It is hard to believe that we are almost at the finish line for the 2023 – 2024 school year! As school leaders reflect upon the great things happening at our schools, it is necessary for us to continue working through effective best practices around teacher retention. In the ever-evolving landscape of education, teacher retention remains a cornerstone for creating a stable, effective, and nurturing learning environment. As educators face an array of challenges ranging from workload pressures to the pursuit of work-life balance, we stand in a unique position to cultivate a supportive atmosphere that encourages teacher longevity. Drawing on proven strategies and innovative practices, here are a few key approaches that school leaders can implement to foster teacher retention:

Creating a Culture of Support and Professional Growth
At the heart of teacher retention is the creation of a culture that values continuous learning and professional development. Principals can champion this by providing regular opportunities for teachers to engage in professional learning communities, pursue further education, and attend workshops or conferences relevant to their fields. Such initiatives not only enrich teachers' instructional capabilities but also signal a commitment to their career advancement and personal growth.

Recognizing and Valuing Teacher Contributions
Acknowledgment and appreciation of teachers’ efforts plays a pivotal role in retention. This can be achieved through formal and informal recognition programs including awards, shout-outs in meetings, or personal notes of thanks. These gestures of appreciation go a long way in making teachers feel valued and understood, thereby increasing their loyalty and satisfaction with their workplace.

Fostering a Collaborative Environment
Collaboration among teachers fosters a sense of community and shared purpose, essential elements for a positive work environment. Principals can facilitate this by promoting team-teaching opportunities, encouraging interdisciplinary projects, and creating spaces for teachers to share resources and teaching strategies. Such an environment not only enhances instructional practices but also builds strong professional relationships among staff.

Encouraging Teacher Autonomy and Leadership
Empowering teachers to take leadership roles in curriculum development, school improvement initiatives, and decision-making processes can enhance their sense of ownership and commitment to the school’s mission. By trusting teachers as professionals and valuing their insights, principals can foster a collaborative leadership model that benefits the entire school community.

In conclusion, teacher retention is multifaceted, requiring a thoughtful and comprehensive approach that addresses both the professional and personal needs of educators. By creating a supportive environment, recognizing and valuing contributions, fostering collaboration, and encouraging autonomy and leadership, principals can significantly impact the satisfaction and retention of their teachers. As Dr. Brad Johnson aptly puts it, “If you want to keep the best teachers, treat them like they are the best. Few teachers leave an environment where they feel valued, supported, appreciated, and treated like professionals.” This powerful reminder serves as a guiding principle for all educational leaders in their quest to nurture and retain the invaluable educators who shape the future of our society.

Nicole Jones, Principal, Lanier Elementary School – a Redesign School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LDOE Corner

Although it is February, school systems and the Louisiana Department of Education have begun making preparations for the 2024-2025 school year. The LDOE has begun to release a statewide platform for professional learning called Canopy accessible to all K-12 employees at no cost to school systems. Canopy is a learning and development platform for organizations that prioritize interactive learning and strategic analytics. All professional learning will be housed in the Professional Learning Platform including monthly school system webinars, topic-specific webinars, Teacher Leader Summit Sessions, and any professional learning hosted by LDOE staff and/or professional learning partners.

The exciting part for principals is that you as school level leaders will also be able to create your own professional learning modules in the platform. You will be able to build interactive and in-depth learning experiences using 20+ unique engagement tools. Instructors can create higher-quality learning experiences in less time. It will also allow school-level leaders to assign and enroll teachers in relevant professional learning from a single course catalog and track their progress and certificates across professional learning modules. School-level leaders can easily track individual and cohort progress, review responses to engagement questions, provide feedback,and award certificates upon completion. These features can play a key role in coaching and mentoring your teachers, especially with the implementation of the new Louisiana evaluation system. Each learning experience can be progress monitored by viewing individual progress, total time engaged, and last login for each learner.

School-level leaders will only be able to access their own school’s data and system-level leaders will only be able to access their own school system’s data. LDOE has begun working with data managers, LEA security coordinators, and EdTech directors to ensure each employee has access to Canopy through EdLink Security.

Training is crucial for a successful implementation of the PL Platform. After users receive their EdLink Credentials and Canopy permission (Learner, Instructor, or Admin), users will need to complete the online training in Canopy to access the Professional Learning Platform. These trainings will be released in Spring 2024.

LDOE is looking forward to seeing all that can be accomplished using the PL Platform. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please reach out to amanda.slaughter@la.gov.

Amanda Slaughter, Education Consultant
Division of Educator Talent and Workforce Development