By some accounts, about half the music educators in America leave the profession within five years. That means all those ex-music teachers have spent just about as much time training for their profession as they've spent actually practicing it. And for a growing number of their colleagues, this is a situation that must be addressed, as impossible…

The purpose of this chapter is to digest the core chapters of this volume, which draws together some of the most sophisticated thinking on new teacher induction from the last decade. This chapter attends to five key understandings about induction programs, including their context, design, implementation, and outcomes. These understandings emerge…

Studies have shown that teacher quality is the single greatest factor affecting student achievement. However, it is not simply enough to recruit highly qualified candidates and place them into the schools where they are needed the most; the United States needs a system to support and retain these teachers. This essay posits that school districts…

Having a well-qualified, effective teacher in every classroom is a cornerstone of current educational reforms. Clearly, retaining these effective teachers is critical to achieving this goal. This brief presents a strategic accountability approach to managing teacher talent retention and turnover. The brief begins with an overview of a strategic…

Since the 1999-2000 school year, TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement (TAP) has been implemented in hundreds of schools across the nation and demonstrated an ability to raise student achievement, improve the quality of instruction and increase the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. The…

Generation Y teachers--those under 30 years of age--have higher expectations for technology than their colleagues from earlier generations--for good reason. Improved instructional and networking technology is one important aspect of a modern high-performing workplace. This generational difference is important, since a majority of seasoned…

A century ago, the United States was a world leader in industrial benchmarking. However, after World War II, once no one could compete with the U.S., it became complacent. Many industrialized countries now have higher student achievement and more equitable and efficient education systems. A higher proportion of young people in their workforces…

Overall, 2011 retention rates for REACH teachers were not significantly higher than that of similar non-REACH peers in Austin Independent School District (AISD). However, data suggest that the intensive mentoring program is making a greater impact on novice teacher retention each year.

Too often, the school leaders who construct a school's master schedule and decide the teaching assignments for new teachers assign the newcomers the most difficult schedules. The difficulty might include multiple preparations for classes with the neediest and most-challenging students, and moves to three or four different classrooms throughout the…

Teacher educators have not been sitting quietly by the side as others have demanded changes in teacher preparation programs. Across the nation, scores of efforts are underway to recruit, train, induct, and retain a highly skilled class of professionals for American schools. The stories presented in this article cover just a fraction of the…

In this webinar, Ellen Moir, CEO and founder of the New Teacher Center, shared research that shows evidence of the effectiveness of the NTC induction model in raising student achievement and its potential for reducing teacher attrition (Moir, 2009). This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Ellen Moir following the webinar. The…

This research brief highlights findings from the full report (published separately), describing how many teachers transferred or changed jobs in AISD, remained at their schools, or left the school district after the 2013-2014 school year, along with characteristics of teachers in each group. A separate executive summary also was published. [For…

Each year, new professional educators enter their classrooms full of energy and ready to engage their students in the quest for knowledge and academic success. Yet they soon encounter challenges and obstacles that often discourage and end many promising teachers' careers. To illustrate some of the challenges facing early career teachers, a…

Special education teachers, especially those that teach students with behavioral/emotional challenges, have high attrition rates stemming from stress, job dissatisfaction, and low motivation. The external factors in the school setting and job contribute to special education teachers' attrition and disengagement. A relationship between motivation…

Great teachers, principals, and other school leaders (collectively, educators) matter enormously to the learning and the lives of children. The Title II, Part A program is designed to provide students from low-income families and minority students with greater access to effective educators. It is critical that State educational agencies (SEAs) and…