Costs
In the 2003-2004 school year, the estimated cost of replacing teachers who left the profession or school cost the US over $7 billion. The National Commission on Teaching and American's Future found in a study that nothing is being done--no plan in place--to control this out-of-control turnover. In fact, statistics are not even being kept.
Per School - Per Teacher
When a staggering amount of money like $7 billion is thrown out, it is difficult to know what this means to an individual school. In today's schools, books are not being purchased and teachers are not being sent to workshops because of budget cuts. Just how much is this costing the individual schools that are trying to cut expenses?
Vaishaii Honawar, Education Week, reports the following for turnover expenses per teacher:
- $4,366 in Jemez Valley, NM
- $17,872 in Chicago, IL ($86 million per year)
- $9,875 Granville County, NC
- $9,875 Milwaukee, WI
Unfortunately, the schools that can least afford the expenses, high-risk schools with high-risk students, are the districts that have to absorb the costs more often. Not only do turnover expenses interfere with the day to day expenses but they also prevent the students from having an experienced and stable staff. Schools are turning to substitutes and uncertified teachers to fill in the gaps. In addition to a teacher shortage, there is also a school nurse and counselor shortage. Even after knowing how dire the situation is, some high-risk schools do not want to give parents a choice in where their children will attend school and block school choice.
Solutions
The newly amended No Child Left Behind Act demands that school leaders be held accountable for teacher turnover. Each state and local education agency may be required to:
- report publicly the distribution of qualified teachers
- average years of teaching experience in each school
- the annual rate of principal and teacher attrition
- cost per each school
Education Week also states that there are steps to be taken to resolve this problem:
- measure turnover costs
- devise a human-resource strategy
- invest in induction programs
- foster a school culture of working together to improve student achievement
Calculator
The report offers an on-line calculator so that each school may calculate their teacher turnover costs. Schools are probably unaware of the true expenses for turnover.
Success in Nevada
Clark County in Nevada was suffering from spiraling teacher turnover with the average teacher staying 1.9 years. A federal grant was used to implement a pilot program that included full-time mentoring and slightly higher pay. After three years, teacher retention was between 85 and 95 percent in these 12 schools. The program was expanded to 27 schools. [Vaishaii Honawar, Education Week, edweek.org, June 20, 2007]
The problem can be solved. A few items need to be in place:
- acknowledge the problem exists
- know how much it is costing
- keep statistics
- have a plan to incorporate mentoring and monitoring
We can not afford to lose new teachers after five years. With large numbers of veteran teachers retiring in just a few years, we need a plan to provide a stable education for the next generation.
Related articles: Future Look of Education and Paradigm Shift in Learning by Thomas Frey,
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
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