Retaining Missouri’s Quality Educators: Keeping Our Program Completers in the Profession

1. Retaining Missouri’s Quality Educators: Keeping Our Program Completers in the Profession Presented AT Missouri Association of Colleges For Teacher Education Spring Conference March 25, 2019

2. Driving Questions • What experiences impact novice teachers’ decisions to remain at a school, district, or in the profession? • What are districts doing to retain quality educators?

3. Teacher Workforce Demographics in Missouri’s Public Schools • Gender & Race, Ethnicity: • • The total number of classroom teachers increased by 0.6 percent from 2016-17 to 2017-18. • • The percentage of teachers who are black and other ethnicities remained at 6.8 percent. • Age & Experience: • • Teachers with 10 or fewer years of experience represent 49.9 percent of our teachers and there was a 0.9 percent decrease in teachers with five or fewer years.

4. Teacher Workforce Dynamics • • From 2012-13 to 2015-16, the percentage of first-year teachers who left the classroom with less than three years increased by 5.0 percent. • • From 2012-13 to 2014-15, the percentage of first-year teachers who left the classroom after five years increased by 1.9 percent. • • District hiring rates are at 10.8 percent, which is a decrease of 0.5 percent from 2016-17. • • The percentage of district new hires who were first-year teachers decreased by 0.3 percent. • Source: 2018 UPDATE • RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS IN MISSOURI PUBLIC SCHOOLS • A REPORT TO THE MISSOURI GENERAL ASSEMBLY • https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/2018-RR-Report.pdf

5. The Surveys • Instruments: • http://c1.livetext.com/misk5/formz/public/96898/v8raRVeGNt • K – 12 Partners survey • Questions patterned after those included in the Teacher Voices 2000 survey commissioned by Scholastic, Inc. • Methodology: • The first survey was sent to alumni from our three institutions who have been teaching for 3 – 5 years. In this survey, we asked educators what factors or experiences have been most important for them while deciding to stay in the teaching profession. • In the second survey, we asked HR representatives and administrators from schools/districts throughout the metropolitan Kansas City area about their retention rate and specific strategies being employed at the school or district level to retain quality educators.

6. Alumni Survey Results Avila, Park, and Rockhurst University

7. Participants • We surveyed 2013-2016 program completers, teachers who have now been certified for 3-5 years. N = 34

8. Participants N = 34

9. Participants

10. Reasons for originally choosing to teach

11. Supports Needed To Stay

12. K – 12 Teacher Retention Survey Results schools/districts representing public, private, charter, parochial, urban, suburban, and rural.

13. Participants • We surveyed 28 schools/districts representing public, private, charter, parochial, urban, suburban, and rural. • . N = 11

14. Average Annual Retention Rate • Question: On average, what is your annual retention rate? • . N = 11

15. Question: What Content Areas Experience the Highest Annual Turnover Rate?

16. Question: What Grade Levels Experience the Highest Annual Turnover Rate?

17. Question: What Factors Most Contribute to Teacher Turnover in Your District?

18. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the District Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Compensation Improvement, Improvement of Employee Engagement and Well Being • Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, negotiated tuition discounts with partner universities (ranging from 10-50%), and quality of work life initiatives. • Strong Mentoring Program, Regular New Hire Follow Up Interviews, Classroom Visits, 6 Days Paid Onboarding/Training, Instructional Coach Support .

19. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the District Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Policy revision for paid annual leave days instead of buckets of leave (sick & personal); • A culture of support for teachers - mentor program for all new and existing employees need assistance, model teachers, • Behavior interventionist at each building, • Rich personalized professional development (student-centered focused on future-ready skills), and • Support for the well-being of all employees;.

20. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the District Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Explore opportunities to develop partnerships with universities that have exceptional teacher education programs; and analysis of compensation and benefits • Competitive salaries, tuition remission for teachers' children, and excellent working conditions • Annual staff meetings and focus group meetings to gain insight on the key issues/concerns of staff, and comparison of competitive salary schedules

21. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the District Level to Retain Quality Teachers • New teacher support. Competitive salaries. Career advancement opportunities. • Year-long on-boarding of new faculty members to provide them with ongoing resources throughout their (very busy) first year. • Invest much of Title funding into summer time professional development courses to build teacher practice and place a high value on their growth and development. • Competitive Salaries and annual raises, affordable health insurance, on site health clinic, paid professional development during the summer

22. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the Building Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Professional growth support • Collaborative time, and many other • Relationship building supports • Building level mentoring led by principal • A culture of support for teachers - mentor program for all new and existing employees need assistance, • Model teachers • Behavior interventionist at each building

23. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the Building Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Rich personalized professional development (student-centered focused on future-ready skills), • Celebrating teacher and student success • Support for the well-being of all employees • Developing excellent working conditions • Supporting the teachers in continued growth and development • New teacher support • Competitive salaries

24. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the Building Level to Retain Quality Teachers • Career advancement opportunities • Building leadership teams are more empowered to provide input and direction on items that directly impact their work • Protocols implemented so that principals are connecting with new teachers more often, not just in an evaluative sense, but also in a mentor format where they can coach from an instructional place.

25. What Specific Strategies are Being Employed at the Building Level to Retain Quality Teachers • District wide 30-90 day check in with set questions at each check in. • Early out Wednesdays for Data Review Teams • More input into the hiring of colleagues • Jeans days and other recognition incentives

26. Conversation Starters • What other incentives could be used in Districts or state-wide to encourage teachers to stay in the teaching profession?  Other than movement on the salary schedule?   • How can Districts encourage self-care in the teacher work force?  How can Districts help teachers to not feel "burn out"?  What have you seen in the field that has been successful? • What can Universities do to help support teachers after they've graduated and left the University program?  What have you tried, or what does this information make you think about trying? • Do we find this information "heartening" or "disheartening"?  What could MACTE as a large group do to influence teacher retention?

27. Natalie Cobb, Avila University natalie.cobb@avila.edu 816-501-2432 Brant Winn, Park University brant.winn@park.edu 816-810-7690 Sarah Hicks, Rockhurst University sarah.hicks@rockhurst.edu 816-501-4322 Janet Spallo Mitchelson, Rockhurst University janet.spallo@rockhurst.edu 816-501-4352