Why is New Teacher Induction Important?
Research shows about 44% of new teachers leave within their first five years. This number increases to about 75% for teachers in high-poverty communities.
Why do these teachers leave? According to The Learning Policy Institute, it can vary from teacher to teacher, but some common reasons include:
Not being prepared well enough
Lack of support from their administrative team
Lack of ability to collaborate with colleagues/mentors
And how do you replace those teachers who leave? The natural instinct is to place additional focus on recruitment efforts, schedule job fairs, or contact local colleges and universities to learn more about future teaching candidates.
But what would happen if the thought processes changes from a focus on recruitment to actually increasing new-hire retention rates? What would a 40%, 25%, or even 10% reduction in new-teacher turnover mean for your students, staff, and how much time is spent interviewing?
Effective and efficient new-hire onboarding and induction programs can have a major affect on those who decide to leave. New teachers are more likely to stay if their first years with the organization make them feel supported, valued, and successful.
In fact, transforming your new-teacher induction program might be one of the most powerful teacher retention strategies you can implement.
The problem is…
How can school leaders create a new-hire induction process that actually helps the new hires feel supported and valued throughout their first several years?
And how can this process be run with fidelity?
Usually new-hire induction programs include a few days at the beginning of the school year for teachers to learn about the organization, gain access to their technology and email, and then meet with the principal. Sometimes there is even a mentor to help the new hire (although this is getting more and more rare).
A few check-ins may be scheduled to bring together the new teachers and allow them access to much-needed professional development.
Then the school year starts and the district office crosses its collective fingers in hopes the new teacher stays.
The school administration crosses its fingers in hopes the new teacher stays.
The new teacher’s colleagues cross their collective fingers in hopes the new teacher stays.
An induction program like what is described above is a great first step, but it shouldn’t be the goal. Instead, the goal should be to think of new-hire induction as a multiple year process with a variety of resources, supports, and relationship-building opportunities along the way.
The key is to be able to provide a consistent, repeatable process that supports the new teacher or staff member, administrator(s) of the new hire, and the entire team.
To increase teacher retention, we recommend a new-teacher induction process that includes ongoing check-ins (think very quick pulse surveys) with the new hire with a series of evolving questions throughout the school year and beyond. Questions like:
What additional resources do you need to be successful?
What has surprised you about the job and our organization?
Where would you like more involvement and direction from me? Less?
What are some highlights of your work so far?
Describe the best day you’ve had here so far. The worst?
The answers to these questions are delivered automatically to the building administration and even a new-teacher induction leader at the district level if that exists. This provides ongoing feedback from the new teacher to the administrator and can allow the admin to better support the new hire.
We also recommend an ongoing cadence of administrator and new-hire 1:1s, mentorships, continued vision, mission, and core values reinforcement, and opportunities for ongoing recognition both from and to the new hire.
The key is to create and run a sustained process that includes a myriad of the supports new-hires need to be successful, and to be able to run this process with fidelity....each and every time a new hire joins the team.
Each week the new-hire should go home on a Friday and think “I feel supported in my new job. I feel valued in my new job. I can’t imagine leaving.”
Research shows if you don’t transform your new-hire experience, you’ll most likely be interviewing for the position you just filled…again.