How much does it cost to hire a teacher? How much does it cost to keep a teacher?

At CERRA, we know that the best way to recruit teachers is to keep the teachers we already have. As districts invest valuable time and money into the teacher workforce, it is critical that new teachers be supported and retained so that the investment not only reduces costs from turnover and attrition, but also increases the performance of highly trained teachers and schools so that the needs of all students are met.

Price Tag for Teacher Loss

One study out of Texas estimates that their annual teacher turnover rate of 15.5% costs the state a "conservative" $329 million. If organizational costs like new teacher training, costs of termination, substitutes and "learning curve" loss are factored in, the price tag could increase to $2.1 billion a year.

This recent study used research models from industry that have not been widely used in education. States must track teacher attrition and turnover and address retention issues. We can no longer afford to absorb the cost of turnover as normal operating costs (National Commission on Teaching & America's Future, 2002).

South Carolina's Teacher Attrition

We lose new teachers at a rate of 16.7% after the first year, 27.5% after the third year, and an unacceptable rate of 33.5% after five years.

Attrition is highest in the districts that need stability the most. Our high-poverty, rural districts suffer the most from the revolving door of teacher turnover. Turnover rates for teachers can be as high as 40-50% in some South Carolina schools, and the turnover rate for administrators can be as high as 90-100%.

Bottom line: Our students and their families are paying the price for poor teacher and administrator retention and support.

CERRA's Involvement in Teacher Retention

CERRA's commitment to teacher retention is grounded in research and collaborative efforts with its partner agencies in South Carolina, including, but not restricted to, the State Department of Education. In 2001, CERRA was invited to partner with the Division of Educator Quality and Leadership in order to lead the South Carolina Mentoring Committee. As a result of this work, the South Carolina Induction and Mentoring Implementation Guidelines were approved by the State Board of Education in July 2005. As a result of feedback provided to the partnership, the Guidelines were revised and approved in September 2006.

To view the full text of the SC Induction and Mentoring Guidelines, click here.

Over 1,000 South Carolina educators including classroom teachers, administrators and higher education faculty have participated in mentor trainings conducted by CERRA as of December 2006. Using concepts from the New Teacher Center model (University of California - Santa Cruz) and aligning the model with ADEPT Performance Standards, CERRA staff members provide two days of training, focusing on the knowledge, skills, and understandings that are critical for those who work with beginning teachers. The training is guided by the belief that learning to teach is a career-long developmental process that involves a continuous cycle of planning, teaching, and reflecting. The heart of the work is to respond to each new teacher's developmental and contextual needs and to promote the ongoing examination of classroom practice.

For more information on the New Teacher Center model, visit http://www.newteachercenter.org .

CERRA is currently working in partnership with the New Teacher Center and the State Department of Education to offer advanced mentor trainings for mentors who completed the foundational training and are currently serving beginning teachers. Pending funding, CERRA plans to offer advanced trainings in the summer and fall of 2007.

Many South Carolina educators have also participated in Cognitive CoachingSM training. This training will be integrated, along with the New Teacher Center model, into CERRA's mentoring initiatives with the State Department of Education. Cognitive CoachingSM enhances and stretches the conceptual frameworks of teachers and is based on the following four major assumptions:

1. Thought and perception produce all behavior.

2. Teaching is constant decision-making.

3. To learn something new requires engagement and alteration in thought.

4. Humans continue to grow cognitively.

Future Opportunities

South Carolina Foundations in Mentoring Training

At this time, these trainings are scheduled by request. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Jason Fulmer, Program Director, at fulmerj@cerra.org.  

Cognitive Coaching^SM Foundations Seminar

The eight-day training focuses on the use of maps and tools to mediate another person's thinking, and coaches are equipped to assist new and/or struggling veteran teachers. Participants must attend all eight days of training in order to complete the seminar. Preregistration required.

Contact: Jason Fulmer, CERRA Program Director at fulmerj@cerra.org