During my time at Teachstone, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with a wide range of early education coaches and center directors across the country—from those working in densely populated, urban settings to more isolated, rural Head Starts and everything in between. Time and time again, the same challenge comes up: teacher-turnover. One coach recently told me:
“I’ve spent a lot of time coaching teachers that I thought were really making progress … and then they’re gone and I have to start over again … I can probably count on one hand the number of teachers I’m still working with [after five years of coaching].”
This problem is often out of coaches’ hands, with experts citing a variety of reasons for high teacher-turnover, including low compensation, high teacher-child ratios, and challenging working conditions.
We know what is required for coaches to effectively support teachers’ improvement: time, intensity, and duration. But what can coaches do to affect positive growth in the face of ever-changing staff?
- Make a plan: Develop a plan for supporting children through a teacher’s departure. If possible, each classroom should have more than one adult assigned to it to allow for some consistency if one adult resigns.
- Use affiliates: Build an arsenal of trainers, certified to train new teachers and get them up to speed on the foundational elements that matter most in your program. Providing in-house training allows you to create your own training schedules and save on external training costs.
- Take advantage of online programs and resources: There is a wealth of online support for new teachers, and the great thing about many of them is that they are flexible. Teachers have short snippets of time available for outside-the-classroom tasks, and many online resources cater to this reality. For example, we have a growing collection of “teacher tips” in our blog that feature concise recommendations for teachers around enhancing their interactions.
- Avoid surprises: Busy schedules make it easy to spring things on new teachers, which can result in increased anxiety and distrust. Make efforts to provide information, in advance, about what new teachers can expect. If your program or teacher will be observed using the CLASS measure, for example, you can send new teachers the videos page on the Teachstone website, which contains a short video describing “What to Expect” during upcoming CLASS observations.
- Designate mentor teachers: Effective mentoring can increase teacher retention. Designating experienced teachers to mentor beginning teachers is one way to ease the strain on your time, while supporting newer teachers as they learn the ropes.
As a coach, it’s difficult when a teacher with whom you’ve established a relationship decides to resign. Recognizing what you can’t control (the teacher’s decision) and what you can (establishing a strong foundation of trust, empathy, and support for the next teacher) can put you in a better position to handle difficult transitions.
Let’s learn from each other! Share your experiences dealing with teacher-turnover below.
