INvesting in teachers
Investing in Teachers to Solve the Retention Crisis
At the end of the day, people—teachers, administrators, parents, and others—are the key to making a school successful. High expectations of these adults is important. But we cannot hope to improve the quality of public education when we do not empower and support our educators. Far too often, policymakers ignore the importance of sufficiently investing in professional development. Teaching is hard. Really, really hard. Planning, preparation, grading and paperwork extend a teacher’s workday well beyond the seven hours between bells. And we expect our educators to not only put in those hours but to also summon herculean amounts of critical reasoning, quick thinking, and emotional intelligence each and every day. If we want results, professional development cannot just be a box that needs to be checked, nor can it be outsourced.
As your Councilmember, I will:
Champion investments in strengths-based, retention-focused training, coaching, and evaluation practices. Excessive turnover happens in a system where teachers are not sufficiently supported or developed. And we have a turnover problem. Research regarding effective private sector management has shown that people do not perform best under micromanagement. Each dedicated teacher brings their own strengths to bear and effective teacher training and management will use these strengths as starting points to foster growth. For best results, we need to manage and train teachers in a way that fosters their growth as educators. This is particularly true of new teachers, who are at greater risk of becoming alienated and leaving the classroom if they feel unsupported and at sea.
As with trauma informed training, it is not enough to look for something with the word “strengths-based” and assume that does the trick. Teaching requires an extremely specific — and varied — set of skills. Teachers need to be intellectually engaged and engaging — they must think critically about how best to communicate a specific standard to a variety of learners with different learning styles and life experiences. They also need to think quickly — when a student asks a question, a teacher does not have the luxury of mulling it over or getting lost in their own train of thought. They must be able to address the question meaningfully and quickly, making a note to look into it further if need be. And all this for pay that isn’t particularly great.
When evaluation and “support” focus only on those aspects of the job a teacher needs work on, the risk of demotivation and disengagement runs high. This flies in the face of the actual goal of evaluations, coaching, and other professional development, which should be to help a teacher grow as an educator, not to hound them out of the profession. The best way to do that is to help each teacher — particularly new teachers — zero in on their strengths. What are they naturally good at and how can this teacher capitalize upon these talents to serve their student community? A school community in which teachers and evaluators have a robust understanding of — and appreciation for — each teacher’s strengths, is a community in which growth areas can be identified and worked on collaboratively without risking teacher disengagement.
Demand that professional development be differentiated. In their own classrooms, we expect teachers to differentiate their instruction. We must do the same with respect to professional development for teachers and principals. A new teacher or principal will have different needs than an experienced one, each in a different place on their journey as educators. Professional development, like classroom instruction, is most impactful when it is thoughtfully planned and targeted.
There are a great many companies hawking technology solutions, curricula supports, and professional development courses to schools. It can be tempting to use off-the-rack training or contract for the program that is getting the latest buzz. While these solutions can be useful, it is essential that professional development be developed organically by and with DCPS teachers and principals to address and reflect the issues and conditions in our schools.
Support efforts to empower teachers to be leaders and innovators. Empowering teachers, parents, and other adults can help build stronger, more dynamic school communities. One reason we know this is true is that highly effective principals invariably recognize the importance of nurturing a strong and engaged school community and take steps to empower their educators. We know from research of effective private sector management that people perform best when they are given the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and creativity.
Back policies that recognize and address teachers’ emotional needs. To build thriving schools, we must also unapologetically recognize and address teachers’ emotional needs, so they are best equipped to absorb and implement these techniques. Research on talent acquisition across sectors shows that emotionally healthy workers are more effective workers, and the same is true of our schools. Strong schools start with healthy teachers, and our children need strong schools — now more than ever.
Require DCPS to Produce and Execute a Real Plan for Reducing Teacher Attrition. The retention crisis is not a new phenomenon. According to pre-pandemic estimates from the State Board of Education, half of DCPS teachers leave within three years. By year five, that number climbs to 70%. Some of these teachers had struggled in the classroom and received IMPACT ratings of Ineffective or Minimally Effective, but 57% of the nearly 4,000 teachers that left between 2013 and 2020 were rated Effective or Highly Effective. Even in Ward 3, which has lower teacher attrition rates, one in five teachers cycle out of DCPS within three years.
Schools staffed by experienced teachers have better results, both for students and for novice teachers working alongside veteran educators. DCPS needs to come up with real solutions and deliver, just as they expect teachers and students to do each year.
Require OSSE to publish detailed statistics regarding teacher and principal turnover at all DC schools. These statistics must be reported to the Council, school leaders, LSATs, and be prominently included on the DC School Report Card site and other platforms. Whether a school is retaining or not retaining its educators is an essential thing for policymakers and parents to know. Excessive turnover is a sign that something is not working, full stop.
Set aside “Retention Crisis Funds” for schools with excessive turnover. Excessive turnover is a sign that a school is in trouble. Typically, turnover is highest at schools that already have the biggest challenges. The scrutiny and intense pressure to turn things around and deliver results can easily destroy morale and trigger a counterproductive rush for the exits, by both novice and experienced teachers. Retention Crisis Funds, designed to supplement and not replace other dollars, would be reserved specifically for evidence-based initiatives to boost retention. Teacher turnover rates are driven by multiple factors and some issues may be more relevant at certain campuses—a negative, unsupportive relationship with administrators, for instance, will be a factor at some but not all schools. Thus, a first step would be to conduct a school-specific root cause analysis that can inform the specific interventions.