In March, administrators often begin to take notice of the hiring needs for the next school year. The process of finding new quality teachers can prove to be quite a trying journey. This begs the question, what can school leaders do to both find new quality teachers, and keep the excellent educators already working in their schools? This month’s resources are devoted to both pieces of this challenging question.

Keeping Excellent Teachers: 

Teacher retention is often one of the biggest hurdles facing administrators. Aside from higher salaries (often something budget restrictions won’t allow), here are the four research based areas that influence teacher retention. 

1. Build a Positive School Culture- Live your school’s vision & mission. Encourage learning and growth for both students and teachers. Make communication a priority. Be present. Celebrate the successes of your staff!
2.  Create a Supportive Community Environment- Focus on creating a community of continual learning and quality instruction. Involve families and the community. Provide opportunities for collaboration & create a structure of support and open dialogue. 
3. Provide Opportunities for Learning & Development- According to a recent study about Millennials in the workforce, a large number Millennial workers said that learning and development was the most important benefit when choosing a job (second only to healthcare). Continued learning is important to today’s teachers!
4. Establish a Mentoring Program- Mentoring builds community and benefits not only new teachers, but veteran teachers as well. Encourage mentor partners to meet regularly and share ideas & feedback. 

For more information and research on keeping quality teachers, check out these articles: 

• 7 Quick Strategies for Teacher Retention- George Washington Graduation School of Education and Human Development
• Keeping Teachers Report- rethinkingschools.org
• Recruitment, Retention, & Development- readingrockets.org
• What Principals can do to Keep Good Teachers- edweek.org

Finding New Quality Teachers: 

Finding quality teachers is a difficult area for everyone.  Here are a few ideas to keep in mind as you begin this important process:

• Think like a business and have job descriptions, details, requirements, preferred qualifications already in writing.
• Consider advertising on sites that job searchers are already using:
  • https://www.ziprecruiter.com
  • https://www.indeed.com
• Some Top Education related job sites:
  • Edweek.org: http://www.topschooljobs.org/search/by/s/FL/Florida
  • Southern Teachers Agency: http://www.southernteachers.com/Internal/Candidates/
• Consider membership in a Florida Association of Academic Non-public Schools: faans.org.  Many of them allow you to list your job openings on their website!
• Check out this resource from NAESP highlighting important parts of the interview process. 
• Consider this article from Education World on six important steps ensure you receive quality teacher candidates.

To view all previous School Leadership Resources postings, click here.