What Does it Take to Retain Good Teachers?

Studies have shown that good teachers can improve student achievement by as much as an extra grade level during a school year. In the previous blog we talked about what principals should look for in teachers. Spotting and hiring good teachers is a challenge for principals. What is more challenging is how to keep them.

Martin Haberman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has developed an interview designed to identify effective urban teachers. The Haberman Urban Teacher Selection Interview has been used to hire 30,000 teachers in 160 cities, and Haberman says that follow-up studies suggest these hires have performed at least as well as other teachers and remain in the profession longer.

The Haberman interview is designed to get at a prospective teacher’s belief system in seven key areas. “How much teachers know is important,” says Haberman, “but it only matters if you can relate to kids. If knowing stuff was all that matters, college professors could teach middle school kids.” When I was the principal of Chicago Math and Science Academy charter school, I used the Haberman screening and found it very effective.

As a principal, you need to make sure that your employees are satisfied with the work environment that you create and they feel successful. “Following are eight characteristics of a work environment that seem to have the greatest effect on employee satisfaction and feelings of success:
clear mission
simulating professional development opportunities
professional culture
opportunity to use one’s talents and skills
comfortable, attractive, and well-equipped physical space
adequate time to perform required duties
adequate supply of materials and equipment.” (Seyfarth, 186)

“Teaching is one of those rare jobs whereby on any given day you can literally change someone’s life,” says consultant Nathan Eklund in his Kappan article. That same exciting potential, however, is the reason teachers can easily exhaust themselves working too intensely and not taking care of their own needs. “Put bluntly,” says Eklund, “the more you care about this work, the greater your risk of burning out… Today’s growing shortage of teachers tells us we’re failing to protect our most valuable commodity.”

Two things can counteract this tendency: the school being a supportive, healthy environment for adults and students, and educators being mindful of their own boundaries and limitations.

• A healthy workplace – Schools need to agree on norms for collegial relationships so  staff members know what it looks like to be supported by their colleagues – and be supportive of them. “Don’t leave intended and desired adult behavior to chance,” says Eklund. He also suggests recognizing and celebrating good work by colleagues in regular staff meetings, involving teachers in the hiring process, and empowering staff to solve their own problems. An example: there was tension within a high-school English department because some teachers were getting students’ essays back to them within a day or two while others were taking a month. Finally, teachers sat down and agreed on a common standard: papers would be returned within a week, which worked well for students and teachers. Eklund also suggests that schools should explicitly discourage the belief that teachers who are the most exhausted and miserable deserve the most admiration. “Dedication is admirable,” he says, “but martyrdom is unsustainable. Schools need to make it okay for educators to maintain energy, balance, and happiness.”

• Work-life balance – “If we’re not adequately taking care of ourselves,” says Eklund, “we’re jeopardizing our ability to take care of others.” First, he recommends lancing workplace boils. “If we have lingering issues with a colleague, we must resolve them in order to be fully present in the workplace,” he says. “If we have growing dissatisfaction with a workplace condition, we must take personal responsibility to address it and look for reasonable change.” Second, he suggests establishing a “colleague of the month” award for staff members who make the job more appealing for their coworkers. Third, Eklund says we must make time for our own personal passions outside of school – exercise, music, whatever. And finally, he says we must “Laugh loud and laugh often… Isolation is a leading cause of burnout. When asked to identify what makes a good day good, ‘laughter’ and ‘time with colleagues’ are often at the top of the list.”

In his work with educators and school districts, Eklund often asks three questions. Here’s what he hears in response:

• What makes a good day at work? Laughter, collegiality, freedom to innovate, recognition of good work, being thanked, being able to decide what to do with time, not too many meetings, the ability to teach.

• What makes a bad day at work? Conflict with colleagues, chaos, loss of time, lack of support, and factors that make me wonder why I went into teaching.

• What can save a bad day? Encouraging words, humor, exercise, family and friends, collegial and administrative support, and positive interactions with students.

References:

1-    J. Seyfarth, Human Resources Leadership for Effective Schools

2-    “Sustainable Workplaces, Retainable Teachers” by Nathan Eklund in Phi Delta Kappan, October 2009 (Vol. 91, #2, p. 25-27); can be purchased at http://www.pdkintl.org

3-    “Landing the ‘Highly Qualified Teacher” by Robert Rothman in Harvard Education Letter, January/February 2004 (Vol. 20, #1, p. 6-8)