District Leader

As part of Pittsburgh’s larger Empowering Effective Teachers plan initiative, which includes increasing the exposure of students with high needs to highly effective teachers as a strategic goal, the Promise-Ready Corps (PRC) is a group of ninth- and 10th-grade teachers who have been identified as effective and who will loop with cohorts of students for two years, providing high-quality core instruction and additional advising (an extra 44-minute period).

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Schools  established the Strategic Staffing Initiative, which moves teams of administrators and teachers to high-need schools. Under this initiative, effective principals are identified and allowed to select effective members of their current staffs to take with them to a high-need school. 

The Houston (Texas) Independent School District (HISD) established the Effective Teacher Pipeline project to address concerns voiced by many teachers about working conditions in high-need schools. HISD is concentrating on a small number of high-need schools to increase the number of effective teachers on those campuses. The intent is to create supportive school cultures by placing several effective teachers at each school. Relocating teachers are given a financial incentive, professional development, and leadership opportunities.

The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School in New York City reallocates the regular public school budget to enable the school to pay teachers $125,000 as a recruitment and retention strategy. A recent study by Mathematica Policy Research found a promising impact on student achievement. TEP has adopted its own three Rs for teachers:

This 2008 publication from The Aspen Institute discusses the clinical residency model of teacher preparation as both an effective preparation strategy and a direct response to the problems of teacher recruitment and retention in high-need schools. Urban teacher residency programs generally have high percentages of minority graduates who are specifically trained, through strong partnerships with urban schools, to be successful teachers in those schools after graduation. The programs continue to mentor and support new teachers for several years after they take full-time positions.

As part of its Race to the Top initiatives, Ohio provides participating local education agencies with the opportunity to apply for funds to support a teacher incentive plan of up to $7,500 per teacher to address access to great teachers and leaders. The funding may be used for the following: 

• Relocation and/or retention bonuses
• Reduced class size
• Loan forgiveness programs
• Differentiated pay for effective teachers who assume leadership roles
• Hiring teachers in shortage areas
• A combination of options 

As of January 2007, California Senate Bill 1655 allows principals in low-performing schools more decision-making authority with respect to voluntary transfers based on seniority. The goals of this law were to promote hiring practices based more on the unique skills and knowledge that a teacher brings to the classroom and create appropriate matches between teachers and schools.

North Carolina established the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program in 1986 to recruit teacher candidates into public colleges. Due to budgetary concerns, the program in no longer in effect; however, lessons can still be learned from the program structure.The state paid students to attend a public university if they agreed to spend at least four years teaching in a public school after graduation. According to a recent report on the program, 60 percent of the fellows who started teaching 20 years ago still work in public schools today.

This 2008 publication from The Aspen Institute discusses the clinical residency model of teacher preparation as both an effective preparation strategy and a direct response to the problems of teacher recruitment and retention in high-need schools. Urban teacher residency programs generally have high percentages of minority graduates who are specifically trained, through strong partnerships with urban schools, to be successful teachers in those schools after graduation. The programs continue to mentor and support new teachers for several years after they take full-time positions.

The Arkansas Partnership for Teacher Quality—a consortium involving Arkansas educator preparation programs—the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the National Education Association conduct a periodic survey of graduates of the state’s educator preparation programs within their first five years of program completion. The survey is a rich source of data on teachers’ postgraduate teaching experience and their views of how well their preparation programs prepared them for teaching careers.