Morrison Memo: Recruiting, retaining top teachers takes more than money

Morrison Memo

In the education policy breakout session at Morrison Institute’s recent State of Our State conference, one audience member suggested that “the best teachers should be placed with kids that are the worst off.”

He’s not the only one who thinks this is a good idea.

States, school districts, and nonprofits are all exploring ways to entice the best teachers to the most challenging schools. Recognizing that teachers, especially those in low-income schools, are underpaid and often asked to achieve greater results with fewer resources, many of the current initiatives to attract top teachers to underperforming schools revolve around incentives, bonuses, and performance-based pay.

While these programs are certainly alluring, recent polling data by Learning Point Associates and Public Agenda suggests that higher salaries alone won’t keep top teachers in crummy classrooms.  Instead, the survey points to administrative leadership and school culture as essential elements in retaining the best and brightest educators.

The poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 890 teachers. Based on their response patterns and demographic characteristics, the teachers were grouped into three categories: Disheartened Contented, and Idealists. Stunningly, the survey reported that 2 out of 5 teachers are disheartened and of those teachers, 54 percent worked in low-income schools and reported feeling “unsupported by administrators and stifled in their careers.”

Compared to 78 percent of idealist teachers and 79 percent of contented teachers, only 32 percent of disheartened teachers rated their principals as being excellent or good at providing useful instructional feedback. Disheartened teachers were also more likely to report feeling that their principles did not make decisions that improved the quality of their schools.

Quality leadership is indeed an important aspect of teacher retention. The Arizona Community Foundation’s 2008 report Educating Arizona found that Arizona teachers say “the most important factor in determining whether they stay or leave the profession is the competence of the building leader.”

While we know that strong administrative leadership is important to Arizona teachers, the report underscores that fact that we have little data to evaluate the performance of school leaders. Measures often used to evaluate leaders such as licensing, certification, and professional development have little to do with demonstrated performance. Notably, Morrison Institute and the Center for the Future of Arizona recognized this dilemma in Beat the Odds, a report published in 2006. It recommended that principals not focus on traditional matters such as budgets, buildings, and buses, but on 21st century skills, including leadership and learning, linking people and resources, and entrepreneurship.

So, what’s the good news here?

Unlike the incentive programs to attract and retain teachers that often require monetary investments and even legislative action, school culture and leadership can be improved with limited resources, albeit great effort.

The disheartened teachers from the survey suggested that collaboration, professional development led by peers in place of training workshops, and clearly defined career ladders, would improve their satisfaction. Additional research in the area of leadership and school culture also would add value to understanding and improving teacher retention.