Volume 21, Number 5
September/October 2005
Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance
New initiatives target the special problems of hard-to-staff schools
By ALEXANDER RUSSO
Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance, continued
Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance: New initiatives target the special problems of hard-to-staff schools
Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance
A year ago, Caroline County (Va.) schools had a lot of teachers to replace—again. The tiny, low-performing rural district north of Richmond needed to replace about 35 teachers in its four schools. The middle school alone had 19 vacancies, almost one-third of its 62 teachers. Interest in teaching at the school was minimal.
Some of those who left the district were new teachers who had struggled to meet the demands of the job. “Most of the time we could help make sure they’d make it through the year,” recalls superintendent Stanley Jones, “but they weren’t necessarily functioning. The tire was half flat.”
This is an excerpt from the Harvard Education Letter.
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A year ago, Caroline County (Va.) schools had a lot of teachers to replace—again. The tiny, low-performing rural district north of Richmond needed to replace about 35 teachers in its four schools. The middle school alone had 19 vacancies, almost one-third of its 62 teachers. Interest in teaching at the school was minimal.
Some of those who left the district were new teachers who had struggled to meet the demands of the job. “Most of the time we could help make sure they’d make it through the year,” recalls superintendent Stanley Jones, “but they weren’t necessarily functioning. The tire was half flat.”
