This document discusses new teacher retention and the problem of high turnover rates, especially among the top 10% of new teachers. According to studies, the most common reason cited by top teachers for leaving is ineffective feedback and communication from administrators. Two case studies of schools that failed to retain effective new teachers are presented to illustrate the problem. The document then provides suggestions for feedback techniques that could help with retention, such as using goal-oriented reviews, differentiating feedback based on experience, and implementing symmetrical evaluation pathways to allow teacher feedback on administrators. It concludes by posing additional questions around defining effectiveness, identifying top teachers, evaluating administrators, and updating existing evaluation systems.

1. The Feedback We Need:
New Teacher Retention –
A Bare Bones Introduction
John Baird, M.Sc.
KIPP

2. Introduction
• Better education means we need better
teachers
• Retention of the best and most effective
teachers is a measure of how well our school
systems perform

3. The Problem
• According to the NEA, as many as 50% of new
teachers leave within the first five years
• According to the Gates Foundation, the top
10% of new teachers leave education at a rate
of 60-70% within the first five years
• We are not only failing to retain teachers, but
we are specifically failing to retain the very
best and brightest!

4. The Cause
• According to the Gates Foundation, the
reason most cited by top tier teachers for
leaving: administrators and their feedback
• Principals, assistant principals, and other
school leaders are NOT communicating
effectively with the best teachers
• That ineffective communication is causing the
best to leave rather than affect change

5. Case Studies
• An urban Houston school
– Low SES student population
– Academically struggling
• A high-performing Austin charter school
– Highly diverse with a wide spread of SES
– Academically successful
• Both failed to retain highly effective new
teachers in core subjects – why?

6. A Solution
What are some feedback
and communication
techniques that can help?

7. Action!
• Goal Oriented Performance Reviews
– Saying, “This is a problem” accomplishes nothing
– Provide a goal – a milestone and timeline – for
success
– Make it measurable; vague goals only add stress

8. Attention!
• Differentiate by Time
– A first-year is not the same as a fifth-year teacher
– We don’t lump students together into a common
milieu – and we shouldn’t do likewise to teachers

9. Open!
• Symmetrical Evaluation Pathways
– Administrators must be open to feedback, too!
– We need formal mechanisms to let the teacher
POV of leadership be as well known as the
leadership’s POV of them
– A one-way street silences creative minds – like
those of the best talent we need to retain!

10. Simplicity!
• Apply the KIS Principle to Principals
– Keep feedback straightforward and focused, set a
theme for each meeting
– Too many topics = confused and discouraged
teachers
– Like this presentation, don’t distract with jargon
or ambiguous buzz words

11. What else?
• How do we define effectiveness? How do we
identify our top teachers?
• What metrics for administrators can we use to
see if they’re doing their part?
• How can we update existing evaluation
systems to account for these techniques?