How can you create a supportive school culture for teacher retention?

Great leaders not only provide feedback to appreciate their team of teachers, but they invest in their team by (1) seeking feedback from their team regularly on their own leadership(2) they act on the feedback they gather by identifying ways to support teachers more (3) they follow up with teachers 1:1 and in team settings and model the behaviors they are trying to cultivate in the team to create a culture of recognition, respect, value and growth.

As a school leader, it is essential to get into classrooms to be able to see great teachers in action so that you can recognize and appreciate staff. Shout outs can be wonderful if specific. Teacher showcases are also a great way to both show appreciation and ensure that your team can learn from each other.

Everybody needs an "abuela" at one point or another in their teaching journey. Although the word literally translates as "grandmother", an abuela is a seasoned teacher who lovingly takes others under his or her wings. Districts would be wise to consider creating a few positions that would allow veteran teachers to travel to campuses and assist teachers in need of support, both academically and emotionally. The cost of creating this type of job could easily be justified by the increase in teacher retention. Unfortunately, teachers do not have time to care for one another as much these days because their plates are overflowing. This is a job in itself. Let's treat it as such!

In my experience as an educator, I think that creating a supportive school culture is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and collaboration. By prioritizing teacher well-being, growth, and recognition, you can help foster a positive environment that promotes teacher retention. ????

Be sure to involve your staff in determining the topics of professional development. What are their specific pain points? Can they offer some case studies to wrestle through together? Observing teachers in action and having regular feedback loops are key to ensuring teachers are invested in and benefit from your PD plans.

Support can also be in the form of stretch assignments while thoughtfully considering an individuals' interest/experience/aspirations.

We point to three core strategies for fostering collaboration across educator teams: (1) Ensuring that collaborative time between grade level and content area teachers (general and special education) is intentionally built into the whole school schedule (2) Setting clear expectations for how that time should be spent; and (3) Providing training and support to leaders and educators to maximize formal and informal collaboration and more effectively meet unique student needs, especially for the most diverse learners.

Definitely I’d like to assert this point. Teachers meet a numbers of children and parents who has traumas, mental issues and so on. So teachers often require to be caring, patient and generous. However, teachers would also be suffering from such invisible pain for any reason, and it would be triggered being with such people. Teachers have to get opportunities to take a course of counseling and support anytime they need. It should be called for with much more efforts to enrich children’s school experience.

In addition to the above, across the world, teachers have become increasingly unsafe, exposed to violent attacks and even targeted for their role in transmitting knowledge. Thus, ensuring teachers’ safety is currently a vital need for teachers. When teachers feel unsafe, they migrate to regions where they feel safe. Therefore, it is important that policies and strategies (like the Safe School Declaration) designed to make schools safe for both teachers and learners are implemented effectively. I believe this will boost teachers’ satisfaction and hence contribute positively to job retention.

All of the ideas offer supports to improve the school environment. An interesting finding from the schools, students, and teachers network (SSAT) shares: “Students are witnessing a sea of adult anxiety, which they are unwittingly absorbing.” The entire school environment should foster, growth and development for anyone to produce the best possible outcomes for everyone.

I believe that to support teachers will lead better school experience for children and students. Teachers’ professional development is absolutely necessary. However, teachers’ well-being and mental support should be more focused. If a teacher feels depressed and is exhausted, he/she is not able to be patient and encourage children. Mental health is crucial to care somebody.

Measuring leading indicators that correspond to improved student outcomes can help administrators better understand where the adults in their buildings are before they have a retention issue. For example, tracking teacher self-efficacy (teachers' feeling of empowerment and autonomy for impacting outcomes of the students in their classrooms) can illuminate when teachers are feeling withdrawn. With that data point, administrators can put in place responsive strategies that focus more on culture-building for teachers.