Shift 1

Expanding from traditional, linear promotion models to dynamic, non-linear career pathways is a powerful lever for retaining the diverse talent that sustains PK–12 schools. Too often, advancement has meant leaving a role one loves—especially for educators, support staff, and specialists who thrive in direct service to students. Employees are more likely to remain in their organization if they believe they can achieve their career goals and experience meaningful development (Killham, E, 2025). By offering role-flexible progression—like teacher-leader, lab class mentor, research educator, or master support professional— districts affirm individual strengths and allow staff to grow without abandoning their passions. These multidirectional pathways not only improve morale and engagement but also reduce turnover by meeting employees where they are whether in the classroom, front office, or facilities team.

TRADITIONAL CALL TO ACTION

Advancement means leaving the classroom or current role for a supervisory or administrative position

COMPREHENSIVE & SYSTEMIC ACTION

Expand opportunitities to grow within current or similar roles through non-linear career pathways.

Retention Strategies

Offer cross-training or lateral mobility to expand skills without requiring promotion.
Design and communicate clear career lattices (e.g., mentor, lead teacher, instructional coach, content specialist) that enable educators to advance.
Hold regular professional growth conversations and document individual aspirations.
Provide competency-based and micro-credential advancement opportunities.
Offer personalized professional development (PD) opportunities aligned with individual career aspirations. Build pipelines for classified-to-certified career bridges.

Develop tiered licensure or endorsement pathways aligned to career growth (e.g., Master Teacher, NBCT incentives).
Incentivize teacher leadership through pay and credential recognition, allowing educators to stay in the classroom while growing professionally.
Fund career development initiatives (e.g. microcredentials) tied to workforce needs.
Develop career ladder models tied to competencies, not just coursework.

Integrate career exploration and mapping into coursework.
Provide micro-credentials for career advancement and leadership roles in alignment with P-12 needs (e.g., peer coach, mentor).
Align advanced programs and field experiences with partner district career ladder roles.
Develop and deliver asynchronous, accessible learning options aligned with different career goals (e.g., aspiring coaches, mentors, or administrators).

Co-design career and leadership pipelines across PK–20 systems.
Build shared micro-credentials ecosystems.
Create shared databases for tracking educator growth and pipeline transitions.
Co-design and expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs and paid Teacher Residencies that offer debt-free, job-embedded pathways into teaching. These models require close collaboration between PK–12 districts, EPPs, and state agencies to align coursework, on-the-job training, licensure requirements, and funding.

View Shift 2