Shift 6

Improving retention requires more than isolated efforts—it demands a systemwide strategy that aligns career development, compensation, well-being, and workplace culture. Fragmented or reactive initiatives, such as one-time bonuses or disconnected programs, have limited long-term impact. In contrast, unified strategies that embed retention into district-wide policies and practices—through tools like stay interviews, leadership pipelines, and integrated HR systems—create lasting stability. Research shows that organizations with aligned, holistic retention strategies significantly outperform those using piecemeal approaches in reducing turnover and improving workforce sustainability (Chitra & Shanthi, 2023). By making retention a core metric of success and investing in structures that support educators at every stage, districts can build a more resilient, engaged, and committed workforce.

TRADITIONAL CALL TO ACTION

Retention efforts are often fragmented, reactive and disconnected from strategy.

COMPREHENSIVE & SYSTEMIC ACTION

Develop a unified strategy that aligns policies, practices and partnerships to promote career sustainability.

Retention Strategies

Create a multi-year educator workforce strategy that includes retention goals, aligned initiatives, and success metrics across recruitment, development, support, and advancement.
Establish cross-departmental retention teams (e.g., HR, academics, operations) to coordinate efforts, review data, and drive systemwide improvements.
Embed retention goals in school improvement plans and superintendent evaluation criteria to ensure leadership accountability.
Align budgets and grant funding to sustain evidence-based retention efforts—not just new hiring incentives.
Routinely assess employee experience data (e.g., exit surveys, climate surveys, stay interviews) and act on themes at the system level.
Institutionalize onboarding and mentoring systems as strategic investments, not one-off programs.

Create a statewide educator workforce strategy that aligns preparation, certifi cation, recruitment, retention, and advancement under one coordinated vision.
Fund cross-sector collaborations (e.g., district-EPP compacts, regional pipeline initiatives) that foster longterm retention through aligned systems.
Streamline and align licensure, data, and funding systems to reduce duplication and remove barriers across institutions.
Provide technical assistance and tools (e.g., retention data dashboards, strategic planning templates) to help local systems build sustainable strategies.
Use policy levers to incentivize retention-focused practices, such as teacher leadership pathways, highretention preparation models, or benefi ts that promote career longevity.

Develop a comprehensive pipeline-to-practice framework in partnership with districts to align coursework, clinical experiences, and induction in support of long-term retention goals.
Use alumni outcome data to inform program improvements, particularly around preparedness and early-career persistence.
Build faculty and leadership capacity to engage in continuous improvement and partnership work focused on educator career longevity.
Prioritize preparation for high-need, hard-to-staff roles (e.g., SPED, STEM, multilingual learners) as a strategic lever for systemwide stability.
Partner with PK-12 systems and state agencies on joint research, pilots, and innovations that improve long-term workforce outcomes.
Prepare leaders to design and implement comprehensive, long-term strategies that align policies, practices and partnerships to attract, support, and retain educators.

View Shift 5