Regional Center Staff

Using student and teacher data from Miami-Dade County, Florida, the authors found that less experienced, minority, and female teachers are more likely to be assigned students with lower average prior achievement, more prior behavioral problems, and lower prior attendance rates, especially in schools with stable senior staffs. Moreover, novice teachers were more likely to be assigned students from black and low-income families within the same school.

This study examined whether new teachers are, in fact, assigned to the toughest classrooms, and, if so, what effect that has on new teacher turnover. Using administrative data from Florida and the National Schools and Staffing Teacher Follow-Up Survey, the author found that inexperienced teachers usually taught in schools with low-performing, minority, or limited-English-proficient students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

This study considers the national retention rates for Teach For America teachers based on a survey of three cohorts. The researchers found that teachers in more challenging assignments (e.g., split grades, multiple subjects, and out-of-field classes) were more likely to leave their schools or resign from teaching.

This brief produced by the Alliance for Excellent Education examines access to great teachers and leaders in high schools. Understanding the dynamics of the teacher labor market can ensure that strategies actually influence teachers’ decisions concerning where to work, as well as how long they stay. Although states and districts have the most influence on teacher policies, federal law also can help improve access to great teachers by supporting and encouraging effective recruitment and retention practices at state and local levels.

The state provides financial assistance to students pursuing bachelor’s degree programs, as well as current licensed teachers, to pursue endorsements or master’s degrees in hard-to-staff subject areas. The scholarships are available to those teachers who plan to serve a hard-to-staff geographic area at the rate of one year of service for each award year. 

This partnership is a long-established network of 36 districts and the University of Southern Maine. The partnership involves close working relationships among the university and K–12 schools that enhance the university’s teacher preparation program and strengthen the capacity in districts through university-provided technical assistance and professional development and a ready supply of teachers who are already familiar with the area’s students and schools after graduation.

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 

The Education Trust developed this brief to describe the problem of the inequitable access to excellent teachers and provide policy recommendations for addressing it, including the following:

• Produce better information on teacher effectiveness and place it in the hands of those who need it.
• Require that teacher evaluations focus on effectiveness and require districts to reform hiring and placement practices.
• Provide incentives for teachers to work in schools and ensure equitable access to effective teachers. 

Through the Georgia Project EQ Web portal, Georgia districts receive guidance and support on developing district equity plans. These district equity plans use district-level data to target resources in addressing specific, local needs related to teacher equity issues. 

A first draft of this workbook was codeveloped by National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center) staff and an outside researcher (Marguerite Roza, Ph.D., University of Washington). TQ Center staff then substantially updated the workbook for its wider dissemination to participants at a national workshop. Regional center staff may find this workbook useful in supporting in-depth conversations with state education agency personnel.