Teacher retention continues to top the priority list for many K-12 HR teams. As the national teacher shortage worsens, and the demand for student academic and social and emotional supports grows, quality teachers are needed more than ever. In fact, research shows that teachers affect student performance more than any other classroom factor. Experienced, effective teachers provide students with the instruction and support they need and can help mentor and nurture new colleagues just entering the profession.
Recruiting, hiring, and inspiring the next generation of teachers remain important keys to the future, but schools struggling to keep experienced teachers in classrooms are spinning their wheels as turnover rates climb. We spoke with district leaders finding traction in this challenging environment, and they shared some ways technology helps them better support and retain teachers and staff. In this post, we’ll look at what’s working for them and how you can help boost retention in your district.
1. Achieving zero retention loss due to stress and burnout during the pandemic
Olentangy Local School District in Ohio lost zero teachers to stress or burnout after shifting to a new teacher evaluations process that promotes quality feedback and teacher/principal dialogue. The new model focuses on supporting teachers while meeting compliance requirements.
Taking the process online with PowerSchool Perform gave everyone more time to focus on the most meaningful parts of the evaluation: quality feedback and discussions about support and career growth. Perform also helps the district track teacher progress and support needs to spot trends, improvements, and success over time. Nancy Freese, Director of HR at Olentangy, says, “The PowerSchool Perform platform has allowed our district to enhance the employee experience through meaningful and real-time collaboration that encourages rich dialog and feedback through the comprehensive digitized administrative-to-employee evaluation process. Simply put, we could not be more pleased with this PowerSchool platform.”
2. Saving Principals up to 40 minutes per teacher evaluation while promoting dialogue
Shelby County Schools in Alabama is another district finding success with faster, easier teacher evaluations. Using Perform, this district saves principals up to 40 minutes per teacher evaluation over their previous paper-based process. By reducing the administrative burden, principals can focus more of their time and energy on understanding teachers’ needs and supporting their growth. Dr. Resia Brooks, HR Coordinator at Shelby County, says Perform provides a framework that makes evaluations more about two-way communication rather than the traditional review and rating model.
“Principals can easily document observations while in the class and follow up with a good, meaningful and intentional dialog with teachers,” Brooks says. “This has reduced the time principals need from an hour to just 20 minutes.” Brooks adds that the ability to carry a tablet or laptop from class to class makes it easier for principals and administrators to complete their observations and get feedback to teachers fast. They use Perform to record notes and rubric scores while observing, and then by the time they walk out of the classroom, that teacher’s evaluation is mostly complete.
3. Improving union relations by 95% with fair, transparent teacher evaluations and feedback
For Duval County Schools in Florida, tensions ran high between the teachers union and district leadership due to a legacy evaluations process that lacked transparency and dialogue. The large Florida district, which serves the Jacksonville metropolitan area, knew they needed a new way to approach teacher evaluations that would build trust and offer teachers quality feedback and support. They looked to Perform to scale up a more personalized, 1:1 experience for teachers to recognize and meet their needs.
The district has seen HR inquiries drop from around 1,500 per year to less than 100. The new process has indeed cultivated a more trusting relationship between teachers and principals, improving union relations.
“With this consistency and transparency,” Jeremy Boatright, HR Director at Duval County explains, “we’ve been able to improve our relationship and trust with the unions in this and other areas.” He adds that evaluations through Perform offer clear, fair, and transparent scoring that district leadership can track over time to enhance teacher support.
4. Offering 24/7 personalized professional learning with a hybrid PD delivery model
College Station ISD in Texas takes teacher support beyond evaluations with a new hybrid PD delivery model that allows them to offer always-on, personalized professional learning content. PowerSchool Professional Learning lets them distribute and easily track both online and in-person PD content. This gives teachers the flexibility to learn when and where they want to, promoting participation and ensuring teachers get the most out of their time spent on PD activities. Best of all, online learning content happens through the same learning management system (LMS) they use every day with their students: PowerSchool Schoology Learning. Their familiarity with the platform eased implementation and simplifies new teacher training.
In addition to providing a better, easier experience for teachers, Professional Learning gives district leadership better tools for tracking the impact of completed PD on classroom performance. “This is a better way for us to have all the data we need to make decisions like curriculum, PD, evaluations, and more,” says former College Station ISD Digital Learning Coordinator Stephanie Ryon. She explains that Professional Learning unifies with Schoology Learning to help them match up PD completion by one teacher or the entire district to changes in student learning.
5. Providing SEL training to 100% of teachers and staff
PowerSchool Professional Learning also helps Wake County School District in North Carolina provide all their 2,300 teachers and employees with social and emotional learning (SEL) training. By making it part of everyone’s ongoing PD, the district ensures that the adults in their district become consistent models of the SEL core competencies for students. Chrys Browne, Office of Professional Learning at Wake County, says prioritizing SEL helps teachers cope with challenges and adapt to change, and it reinforces those skills in every classroom. “We made strengthening adult social and emotional competencies a big focus for us,” she says, “We needed to support the teachers so they could support the students.” The result has been holistic improvement across the district.
Wake County enjoys enthusiastic participation in SEL training, fueled by convenient options for learning. With Professional Learning, teachers and staff can attend in-person sessions or complete everything online. It’s their choice, and that helps them get more value out of the learning content. Most see it as an opportunity rather than a requirement, and the district receives very positive feedback from staff members.
People-focused K-12 processes built with flexible technology
Technology helps these districts focus on their teachers, staff, and students’ needs. For teachers, this not only helps them feel supported and valued, it also shows them the district prioritizes the main reason they chose teaching in the first place: to support better student outcomes. By simplifying workflows and facilitating communication, principals and teachers can spend more time collaborating, discussing growth opportunities, and ensuring that every teacher gets the support they need.
We’re living through challenging times. Change is all around us and is happening fast, especially regarding technology’s role in K-12 education. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is that student outcomes depend on strong teachers. Quality classroom instruction, supportive nurturing and mentoring, and the positive outlook and inspiration amazing teachers provide underlie every student’s future prospects. These districts show how innovative uses of technology can ensure a strong foundation for every student to learn, grow, and thrive.
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