States seeking to solve the teacher shortage, in addition to facing the long-developing crisis of teacher recruitment, are now also facing a crisis of teacher retention.

Especially in the wake of COVID-19, keeping the teachers hired in any given year is an uphill battle.

The National Education Association (NEA) – the nation’s largest teacher’s union – surveyed its members in February 2022 and found that “more than half (55%) of members plan to leave education sooner than planned” and that “the top issue facing educators right now is burnout.”

States across the nation are seeking solutions to improve teacher retention, with research and state examples providing a wide array of options and approaches to choose from. Two key strategies emerging from those examples are:

  • Supporting career development opportunities through mentoring programs
  • Improving working conditions for teachers by:
    • increasing teacher capacity by providing support staff and reasonable class sizes
    • increasing teacher opportunities to participate in the school decision-making process
    • supporting administrator training and development

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