Teacher Retention and Attrition Protocol Guide
The Teacher Retention and Attrition Dashboard helps school systems analyze teacher retention and turnover patterns. By reviewing this data, school systems can identify retention trends by grade level and subject area, address staffing gaps, and plan for future recruitment needs.
Data Overview
Essential Questions
“Are there certain assignments that are connected to lower teacher turnover?”
Dashboard Pages
- By Teaching Subjects
- Through Time
- By In Field/Out of Field
- State Comparison
- By Program/Population Served
- Explorer
- By Campus
- Details
Data Description
This dashboard shows teacher retention and attrition rates overall and by subject area, feld of assignment, population served, and campus, changes in retention and attrition over time, district rates compared to the state average, and detailed retention patterns within the district.
Protocol Description
Recommended Participants
This protocol is designed for district and campus decision-makers who directly influence teacher recruitment, placement, support, and retention strategies, including but not limited to:
- Superintendent & District Leaders
- Human Resources/Talent Staff
- Campus Leaders
Recommended Time
90 - 120 minutes
Questions to Leverage Dashboard Data
- What is the retention and attrition rate of all teachers from the previous year?
- What are the trends in the data over the last several years?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers by subject area from the previous year?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers by in or out of feld subject area from the previous year?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers by population served from the previous year?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers by campus from the previous year?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers over time?
- What is the retention and attrition rate of teachers of the district compared to the state average?
- What detailed information is available about teacher retention within the district?
Frame
This phase occurs before reviewing the data to orient stakeholders and focus the analysis.
Guiding Questions
- Based on this data, what interventions or strategies would help address the trends noticed?
- What other data sources can be reviewed in conjunction with the trends noticed in this data?
- What are the specific next steps (timelines, resources, limitations. etc.) needed to build our plan?
- How will we ensure the plan is effective? How will we know if/when it is effective?
- How will we share the results (both the plan and the outcomes of the plan) with stakeholders?
Example
In reviewing the data, some trends that we noticed were:
- A notable proportion of our newly hired teachers entered with emergency or intern permits, while fewer entered fully certified. This could suggest
- our district is relying heavily on alternative entry pathways to meet staffing needs,
- there may be shortages in specific certification areas leading to more emergency hires, and/or 3) certified teachers are choosing other LEAs over ours.
- Provisionally certified or uncertified teachers were more often hired to teach in high-need areas. This suggests we may need to consider additional support for these teachers to ensure long-term retention and instructional effectiveness.
- Over the past three years, the proportion of uncertified hires has increased. This suggests a possible trend that could signal future staffing challenges if the pipeline of fully certified candidates continues to shrink.
Describe
This phase occurs during the review of data to make meaning of the data and support decision making.
Guiding Questions
- Based on this data, what interventions or strategies would help address the trends noticed?
- What other data sources can be reviewed in conjunction with the trends noticed in this data?
- What are the specific next steps (timelines, resources, limitations. etc.) needed to build our plan?
- How will we ensure the plan is effective? How will we know if/when it is effective?
- How will we share the results (both the plan and the outcomes of the plan) with stakeholders?
Example
In reviewing the data, some trends that we noticed were:
- A notable proportion of our newly hired teachers entered with emergency or intern permits, while fewer entered fully certified. This could suggest
- our district is relying heavily on alternative entry pathways to meet staffing needs,
- there may be shortages in specific certification areas leading to more emergency hires, and/or 3) certified teachers are choosing other LEAs over ours.
- Provisionally certified or uncertified teachers were more often hired to teach in high-need areas. This suggests we may need to consider additional support for these teachers to ensure long-term retention and instructional effectiveness.
- Over the past three years, the proportion of uncertified hires has increased. This suggests a possible trend that could signal future staffing challenges if the pipeline of fully certified candidates continues to shrink.
Plan
This phase occurs after the analysis of the data, resulting in a codified plan with actions that support continuous improvement.
Guiding Question
- Based on this data, what interventions or strategies would help address the trends noticed?
- What other data sources can be reviewed in conjunction with the trends noticed in this data?
- What are the specific next steps (timelines, resources, limitations. etc.) needed to build our plan?
- How will we ensure the plan is effective? How will we know if/when it is effective?
- How will we share the results (both the plan and the outcomes of the plan) with stakeholders?
Example
In reviewing the data, some trends that we noticed were:
- A notable proportion of our newly hired teachers entered with emergency or intern permits, while fewer entered fully certified. This could suggest
- our district is relying heavily on alternative entry pathways to meet staffing needs,
- there may be shortages in specific certification areas leading to more emergency hires, and/or 3) certified teachers are choosing other LEAs over ours.
- Provisionally certified or uncertified teachers were more often hired to teach in high-need areas. This suggests we may need to consider additional support for these teachers to ensure long-term retention and instructional effectiveness.
- Over the past three years, the proportion of uncertified hires has increased. This suggests a possible trend that could signal future staffing challenges if the pipeline of fully certified candidates continues to shrink.