Teachers' Challenges

Support them now before it's too late

The first years of being a classroom teacher can be filled with anxiety and stress. If you entered the job without a full understanding of the scope of daily tasks and additional responsibilities, it can be a constant challenge. Many will say, ‘It takes a while to get comfortable. You just have to experience it.’

Is ‘experiencing it’ the best way to support and develop new and struggling educators? We HAVE to do better than ‘trial by fire.‘

Why? It is reported that almost 20% of teachers leave their jobs within the first three years and 50% are reported to leave the field within the first 5 years of teaching. Teachers are not sticking around long enough to experience that comfort or feeling of success.

On average, educators spend tens of thousands of dollars and many years preparing for this career. Of the educators surveyed in the 2018 Personalized Professional Learning Survey, 74% of educators went into teaching to make an impact in the lives of children. If there is a chronic feeling that what is happening each day is not impactful or making a difference, new educators may hit the road much sooner than hoped and expected.

The effects of the loss of teachers are not only devasting to that teacher, the ripple effect is quite large. Studies show low teacher retention rates result in poor student achievement and negative school climate.

Can you afford NOT to support and develop them?

Teacher turnover rates have a lasting effect on schools in addition to dramatic student success costs. The financial cost of teacher turnover ranges from $9,000 per teacher exiting a small rural district to almost $21,000 in urban an district. This adds up fast. For example, the total cost of turnover in Chicago Public Schools is estimated to be over $86 million per year.² Each year in the United States, there are approximately 325,000 new teachers in public and private education³. Schools desperately need to keep these teachers supported for so much more than financial reasons. The loss of these new educators effects all students.

When budgeting for the next school year, where you spend your money really does matter to the bottom line in terms of financial and academic outcomes. You can set yourself up for success by supporting and developing new and struggling teachers now.

Can you really afford not to? Retain vs. Replace

¹http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/03/30/395322012/the-hidden-costs-of-teacherturnover ²http://www.nea.org/tools/17054.htm ³https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_208.20.asp?current=yes ⁴https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/the-cost-of-teacher-turnover

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Anticipate their success

We’ve all been there. It’s the very beginning of our career, and there are feelings of insecurity about our skills and ability to make an impact:

Will I be able to handle student behaviors? How do I talk to parents about poor performance? Does asking for help make me seem like a weak teacher? How will I be able to manage my time to get it all in each day? There are so many changes and new initiatives, how can I possibly keep up?

These concerns are very common and very real concerns for new and struggling teachers. 48% of teachers we surveyed report that meeting the needs of individual students is the most challenging part of being a new teacher. That is a big umbrella concept to wrestle with, but it’s one that leaders, coaches, and administrators can anticipate and help with.

Check out these five tips for supporting new and struggling teachers now before they start looking for something else outside of the education world.

A Teacher's Concerns

Relevant experience

It takes time for many educators to feel successful. Unfortunately, we need new teachers to feel some success from day one so they stick around long enough to gain that feeling of expertise. For many, it just takes too long. They need the right learning experiences from day one.

Personalized Strategy and Advice

When looking for support, most educators rely on their teacher friends and the internet to enhance their development. While these resources have good intentions, they often rely on the "It worked for me, it should work for you" theory. Unfortunately, more often than not, this isn't true.

Effective Communication Skills

Educators want more development in the areas of communication with parents, peers, and administrators. There is a lot to navigate and there are few 'low stakes' opportunities to practice writing clear emails or having a challenging conversation with a student's family.

Challenges of 21st Century Educators

Support them now before it's too late

Can you afford NOT to support and develop them?

¹http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/03/30/395322012/the-hidden-costs-of-teacherturnover ²http://www.nea.org/tools/17054.htm ³https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_208.20.asp?current=yes ⁴https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/the-cost-of-teacher-turnover

Got 25 minutes for some PD?

Anticipate their success

A Teacher's Concerns

Relevant experience

Personalized Strategy and Advice

Effective Communication Skills

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Challenges of 21st Century Educators

Support them now before it's too late

Can you afford NOT to support and develop them?

1http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/03/30/395322012/the-hidden-costs-of-teacherturnover 2http://www.nea.org/tools/17054.htm 3https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_208.20.asp?current=yes 4https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/the-cost-of-teacher-turnover

Got 25 minutes for some PD?

Anticipate their success

A Teacher's Concerns

Relevant experience

Personalized Strategy and Advice

Effective Communication Skills

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¹http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/03/30/395322012/the-hidden-costs-of-teacherturnover ²http://www.nea.org/tools/17054.htm ³https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_208.20.asp?current=yes ⁴https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/the-cost-of-teacher-turnover