Giving Compass' Take:

• National, teacher turnover as the result of teacher shortages are a problem. The Teacher Partnership offers professional development to teachers to help them excel at their jobs and, hopefully, keep them.

• What factors cause teachers to leave their schools after only a few years? What other forms of support could teachers benefit from? 

• Learn about California's strategy to reduce teacher shortages.

The United States has a teacher shortage. According to the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association, in December 2017, there were 5,371 Arizona classrooms without certified teachers. Other states are experiencing similar shortages.

Nationally, between 40 and 50 percent of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years of beginning their teaching career. “Survey after survey, like the one done by the Learning Policy Institute, indicates that new teachers leave the profession because they lack support.

Results like these are why we created The Teacher Partnership, to support teachers in their second, third, or fourth years of teaching by matching them with mentors who meet with them monthly. Our teacher-driven program, established through the Arizona Educational Foundation, discusses research-based teaching strategies that help new teachers implement our state’s college and career-ready standards. New teachers have the opportunity to try new things with the support of other teachers; no one is alone, and everyone is supported. The partnership provides a safe place for them to learn, research, and problem solve.

If teachers are given professional development to ensure their effectiveness and increase their job satisfaction, we will have more certified teachers in the classroom than we do today. Programs like the Arizona Teacher Partnership can not only help retain the qualified teachers we have, but ensure the highest-quality instruction possible for all Arizona students.

Read the full article on The Teacher Partnership by Dayna Burke and Tara Dale at The 74