Teachers are the most important school-related factor impacting students' academic outcomes. To meet the needs and potential of all students, North Carolina must be able to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. North Carolina continues to experience challenges with vacancies and positions filled with teachers who are not fully certified in…

Traditional teacher education and alternative teacher preparation programs struggle to recruit and retain prospective and early-career educators of color. To address this challenge, Jalene Tamerat and Clifford Lee recount their experiences as teachers and teacher educators-of color. They propose a reframing of pedagogies, curricula, and…

The early childhood workforce encompasses a range of professionals across health care, early childhood education, mental health, child welfare, and early intervention. Despite the differences in daily responsibilities, these professionals experience similar systems-level challenges which impede their ability to professionally flourish and risk…

Background: Because traumatic life experiences are common, teaching and learning can be difficult without recognizing how trauma can make people feel psychologically unsafe. Safety can be restored through healthy relationships. Contributions to Theory: We present a framework for how relational health--the capacity to develop and maintain safe,…

This is the third publication in a series of research reports from the UCL Centre for Educational Leadership-led study, The Impact of the ECF Programme on the Work Engagement, Well-Being and Retention of Teachers: A Longitudinal Study, 2021--2026. This paper describes the conditions in schools which advance the development and retention of teacher…

Feedback is an essential ingredient for professional growth, but teachers receive limited feedback that is actually useful. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley and Tray Geiger discuss the flaws in two common forms of teacher feedback, value-added measures and classroom observations, often used as part of a summative evaluation. They suggest that student…

Public schools are the cornerstone of this nation's communities, democracy, and economy. The challenges and deep inequities facing schools today are largely the result of decades of disinvestment, compounded by a global pandemic. All of this has led to a breaking point for the system of public education. In 2023, lawmakers and stakeholders are…

Program "profiles" are one-page summaries that highlight the components of each teacher retention strategy or program. Similar to a logic model, program profiles make it easy to understand what components define the program; the direct results of the program component(s); and what the program is collecting, documenting, or measuring to…

This is the Palauan translation of the publication, "Teacher Certification, Retention, and Recruitment in Palau: Understanding Graduation Patterns of Teacher Education Students at Palau Community College. Infographic. REL 2025-008." To strengthen teacher preparation in the Republic of Palau, Public Law 10-32 (enacted in 2018) requires…

This article aims to provide school leaders with preliminary information and initial insight into the challenges they face when they seek to hire, retain, and sustain a diverse workforce. This article brings together some essential facts about the lack of diversity in the school district workforce in New York and outlines an array of steps school…

When there's a revolving door of staff members in a school or district, leaders have three choices: leave, survive, or thrive. District administrator Elizabeth Dampf says it's possible to thrive despite--or even because of--high rates of turnover. If you want more out of this period in education, take a few cues from Dampf's "playbook of…

The COVID-19 pandemic sounded alarms about the precarity of the teacher workforce as teachers reported high levels of burnout, stress, job dissatisfaction, and intent to leave teaching. Research using statewide administrative data has shown teacher turnover climbed in 2021 and 2022 in several states, raising concerns that the worst could be yet to…

Principal preparation programs devote very little time to showing future principals how to recruit, hire, support, and retain solid teachers. Yet school staff are a major part of every school budget and have one of the biggest impacts on student achievement, so hiring and retaining talent is key. The authors give specific actions and approaches…

Creating an environment where teachers feel trusted and responsible is not just a suggestion but a necessity. In this essay, I underline the indispensable role of school leaders in balancing autonomy and accountability and acknowledge the fact that empowered teachers are the cornerstone of engaging and successful learning environments. I discuss…

In response to the growing demand for special education teachers, St. Vrain Valley Schools district established the Special Education Alternative Licensure Cohort in 2019. This article discusses this induction and mentorship program, tailored specifically to support new alternative and temporary license special education teachers. The program has…