Effective Strategies for Teacher Retention

How much is teacher turnover costing my district?

While the exact financial cost of teacher turnover is difficult to determine, we do have enough information to make informed estimates. The Learning Policy Institute, for example, estimates the per-person cost of teacher turnover to be:

• $9,000 for rural districts
• $11,000 for suburban districts
• $21,000 for urban districts

Use our teacher turnover calculator to help gauge not only the financial impact of teacher attrition on your school or district, but also how much you could be saving by investing in teacher retention strategies that are proven to work. If you don’t know the exact per-person cost of turnover at your school or district, plug in one of the research-based estimates above.

Conversely, if high teacher turnover creates a financial burden for schools and districts, high teacher retention creates financial security. For example, well before the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the challenge of teacher retention, the Arlington Independent School District (ISD) began providing comprehensive training and support to their staff through competency-based coaching for teachers, principals, and instructional coaches in partnership with e2L.

Despite pandemic-related disruptions in teaching and learning, coaching continued. As a result, while most districts began experiencing increased teacher turnover, Arlington ISD was able to retain 98% – 100% of their coached teachers over a five-year period.

“Teachers who are thinking of leaving cite compensation, unreasonable expectations, and an inability to protect their well-being as their top motivators, while those who plan to stay cite meaningful work, quality colleagues, and compensation.”

“K-12 teachers are quitting. What would make them stay?”
McKinsey & Company, March 2023

What can districts do to increase teacher retention?

According to a 2022 survey by the National Education Association, when it comes to teacher turnover and retention, here’s what we do know: more than half of teachers plan to leave the profession early, 90% of teachers say burnout is a serious problem, and resignations accounted for 51% of teacher vacancies.

Additionally, a 2023 study from the RAND Corporation found that nearly 90% of teachers report working at least 50 hours per week – working an average of 15 uncontracted hours weekly, 12 of which are reportedly unpaid.

Teacher retention continues to be a challenge, leading not only to high financial costs for districts, but also to strained systems, overwhelmed staff, decreased student achievement scores, and lower enrollment rates. 

We recently asked leaders from several of our partner districts to share their experiences with and insights into why teachers are leaving the profession, what they’re doing to retain teachers, and how to sustainably nurture and retain top teaching talent.

In conjunction with our own data and independently validated research, we narrowed down the key takeaways and teacher retention strategies for you to consider implementing across your school or district.

“We now have engage2learn coaches for every teacher and administrator in our district, and they’re adding some amazing tools to their toolbox. I’m already amazed by what they’ve been able to do.” 
Cara Cooke, Former Superintendent, Aransas Pass Independent School District

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