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…

Thirty years ago, "Problems, process, and promise: Reflections on a collaborative approach to the solution of the minority teacher shortage" (Goodwin, 1991) offered a perspective on an approach to the "minority" teacher shortage. That piece represented the start of the author's life-long work on teacher preparation, with a…

Research has shown that while the number of school-age children has steadily increased over time, the number of qualified teachers available to educate them has not matched this need. This topical brief shows the percentage of public schools across the nation with teaching vacancies and summarizes strategies implemented in Region 5 Comprehensive…

This document synthesizes key findings from Chapter 4 of the "Systems and Supports to Develop Indigenous Educators: A Landscape Analysis Report." It is designed to help inform school and district leaders about promising practices and innovative solutions for recruiting and retaining Indigenous educators.

The academic achievement of Black boys in the U.S. has been declining, and Black male mentorship can positively change these outcomes. Schools have tried many interventions to help Black boys receive the academic, social, and emotional support they need to close the performance gap. Some case studies have proven that Black male mentorship works.…

Missouri is struggling with teacher shortages. In its public schools, which serve nearly 900,000 students, shortages have typically been concentrated in urban and rural areas, and in content areas of special education, math, and science. Recently, however, shortages have begun broadly impacting more schools in more parts of the state and more…

As the COVID pandemic has led many Americans to reevaluate the status quo and expand their sense of possibility about new ways to organize work, it's time to reimagine the fundamentals of the teaching job. Reimagining the teaching job demands that leaders at all levels reconsider the ways in which people, time, and money in schools and school…

Teachers of color are generally recruited in five documented ways: (1) Financial incentives; (2) State government mandates; (3) State-supported recruitment programs; (4) District recruitment centers; and (5) Alternative certification routes. This document highlights what the research says is the most effective.

Teachers who are married to other teachers within a school district often experience their personal life events in full view of the school community. How should a principal respond when a math teacher wants to leave due to her divorce, knowing that math teachers are hard to find? Challenges in this case for campus principals and human resource…

The Region 8 Comprehensive Center collaborated with the Indiana Department of Education to evaluate the obstacles many districts face in the teacher hiring process. The brief further discusses the importance of hiring timelines, benefits and barriers of early hiring, and recommendations and strategies for revising hiring timelines.

The EdResearch for Action Overview Series summarizes the research on key topics to provide K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students. Authors - leading experts from across the field of education research - are charged with highlighting key findings from research that…

Violet Jiménez Sims, Kerry Lord, Marlene Megos, and Ushawnda Mitchell describe a new approach to addressing the gap between the racial diversity of teachers and students in U.S. public schools. The Connecticut Teacher Residency program (CT-TRP) is a grow-your-own approach to teacher training, certification, and retention that combines an academic…

Racially and ethnically minoritized students are now the majority in U.S. public schools. This demographic change, along with heightened attention to racial injustice and evidence regarding the importance of Black teachers, has renewed a decades-old push to increase their numbers. Redesigning teacher education and development to support the…

Providing Missouri students a highly qualified, appropriately credentialed workforce has grown steadily more challenging over the past decade. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic made it even harder. Multiple surveys indicate Missouri educators' growing dissatisfaction over the last two years. These data, coupled with figures on declining enrollment in…

Kappa Delta Pi's Diversity Summit in 2020 offered educators the opportunity to discuss the question "What policies need to change to prevent the exodus of prospective teachers of color and teachers of color?" Based on the proceedings, this article addresses policy, advocacy, and allyship for people of color from the prospective teacher…