Sunday, January 29, 2012

Reason #829: teacher attrition

We have lost four teachers since we came back from the holiday break. Four teachers in less than one month, and that's not even counting all of the teachers we lost before the break. There is one class that is getting their FOURTH teacher on Monday, and that's not even counting the substitutes in-between each teacher that left.

The expected lifespan of a teacher within my district is three years maximum. In other words, they never expect to keep a teacher for more than three years. Apparently, we are notorious for losing teachers.

At a PD the other day my principal begged that no one else "jump ship. At least until June." After that, she is happy to write us a good recommendation and send us on our way. Without the few staff members who have stayed on since the opening of the school, I would not know the history. I would not be able to find out information about families. There would simply be no order, no culture.

For me, the worst part is my principal settling for such a high teacher attrition rate. She preaches that we need to have high expectations for our students, but at the same time has accepted as fact some very low expectations for her staff. I wish that she was willing to fight for us to stay.

1 comment:

  1. You need a new principal. Here's your chance!!!
    L, gp

    ReplyDelete