HIRING, RETAINING, AND SUPPORTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS FOR HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS

Background: Retaining teachers in high-poverty schools is of concern because of the importance of equity and opportunity in education for underserved communities across the US. The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) was designed to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers in high-poverty schools and federal intervention remains in effect for low-performing schools. Despite new legislation from the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), teacher retention and capacity continue to challenge education systems. For example, approximately (49%) of alternatively certified teachers leave within five years which is three and a half times the rate of traditionally certified teachers at (14%). This is particularly challenging in Texas wherein in 2017, teacher certificates were earned through standard (59%), alternative (29%), and Post Baccalaureate (9.0%) routes. A report from the U.S. Department of Labor on teacher turnover estimated $2.2 billion was spent annually to handle separation and teacher turnover. Purpose: The aims of this project focused on the reports of seven high-poverty high schools. Specifically, teacher experience and student outcomes; teacher credentials and retention; and teacher-to-student ratios in federal entitlement programs were the focus. Understanding current and prior status at each of the high schools determine action steps for the future. Method: This is a quantitative-descriptive study of publicly available aggregate-level archival records for seven high-poverty and low-performing campuses over a five-year period. Quantitative reports highlight the inputs of teacher experience, credentials, and turnover with the outputs of the student-to-teacher ratios and student outcomes. Results: Over the five-year period, the seven high-poverty low-performing schools showed student outcomes that generally improved over time but continued to be low with less than 50% of students passing most subjects in most of the schools. Anywhere from one-fourth to one-half of teachers had less than five years’ ...