Can Teaching's 'Revolving Door' Be Stopped?

Noah Zeichner

Brianna Crowley, in her comment on my last post, wrote that many teachers leave the classroom because "our profession's structure seems stuck in a 1950's model of industrialized, unionized labor rather than a professional model of flexibility and autonomy." This reminded me of a conversation I had last month with an educator from Finland, a nation with a highly unionized, yet amazingly autonomous teaching profession. And their teacher dropout rate is impressively low: 90 percent of trained teachers remain in the profession for the duration of their careers.

I've been reading a lot about Finland lately. If you want to know their secret, Finland is top in the world because they put equity ahead of standardization and test-based accountability. But let's look a little closer at how teachers' time is structured to understand how they have reached such a high level of teacher leadership and professionalism (key ingredients in teacher retention).

Talking with my Finnish colleague, Marianna, I learned that teachers' class loads often vary by term. In other words, in one term, a teacher may teach four or five courses, and in another term, only two. This was mind boggling to me. How could teachers' schedules (and schools' master schedules) be so flexible? In the United States, most teachers teach five or six classes every day for 180 or more days.

Marianna explained that teachers are trusted as professionals to use their time effectively. If you have a family at home and you are done teaching at noon, you might stay at school and get your grading and planning done so that you can be completely free in the evening. If you are single, and are done early, you might head to the gym and stop at a coffee shop later to do some grading. Can you imagine?

I am fortunate in my current hybrid role to enjoy a high level of trust and autonomy. (I too can work from a coffee shop some afternoons.) This autonomy and professional trust has allowed me to grow much more quickly as a teacher leader. And as I mentioned in my first post, I feel more committed to my profession than ever before as a result. Teachers deserve to be trusted as professionals. And while it will take a paradigm shift fueled by some serious political will to get there, I am optimistic about the future of our profession. Are you?

Noah Zeichner divides his time evenly between teaching social studies at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle and supporting the Center for Teaching Quality New Millennium Initiative's efforts to improve Washington's schools.

Posted by Noah Zeichner at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Jane Fung

"The kids think nothing about having huge teacher turnover every year. To them, it is normal to have at least one temporary teacher, or a teacher leave in the middle of the year."—comments from Wilbert, an inner city high school teacher.

Why is high teacher turnover acceptable in some schools and not in others? I have watched a class at my school have five different teachers in 79 days of school this year. I would venture to say that what is happening at my urban, high-poverty school would not happen at my friend's school across town in a more stable, middle-class neighborhood or the high-performing school just six miles away.

Then why is this acceptable for my students? It is not. District and school leaders need to step in and work with us towards solutions to ensure that all students have an equal chance at being successful.

Teacher quality is essential for student success, but so is teacher stability. Nine years ago I transferred schools. Although I brought my skills and experience to the new school, it took time to get acclimated to my new community, student population, colleagues, and school culture. If teachers come and go constantly at a school, will students have the same opportunity to be successful as their counterparts in more stable schools?

We need to hear from teachers who teach in schools with little or no teacher turnover. Share with us the "secrets" to your success and how leaders might implement them for all schools.

Jane Fung is a National Board-certified teacher in urban Los Angeles, where she currently teaches 1st grade. She serves on the board of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, and she is an active member of Accomplished California Teachers, Teachers Leaders Network, and Milken Educator Network.

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Meenoo Rami

In response to my original post, Evolving English Teacher posted a thoughtful comment. She wrote: "In recent years there has been a paradigm shift that privileges the absence of experience and expertise in the teaching profession to a model that assumes there is no discernible value in either advanced degrees or years of teaching experience. Why would anyone choose to stay in a profession that devalues these things in the long run?"

Her keen insight made me think of the ways teachers have been portrayed in public discourse since I entered the profession seven years ago. Either teachers have been painted as incompetent employees who rely on their unions to protect their jobs or martyrs who single-handedly change an entire school and its culture.

How do we counter this dominant but inaccurate narrative of our work? I think the answer resides in teachers telling and writing the stories from their own classrooms. The policymakers and public at-large needs to hear from us about our work, challenges, and things we are doing to meet those challenges with grace and humor.

There are many ways for teachers to tell their stories. You might consider starting a blog, contributing to a site like Digital Is, or even writing to your elected officials to share your views on education-related bills in your state. No matter the medium, it is imperative for teachers to tell their own stories.

I look forward to reading about the ways you tell your story as a teacher.

Meenoo Rami, founder of the #engchat weekly Twitter chat for English teachers, teaches her students English at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.

Posted by Meenoo Rami at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Marilyn Rhames

Slave. Masochist. These are the words two teachers used to describe themselves at the end of a school day last week.

"I don't know why anyone would want this job—I have no life," one teacher said.

"We seriously love pain, that's why we do it," added the other, stretching her body across a group of desks as if it were a bed.

Their words, though tongue in cheek, echoed in my ears. These are strong, hardworking teachers. They come to school an hour before it starts and leave two hours after it's over. They have master's degrees and hefty student loans that seem to never go away.

It's clear that they love their students. Still, I wonder how much longer they will work in the classroom. They work so much that they put their health at risk, not getting enough sleep, not participating in enough self-care. Why? Because the needs of the classroom are so great, and if they don't step up to the plate to help their students learn, then who will? Luckily for them, they work in a school where almost everybody is working just as hard, and knowing that somehow eases the pressure ... a little.

Will these teachers still be in the classroom in 10 years? Probably not. I imagine they will be working in administration or consulting or in policy or in nonprofit work. With experience, the three-to-seven-year span, they are not brand new to the profession but not exactly veterans, either. They haven't started a family yet and are always amazed that I am doing the same job with two children to raise.

The expectations for teacher performance continues to rise as students get needier. It takes hours outside of the classroom to even get close to meeting those expectations. So we work and work and work—in the middle of the night, on holidays, and on weekends. That's what "highly effective" teachers do.

I wrote in my last post that a good principal can keep teachers in the classroom longer than they thought they would stay. I truly believe that. But even with the support of a great principal, the question remains: How long can a good teacher continue to live like this? What is the ideal number of years? A life-long career or just for a season?

One way to minimize teacher turnover would be to add a co-teacher, or at least an assistant—I'll even take a part-time assistant!—to every classroom. Yes, this would be an expensive fix, but it would be an effective one. If we are serious about stopping the "revolving door," we will have to put our money where our mouth is by giving teachers adequate support.

The multifaceted role of a highly effective teacher has become too weighty for just one person. I've had an assistant in the past—someone to help grade papers, make phone calls home, make my copies and posters, pull small groups for re-teaching—and it freed me up to do the heavy intellectual work of differentiation, data analysis, and curriculum planning. I am all for having high expectations and accountability for teachers, but only if there are the necessary supports in place.

Those two teachers are not slaves or masochists, though they feel like them at times. They are talented teachers who care deeply for students and are on the verge of burning out. Sometimes, one must look closely to see the difference.

Marilyn Rhames is a middle grades teacher at a charter school in Chicago and runs a nonprofit called Teachers Who Pray. She is the author of the Education Week Teacher blog Charting My Own Course.

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Lillie Marshall

I confess: After a long day of teaching my 140 7th graders, I often unwind by watching the reality television competition, "The Voice." In the show, celebrity judges including Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green blindly pick singers, then coach them over several months until America votes on the winner.

What is striking about "The Voice" (besides Cee-Lo's fabulous wardrobe choices) are two lessons highly applicable to teacher retention.

Lesson A: People have the potential to grow hugely if given time and good coaching.

It was astounding how much Cassadee Pope, the Season 3 winner of "The Voice," developed since episode one. I spent the first five weeks of the show screaming at the T.V. that Cassadee was singing off-key and needed to be cut, but halfway through the season, she switched from pop songs to country (partly because of her coach, Blake Shelton), and found her pitch.

I couldn't help but remember how I almost quit teaching after my second year. My biggest problem was classroom management, and the systems colleagues and school leaders suggested I use to keep order only created more chaos. Luckily, I stuck it out for a third year, and with new instructional coaches and mentors, finally found my classroom management groove. Without that extra year and new coaching, I would have just been another of the countless teachers who quit each year. Just as Cassadee was lucky Blake saw her potential and didn't cut her when she hit wrong notes, I was lucky my school leaders believed enough in me to convince me to stay for another year of coaching.

Lesson B: Coaching personality matches matter.

I wailed when "The Voice" coach Adam Levine cut one of the best singers in the competition, a soulful bohemian artist named Nicole Nelson, in favor of a mousey singer who hit one crazy note once... then was cut the next episode. Something about Adam's personality drew him towards supporting the "flash in the pan" contestant, meaning Nicole might have been better off picking a coach who supported her deep talent.

This lesson holds true in teacher retention. Not every school leader is the right match for every teacher, and what matches well with one may doom another. Teachers should not be afraid to switch to a school with a leader who is a better fit whenever possible. On the other side of things, school leaders should constantly assess how their biases are shaping or mis-shaping their interactions with teachers so they don't drive away potential stars.

The coaching goal in "The Voice" is to cultivate a top team of singers to produce the most beautiful music possible. A school leader's goal is to grow and keep a top team of teachers to create the lovely music of student achievement and happiness!

Lillie Marshall has taught in Boston since 2003. Connect with her on Twitter at @WorldLillie and on her Around the World "L" and Teaching Traveling global education websites.

Posted by Lillie Marshall at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Noah Zeichner

Last week a teacher in my school announced that he is leaving the profession. He has taken a job in the private sector. He said that he felt stuck, with no way to move up in his career without moving out. Another colleague of mine told me a couple days ago that he doesn't think he can keep teaching full time. He has very high standards for himself, and in his second year, he is finding it difficult to sustain the level of energy that it takes to do his job well. Unfortunately, these types of stories are not uncommon in public schools today. Too many students are losing their teachers to burnout and lack of career mobility.

So why does teacher retention continue to be such a significant challenge? Some studies point to the need for stronger principal leadership. Others suggest that poor overall working conditions are to blame. I agree that principals should mentor teachers more and that school districts should increase support for early career teachers. But none of this will matter if we don't take a serious look at the system in which we work.

My first few years in the classroom were very challenging. My first year, I taught three different classes in two departments. I struggled to stay above water. In my second year, I started to seek out leadership opportunities and get involved in extracurricular programs. By my seventh year, in addition to teaching full time, I was leading international student trips, serving as department chair, coordinating a home visit program, advising student clubs, working on my National Board certification, and at the same time, learning how to be a new dad. I was completely overwhelmed.

Friends and colleagues have asked me, if you are so busy and tired, why don't you just focus on teaching and say no to all of these other add-ons? While my first priority at school has always been my students and the lessons that I prepare for them, my work outside of the classroom has made the job even more fulfilling. But again, the system, in which we teach five or six classes a day every day, does not allow for teachers to do much more than teaching without risking complete burnout.

I decided to challenge the system two years ago by pursuing a hybrid role with the support of the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ). Now in my second year of a reduced teaching schedule (I currently teach two classes), I am able to incorporate much more of my leadership work and extracurricular responsibilities into my workday. I am no less busy—in fact, I probably am working more hours than I was when I was teaching full time. But with exciting new challenges and more time to think about them, I feel re-energized and more committed to my students and to my profession than ever before.

I suspect many other teachers would feel the same.

Noah Zeichner divides his time evenly between teaching social studies at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle and supporting the Center for Teaching Quality New Millennium Initiative's efforts to improve Washington's schools.

Posted by Noah Zeichner at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Jane Fung

Education policymakers are asking why so many good teachers leave the profession, but I think the more pressing question is why do so many good teachers leave the schools that serve students who most need the best teachers.

If you want to talk about teacher turnover, you've come to the right place. My urban public, school opened nine years ago with 28 excited and eager teachers on staff. Since that time, over 70 teachers have come and gone, and only three of us remain from the original staff. Some teachers left the profession altogether, others transferred to different schools or districts, and a few moved on to administrative roles. Hard-to- staff schools often have more newer educators, and since our district policy is last- ones-in, first-ones-out, they are also the schools that lose the most teachers when there are lay-offs.

I know these numbers may sound astronomical, but they are my reality and the reality of other schools similar to mine. I could focus on the fact that most of our students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, speak a home language other than English, and have special needs, but I won't. I don't believe those factors influence how long teachers stay in the profession as much as where they end up teaching.

But here's Along with teacher turnover, our school has had four different principals, a new assistant principal every year, seven district directors, and four district superintendents.

Change can be good, but constant change is not, and is often frustrating. It is easier to teach at a school where the staff is stable, procedures and policies are in place, and there's a strong sense of community. It is more challenging to teach in a place where there are always new faces, rules change, and expectations vary.

I entered teaching 26 years ago to make a positive impact on the lives of students. Here are key factors that have kept me in the classroom:

• Working with an effective, fair, and respected instructional leader.

• Ongoing, meaningful collaboration with other great teachers.

• Opportunities to lead from within and beyond the classroom.

• Being compensated for going above and beyond the school day.

• Flexibility and the freedom to be creative in order to meet the needs of your students.

• A school environment that is respectful, fair, and safe.

• A culture of collaboration, with a focus on student learning.

• Feeling supported and valued for the job I am doing.

• Job security and school stability.

We lost 10 teachers last year alone and currently have two classrooms without permanent teachers assigned. If we don't look for ways to create schools where teachers can thrive, feel validated, and be allowed to grow professionally, they will leave, and are leaving.

Jane Fung is a National Board-certified teacher in urban Los Angeles, where she currently teaches 1st grade. She serves on the board of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, and she is an active member of Accomplished California Teachers, Teachers Leaders Network, and Milken Educator Network.

Posted by Jane Fung at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Lillie Marshall

I've been a teacher in the Boston Public Schools since 2003, but I almost quit teaching several times. What helped me stay, over and over, were the positive actions of my principals. Here are ten of those actions that school leaders can use to keep effective teachers.

1. Macro-manage. Give teachers the end goals, but don't micromanage how we get there. The wrong way to do this was demonstrated by a friend's headmaster who would frequently enter teachers' classrooms and force them to rearrange their furniture.

2. Connect teachers with each other. Structure your school and your advice to turn teachers towards each other first for support, planning, and action, rather than having everyone turning towards you. Working in a teacher team has given a stupendous boost to my job satisfaction and effectiveness.

3. Be a thought partner and a coach. Provide us with teaching ideas by sharing articles, discussing best practices, and offering quality professional development. In turn, know us as intelligent professionals, and invite us to share ideas with you, too. Together, our knowledge can better student learning.

4. Have high expectations, backed up by evaluations with teeth. Take the time to evaluate out ineffective or poisonous teachers and administrators. This leadership shows you have high expectations that we should all work towards, and gives us pride in being part of a team of top-notch educators.

5. Know our teaching. Pop by our classroom unannounced several times through the year, even if you are not our formal evaluator, and look at the work our students are producing. Also be familiar with the testing and GPA data of our pupils. This will give you essential specifics to use when praising and coaching us.

6. Ask questions. Always be asking teachers, students, and administrators both general and specific questions to get as full a picture of the school as possible. Questions also give us the space to share ideas, frustrations, and triumphs.

7. Provide vital support and resources. Ensure we have the most essential teaching elements, including disciplinary backup, a sane schedule (four preps is crazy!), paper and copying supplies, kindness, and technology when possible. Delegate much of this to competent administrators.

8. Encourage self-care and having a life. Make sure we don't stay at school ridiculously late too often. Remind us to sleep, eat, exercise, travel, and spend time with loved ones. Find a teacher to lead a "fun committee" with regular staff potluck breakfasts or after-school outings. These little touches make a HUGE difference.

9. Work hard and show intellect, but also be human. Demonstrate your professionalism, competence, work ethic, and effectiveness, but please crack some jokes and share some humanizing tidbits from your life, too!

10. Cultivate our growth. Know our strengths and interests well enough to connect us with leadership opportunities inside and outside of the school, and celebrate our successes. See possibility in us that we may not even see, yet!

Reader, which of these ways to keep top teachers most resonate with YOU? what would you add to or revise on this list?

Lillie Marshall has taught in Boston since 2003. Connect with her on Twitter at @WorldLillie and on her Around the World "L" and Teaching Traveling global education websites.

Posted by Lillie Marshall at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Meenoo Rami

When I started writing this, I was sitting in the main office at my school, the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. The table in our main office is where many interesting conversations happen because both staff and students "hang out" there in between classes. When my student Kilah saw that I was working on something, she asked about it. I told her that I was trying to write about ways we can keep great teachers in the classroom, and she immediately offered her point of view. Policymakers should "pay teachers fairly for the work they do, raise the profile of teachers in society, and provide support for their work," she said.

I think policymakers need to listen to Kilah. The problem of teacher attrition is evident. According to The 2011 Metlife Survey of The American Teacher from 2011, "teacher job satisfaction has dropped 15 points since 2009, from 59% who were very satisfied to 44%." In addition, nearly 30 percent of surveyed teachers said that they were likely to leave the profession. Something is clearly not right.

In addition to Kilah's excellent points, I have some additional points for policymakers and school leaders need to consider:

Treat teachers as the curriculum experts. Teachers are the experts of their curriculum and should be the lead decision-makers of what is taught and how it is taught in their classrooms. Most teachers know their students well and understand their individual learning needs. They can match their lessons to their students' authentic need to understand not only the word(s) but also the world around them. When teachers feel agency in their own work, they will be able to truly engage students. This engagement for both the teacher and students provides teachers with the energy to continue the work.

Treat teachers as part of a school's leadership team. Teachers feel drained when they work against the current in their schools. If teachers do not agree with the core essence of their school's instructional values, they will constantly feel a disconnect between their classroom culture and the school's culture. This divide can tire teachers out and deplete them of the energy necessary to continue to thrive as instructors, coaches, and guides of their students. Teachers need not only to feel connected to the school's leadership team but to know that their input is valued within this team.

Give teachers opportunities to take part in professional networks. What teachers do is hard enough, they shouldn't do it alone. New and experienced teachers need to connect eoyj local and national communities to find support, encouragement, and feedback on their practice. Whether teachers join their local National Writing Project site, take part in a Twitter chat such as #engchat, or meet with a group of teacher-friends to examine student work—in each instance, they are drawing energy from their colleagues to rejuvenate their own teaching spirit. Both new and experienced teachers have valuable insights to share with each other. This sense of belonging to a community can also help teachers surmount the feelings of isolation and disconnect in our profession.

I look forward to your ideas about the ways we can help teachers to not only stay in the profession but also thrive.

Meenoo Rami, founder of the #engchat weekly Twitter chat for English teachers, teaches her students English at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.

Posted by Meenoo Rami at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Marilyn Rhames

I almost quit teaching five years ago, but I'm so glad I didn't.

I won't indulge you with all the ridiculously obnoxious details here, but suffice it to say that my principal was a bit like Steve Carrel's character on the NBC show The Office.

One day, I finally broke down in a grade-level cluster meeting. I had given up breastfeeding my infant because there was no consistent time available in the school day for me to pump. My administrators cut a teaching position, purposely giving me 33 3rd grade students while giving my 2nd grade colleagues only 12 to 14. The final straw came when my 30-year-old male principal lectured the all-female primary teachers in a meeting—and expressly forbade us to speak.

"I hate my job!" I shouted amidst tears. I just couldn't take it anymore.

He told me later, privately, "It's like you wanted me to fire you."

There is a strange thing happening in schools in terms of communication. Teachers and administrators are often speaking different languages. Teachers who are crying out for support and a voice, often get this message from administrators: "If you're not happy you can leave."

I know retaining good teachers is vital to any long-term education strategy, but I doubt it is a true priority for most schools and school districts. The main people sounding the alarm on this issue besides teachers are education researchers, who are essentially powerless to implement change. From my experience, and based on what I'm hearing from other teachers, the prevailing sentiment is that good teachers aren't really that hard to find—administrators can pick from a long unemployment line.

But when throngs of teachers are leaving a school year after year, the principal should be under high scrutiny. Hardworking teachers are not tools that should be discarded and replaced once they've gotten old or a little banged up. We are professionals who need to be supported, developed, and valued. Administrators need to understand that every good teacher who leaves significantly weakens the school's instructional program and sense of community.

By the same token, there is nothing wrong with good teachers leaving the classroom to pursue other ambitions and opportunities. When the joy of teaching fades or when a teacher is distracted by a desire to make a broader impact, it may be time for her to walk away with no regrets. Staying may actually have adverse effects.

Besides, this generation of teachers are not the kind of people whose professionals goals consists of staying at the same school or in the exact same position for 30 years (though there's nothing necessarily wrong with that). Gaining tenure, at least for me, was never a major draw when I decided to become educator. My public pension (if there will even be pension funds left when I retire) didn't have that great appeal, either. A 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows that people changed jobs on average 11 times by the age of 44—teachers are no exception.

Still, poor school leadership is one sure-fire way to end teaching careers prematurely. Having a strong but collaborative principal, however, can motivate teachers to stay in the classroom longer than they ever thought they would.

I would know: I have an amazing principal now, and I'm in my fifth year of not wanting to quit every day.

Marilyn Rhames is a middle grades teacher at a charter school in Chicago and runs a nonprofit called Teachers Who Pray. She is the author of the Education Week Teacher blog Charting My Own Course.

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