The Missing Component In Teacher Recruiting and Retention Efforts

Every day I discipline myself to making 50 phone calls. To say I have become an expert in how to leave a voice mail message may be an understatement. There is something brilliant about the conversations that I do have. The key to it is in listening more than talking. "Ask the question and then shut your mouth" were the wise words from the genius Dick Pulse who taught me the art of recruiting. Just letting people talk reveals so much. Board members, teachers, superintendents, principals all talk about their challenges.

A board member whose district struggle finding teachers said, "We have lots and lots of discussions about the problem but the discussion stops there. We haven't heard an solutions." A superintendent who is on a committee trying to address the teacher shortage in her state recently reached out to me, a shortage that state Department of Education says doesn't exist. A principal in a district whose teeters on the edge of state takeover sent me a message in all capital letters saying "WE NEED YOUR HELP". The 42 page, 29 point report issued by a state department of education whose panel was made up exclusively of legislators, Department of Education employees and superintendents.

The solutions these different groups and organizations have come up with vary. My state of Indiana thinks that more unlicensed teachers in the classrooms is the answer. Arizona keeps trying this but those "teachers" quit and even a faster pace than licensed teachers. They speak about more money. I met recently with a local superintendent who shared with me that a beginning teacher with two children starting salary would allow her to qualify for food stamps. A district in Colorado is going to a four day work week in hopes of attracting more teachers. There is a district in South Carolina who attends 53 job fairs nationwide every year still had to hire 14 international teachers this year to cover their math classes. A larger district was so excited about doing something "revolutionary" this year to fill the 900 opens they have annually. They are having a job fair. A board president shared with me that his college is working on a program to help teachers be better prepared to work with urban students.

In all of these cases, Boards of Education, blue ribbon panels, school districts, national organizations and schools few have thought to reach out for the expertise and insights a talent acquisition professional can give them.

As Dr. Phil always says, "You can change what you don't acknowledge". We can't increase the pipeline until we understand why teachers are leaving. What is missing is listening to why they are leaving and fixing it.

In a recent conversation with a Board President she told me that while they don't pay a lot more than the neighboring districts and they are somewhat rural, they had over 100 applications for a high school math teaching position. They never have a problem filling a position and their turnover rate is almost solely based on a family member relocating. It was based on the conversation that she had with me that I knew the secret to their success...they listen.

Of course listening would require changing. Colleges and universities would have to change how the prepare teachers. Schools, boards and districts recruiting model would have to change. The process if there is one in on boarding would have to change. Retention would have to become as great of a priority if not greater as recruiting is. Building leadership and communities would have to change how teachers are supported and encouraged. State legislatures would have to leave educating up to educators. Testing companies and special interest groups would have to change their focus from profits to children.

Change can be difficult. Often we look for what is easy as opposed to what is effective. Clearly there will be winners and losers in the completion to staff schools. In this case those who win will be those who first listen.