board did what a small but growing number of districts are considering: pay teachers more money for working in what are considered less attractive jobs. As school districts are more pressured to raise achievement among all student groups, more are…