Recruitment and Retention

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) enlisted the help of principals in three states, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maryland, to find out more about ways they are using their autonomies to maximize the resources at their disposal. The report looks at how principals are reallocating funds to organize their schools in innovative new ways. Prime examples of this include extending the reach of teachers and increasing the use of technology in schools to customize learning.

This publication reports the results of the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) of 100,000 teachers and leaders in 34 countries and economies. To inform efforts to recruit, retain, and develop teachers worldwide, the survey examines how teachers are recognized, evaluated, and rewarded. The report includes a summary of findings and recommendations for teachers and leaders on areas of improvement, including school leadership, teacher appraisal and feedback, school climate, professional development and teaching practices.

This report provides a comprehensive and research-based framework outlining the conditions necessary for school leaders to succeed and details the conditions that effective school systems have in place. A separate toolkit offers principals a means of assessing their current conditions and provides recommendations on ways to improve those conditions with the overall goal of increasing student achievement. 

Based on the premise that teacher attendance is directly related to student outcomes, this report examines teacher absenteeism in schools across the United States and calculates how costly absenteeism can be for schools and districts. The report explores whether high-poverty schools experience more absenteeism than low-poverty schools, and proposes some simple and creative ways for school leaders to create a climate that encourages high teacher attendance. 

Based on Wallace Foundation research on what effective school principals do well, these five Web-based video learning guides use excerpts from The Principal Story, a documentary produced by PBS, to illustrate five key practices of effective principals. A facilitator guide is available on the website and offers ideas for using the tools, as well as links to supporting resources produced by The Wallace Foundation.

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.

This research—published by the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education— addresses four concerns regarding special education teacher induction: (1) the high attrition rate in special education; (2) the potential for beginning teachers—who are struggling to adapt to their new role—to provide inadequate services to children and youth with disabilities; (3) the increasing reliance on alternative routes to certification; and (4) the unique conditions within which special educators work.