What makes a sustainable teacher career path that attracts and retains great teachers? In a new report, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) looks at eight school district and charter career advancement initiatives for lessons and challenges, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Project L.I.F.T. and its use of Opportunity Culture models.
The report comes out of a three-year study NNSTOY conducted with Pearson’s Center for Educator Effectiveness, in partnership with the National Education Association and Public Impact and with assistance from the American Federation of Teachers.
NNSTOY aims to identify what makes a career continuum that enhances recruitment, retention, student achievement, and teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs–a continuum that makes it possible to stay in the classroom while taking on leadership roles and receiving sustainable higher pay, all of which matter especially to attracting millenials to education.
The report highlights the need for collaborative teacher-leader roles; a selection process focused on excellent teaching; set-aside school-day collaboration time; equitable higher pay for teacher-leaders; peer coaching and a transparent system for peer evaluation; job-embedded professional development and PD specific to the needs of teacher-leaders; and opportunities for teachers to participate and be heard in school decision-making.
It looks at what conditions are needed for a district to create and sustain new career paths, highlights benefits and challenges of the initiatives profiled, and offers some general recommendations and considerations for districts considering creating a sustainable teacher career advancement initiative.
Read the full report here.