General Resources

Published by the Center for American Progress, the report focuses on the need to build a more racially and ethnically diversified teaching workforce. The study looks at the obstacles that limit the supply of highly effective teachers of color and the difficulties in retaining teachers of color. The impact that the disproportionate number of teachers of color has on the growing body students of color in the United States is addressed. The report contains recommendations aimed at increasing the teachers-of-color pipeline at the federal, state, and district levels.  

This report, published by Gallup, includes data from 5th- to 12th-grade students, together with material gathered over several decades from studies focusing on the key qualities of high-performing teachers and principals. With an end goal of improving student engagement and achievement, the report looks at how principals can create high-quality learning environments within their schools and includes sections on attracting, engaging, and retaining highly effective teachers.

This webpage, published by New Leaders, includes a series of briefs that encourage a greater focus on school leadership at the federal level. The five-part series encourages policymakers to consider how various policies will impact a principal throughout his or her career. The briefs focus on creating a shared vision of leadership, pipeline development, preservice preparation, evaluation and management, and retention and rewards.

Published by the National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities, this brief highlights best practices—from across the country—for utilizing technology and social media (including Facebook and Twitter) to recruit and retain special education teachers and specialists.

Published by the National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities, this case study researches the approaches three states have taken to “grow their own” special education personnel. Grow Your Own programs enable local education agencies (LEAs) to recruit and train special education employees from their own communities, often targeting high school students with an expressed interest in education careers, paraprofessionals, and/or rural educators seeking a career change. Approaches from Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah are highlighted.

Published by the National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities, this brief focuses on the collaboration between district personnel preparation partnership programs and institutions of higher education to boost the recruitment and retention of special education personnel. The report finds that key components of a successful program include collaboration among partners, tailoring programs to meet unique needs, offering flexible methods of course delivery, and reaching out to nontraditional teacher candidates.

This article—published by the National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities—examines how four states implemented new technologies (at either the state or regional level) in order to revamp their approach to recruiting and retaining special education teachers and specialists. Though limited data are available, all of these technologies appear to have had a positive impact on states’ recruitment and retention efforts.

This article—published by the National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities—provides a set of guidelines to help state-level leaders address the needs of special education teachers and specialists. The document outlines the essential elements necessary to build personnel capacity and highlights best practices in the field.

This research study, published and funded by The Wallace Foundation, focuses on six urban school districts that are seeking to enhance the principal pipeline through participation in the Principal Pipeline Initiative. This initiative focuses on preservice preparation, including selective admissions to high-quality programs, selective hiring and placement, leader standards that align with specific sites, and on-the-job evaluation and support.

This report by the Rainwater Leadership Alliance presents detailed information and examples from successful principal preparation programs on their approaches to recruitment, selection, training, ongoing support, and continuous improvement.