Too often we hear that school districts struggle to recruit and retain stellar educators. After all, it’s teachers in the classroom who influence student achievement and growth – we need to invest in stellar teachers.
So why do great teachers leave their districts?
Hiring and retention are complex systems, but there’s something we’re overlooking: leadership.
The Star-Telegram wrote an opinion piece several months ago about the importance of investing in principals in order to keep their great teachers. They interviewed Fort Worth ISD Chief of Elementary Schools, Karen Molinar, who said, “Teachers don’t quit the students. They quit their leaders.” Click To Tweet
There’s a lot of truth to this. All educators are under pressure to do what’s best for students, but classroom teachers often feel the most heat. They work with students, parents, coworkers, and their leadership – it can be a daunting task.
It’s much more difficult to do well as a classroom teacher if your principal isn’t aligned to your practices. Principals are cultural agents in schools. They have the authority to institute policy and adjust classroom expectations as needed. Principals also have tremendous responsibility and pressure to be the cultural agent and instructional leader. It’s not easy, of course, and this is why it’s critical that campus administrators have access to executive coaching.
e2L offers coaching to executive leaders, like principals, to improve their capacity to create campus culture, encourage goal-setting, increase retention and teacher satisfaction, and ultimately improve student achievement.
Executive coaching also encourages principal retention, which ensures a stable experience for teachers and learners. There are good leaders all around us, and when we pair a natural ability for leadership with coaching, we can see impressive results for our teachers and learners.
Only through attracting and retaining principals and campus leaders will districts see improved teacher retention. Teachers work in tandem with campus leadership to make the district’s dream for learners a reality. Coach for leadership and see real results.