The High Costs of Teacher Turnover (and How EdTech Can Help)

Until recently, goals around reducing teacher turnover rarely headlined school district strategic plans. When efforts to promote retention were front and center, it was typically in large urban or small rural districts. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now 567,000 fewer educators in America’s public schools than four years ago. With rates of teacher attrition accelerating in districts of all shapes and sizes, this challenge has become top-of-mind for education leaders nationwide.

Teacher retention is not solely a matter of preserving a workforce; it's about safeguarding student success, with research demonstrating clear relationships between teacher quality and student outcomes. When teachers leave, they take with them invaluable skills, experience, and institutional knowledge. The ripple effects extend beyond the classroom, impacting school culture and district bottom lines. According to a 2017 study by the Learning Policy Institute, the cost to recruit, hire, and onboard one new teacher, on average, can be as much as $20,000 for urban districts, $11,000 for their suburban counterparts, and $9,000 in rural settings. These figures strain already tight budgets and underscore the urgency for sustainable solutions.

Studies point to a direct relationship between workloads/time pressure and teacher burnout. Educational technology represents hope for improvement, offering practical solutions to mitigate teacher burnout and bolster retention. By streamlining time-consuming tasks like unit planning, assessment design, grading, and data analysis, these tools help educators reclaim time to foster meaningful connections with students, collaborate around best practices, and engage in self-care. Deprioritizing investments that alleviate teacher workloads may seem like a cost-saving measure in the short term, but in the long run, it is a false economy when weighed against the substantial costs of frequent rehiring driven by burnout. By reducing teacher turnover rates, schools can curtail recruitment and onboarding expenses, channeling resources towards student-centered initiatives.

The sometimes overlooked but significant costs of teacher turnover require innovative solutions, including educational technology. By alleviating non-instructional burdens to promote educator wellbeing, these tools not only help to retain overworked teachers but also fortify the foundation of student success. As district leaders navigate the complexities of present staffing challenges, investing in educational technology should not be viewed as a luxury—it's a strategic imperative with potentially profound implications for student outcomes and district budgets.