Teacher Turnover

My pen has been silent for some time....crazy time of year. The last 3 months have been a whirlwind. This post is a copy of an article I sent to the Carriage Town this week.

Where has the year gone? It seems that we blinked in March and the school year is coming to a close. It has been a busy few months in the district as this year draws to a close and we begin planning for next year.

One of the big challenges facing the district this coming year is the recruitment and hiring of new teachers. We have a significant amount of turnover, particularly of our teachers. This is largely due to the failure of the teacher contract for the third year. We are finding that we are losing some of our youngest, best, and brightest teachers to other districts, and in some cases, other careers. This year we are facing the realization that we have at least 27 teachers leaving the district. These are people whom have worked for the district for several years and whom we have invested a considerable amount of time and financial resources. On average, it costs about $6,000. in the first two years to train a teacher new to the district in the programs in Sanborn. This will equate to about $162,000.00 to fully train these new staff members over the next two years.

While we will surely miss our colleagues as they pursue their careers, my focus remains on the wonderful staff members we still have in the district, how to attract, and retain new teachers, and how we can continue our march toward becoming a top 10% school district in the State. I continue to work with the Administrative leadership, the Sanborn Regional Education Association, and the School Board to ensure that the students are getting the best education we can offer them.

During the coming months, the school district will be sponsoring several public forums and “coffee houses” to provide the opportunities for the public to discuss the importance of passing a teacher contract next March and retaining the quality teachers that we have in the district. We will provide information on the Evergreen Clause and what it actually means to the community as well as our teachers and paraprofessional staff. We will also be accepting feedback on how to gain community support as we move into next year.

As always, I welcome your feedback. I can be reached at bblake@sau17.org.