School Leader

Survey effective teachers and leaders currently working in high-poverty schools to determine what type of financial compensation may influence their decisions to move to or stay in high-need schools. It may be that financial incentives alone do not play a large role in teacher and leader recruitment and retention and therefore should be combined with other efforts to increase access to great teachers and leaders. 

Examine incentive-based programs to encourage teachers to stay in or move to high-need schools. 

If teacher turnover at some of the partner schools is high, work with the schools to collect data that may point to possible sources of the problem and suggest potential solutions (e.g., teacher satisfaction surveys and school climate indicators).

Strengthen partner school and district capacity by providing unique professional development opportunities for partner school teachers and administrators, assisting schools and districts in collecting useful data, and working with them to undertake valuable research and evaluation projects. 

Strengthen educator preparation program clinical training by:

• Working together with partner schools to ensure that the program provides the best clinical experience possible for program candidates.
• Providing clinical opportunities that expose candidates to learners with diverse backgrounds and needs.
• Ensuring that the program’s partner schools reflect the culture and the student demographics of the schools in which the majority of the program’s graduates are initially placed. 

Provide more pathways for job sharing among teachers so that teachers and administrators have greater flexibility to staff schools to meet their students’ needs.

In written and oral communication through strategic venues and by high-profile leaders, highlight the effects of inequitable access to great teachers and leaders on educational outcomes.

Join the conversation at the Great Teachers and Leaders for All Learners blog! 

Listen to a variety of perspectives on this issue, including the concerns of stakeholders who disagree that inequitable access to great teachers and leaders must be addressed, and consider the validity of their concerns.