Teacher Recruitment & Retention: Introduction and Chapter 1: 16 Truths About the State of Teacher Recruitment & Retention (Introduction and Chapter 1)

Details:

• Resource Type: Playbook
• Estimated time: 1 team session

Purpose:

Engage with this resource to reflect on current recruitment best practices to identify gaps and opportunities in your own approach.

This resource contains chapter 1 from a playbook written by Insight Education Group (TSL 2017, 2020) and builds foundational knowledge of why and how teacher recruitment practices must change. Although its primary audience is school districts, the resource may be adapted by universities and other organizations to inform their strategic partnerships with schools and to consider how they can shape new educators’ expectations related to recruitment.

Directions:

1. Share 16 Truths About the State of Teacher Recruitment & Retention (Introduction and Chapter 1) with your team.
2. If you are a school district, convene your team to explore Truth 4 (pages 18-19), Truth 8 (pages 23-24), and Truth 12 (pages 30-32).
3. Use the reflection questions at the end of each truth sub-section to guide your teams’ discussion about how aligned your practices are to each truth. Take note of an improvement or follow-up action after each discussion.
4. If you are an educator preparation program or educational organization that supports pre-service teachers, convene your team to explore Truth 7 (pages 21-22), Truth 8 (pages 23-24), and Truth 12 (pages 30-32).
5. Based on what is revealed about these promising practices, discuss if and/or how you are developing teacher candidates’ understanding of the hiring and selection process and some of the questions they may wish to ask during an interview. Note any follow-up actions your team may wish to take after each discussion.

1. If you are a school district, select 2 or 3 more truths that are most relevant to your team and schedule an additional team meeting to continue your analysis. As a team, identify steps you can take to integrate new understandings or new practices into your grant work.
2. If you are an educator preparation program or educational organization that supports pre-service teachers, reconvene your team to read Truth 9 (pages 24-26), Truth 11 (pages 28-29), and Truth 13 (pages 33-35). Discuss if and/or how you are developing teacher candidates’ ability to scan and evaluate school systems in advance of submitting an application.
3. Reconvene your team to explore retention strategies using the next resource Retention Success: What Makes Effective Teachers Stay (Chapter 5).