This study investigated standard practices used by mentors participating in a new teacher mentoring program that encourages identified teachers to remain in the teaching profession. School districts nationwide spend time, money, and human resources addressing the significant turnover rate and the recruitment of highly qualified teachers. This…

The retention of Black teachers in the teaching profession remains challenging due to historical events and policies, low salaries, lack of support from administrators, and other school factors. This action research study aimed to investigate, develop, and implement a retention support program for Black teachers employed in their first-fifth year…

The purpose of this study is to share how African American/Black male K-12 novice educators navigated their own educational journey to become K-12 educators in an urban school district in central Alabama. An urban school district was identified from findings from the Census Bureau and had a school that sat inside an urbanized area and inside a…

The reliance on alternative teacher certification to address teacher quality and quantity is an educational issue worthy of study because non-traditionally prepared teachers fill the nation's classrooms. This qualitative case study explored the experiences of secondary education teachers with no preservice training who earned a professional…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

This paper presents the Alabama edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook". The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals examine…

This document describes the mentoring relationship from the perspectives of several virtual schools that have built mentoring programs to assist their new teachers. Each school's mentoring program is unique and has been designed specifically for the school's staff, size, and instructional approach. These schools have learned that a successful…

The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of first year teacher attrition and compile a profile of first year teacher drop-outs. Of 138 beginning teachers who returned a questionnaire concerning their reasons for not returning to their first-year teaching positions in Alabama's public elementary and secondary schools, 47.2 percent left…