Abstract:

This presentation will present data on why new teachers leave the profession and what university programs can do to assist k-12 practitioners in retaining teachers. School districts can align their retention efforts with best practices in other fields with proven success.
According to the National Education Association, approximately 50% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years (Recruiting Strategy, 2017). Research shows that teacher attrition costs over 2.2 billion nationally each year (Skae, 2017).

Most school districts admit that the retention of new hires is an issue in their organization. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) has determined that the average cost to fill an open position is $4129.00 and it takes an average of 42 days to fill (Recruiting Strategy, 2017). Educators know that there is an additional cost, more importantly, to student achievement.

Despite this pressing need, school districts have been slow to realign their recruitment and retention practices with those in the private sector, especially focusing on hiring diverse candidates to reflect the communities served by the school (Konoske-Graf, Partelow & Benner, 2016). Keeping talent that has been recruited must be a priority.

Keywords:

Teacher retention, teacher training, university programs.