The Key to Teacher Retention Starts with Support, Training, and Trust

By Robin Winder, Sr Director of Instruction, and Jason Odom, Director of Instruction, for FlexPoint Education Cloud and Florida Virtual School (FLVS)

We’ve all seen the distressing news – many schools and districts around the nation are challenged with teacher shortages. From reports that teachers are quitting their jobs faster than they can be replaced, to college students in Arizona teaching in the classroom before they’ve graduated, and rural school districts in Texas switching to four-day weeks due to lack of staff, school administrators are looking for solutions.
 
And although other reports have noted that the turnover rate has not changed dramatically in these past two years, teacher vacancies do exist, especially in certain parts of the country. Which is why we think we need to get back to the basics: keeping incredible instructional talent starts with the support, training, and open communication school administrators provide.
 
Over the course of our careers, we have learned and experienced the best ways to engage staff – both as teachers ourselves and now as instructional leaders. In fact, at Florida Virtual School (FLVS), our teacher retention rate actually increased in the 2021-22 school year to 92.5%.

Below is a list of our tried-and-true strategies to engage and retain teachers:

Step 1: It all comes down to relationships

Just like we get to know our students and their families through one-on-one support, it’s important we, as school leadership, do the same with our teachers and staff. We’ve seen the benefit of what building rapport and connections with our students can do, like increased interest in their schoolwork and building a growth mindset. So, why not do the same for teaching staff? From introductory calls during a teacher’s first week, to training, and beyond, the goal should be to understand each teacher’s individual needs. What do they like? What do they struggle with? What would they like to do more of? What resources do they need?

And beyond that – what do they like to do personally? What are their priorities outside of the workplace? Understanding teachers and staff, and actively listening to them should always be the biggest priority.

Step 2: Build a community

We know it can seem hard – how do you build a community in an online, blended, or hybrid learning environment? At FLVS and FlexPoint, we have developed several ways to keep the virtual doors of communication open for our teachers and staff. Some of these strategies include sending a survey on day one to understand their concerns, hosting a town hall or Q&A session, providing a space where they can indicate they need help such as a chat, digital forum, or recurring meetings, and hosting social events to give them an informal setting to learn from each other.

We also do face-to-face meetups that allow teachers who live in the same area to get to know each other. We often hear from our instruction staff that the teachers they meet become a support system for them. The key is ensuring that our teachers and staff have a forum where they can express their thoughts and learn about any news or updates.

Step 3: Onboard and train

Lastly, to build trust with teachers, it’s important to have a robust onboarding and training program. That starts on day one! Start by introducing them to the culture of your organization. At FLVS, we highlight our commitment to putting the student at the center of every decision we make, and that helps them become well versed in our goals and priorities.

Then, train teachers on the technology they will be using, such as the learning management system, any program that tracks student data, video conferencing apps, online games and activities, and more. After this, set up training for them with their specific principals and instructional leaders so they can ease into their daily responsibilities. One way we offer additional support is by pairing new teachers with experienced instructional mentors.

It’s important that after that initial training, their professional development opportunities continue as it will set them up for success throughout their entire career. Rather than only helping them with their immediate needs, help them envision their future. This will create lifelong learners who seek to help students in new and innovative ways.