Impact Story
The Challenge
Atlanta school district historically had a high proportion of novice teachers, particularly in high-poverty schools. This impacted student learning and achievement due to the challenges associated with limited teaching experience.
Initiatives:
To address this challenge, we implemented a two-pronged approach focused on:
- Experienced Teacher Recruitment: We aimed to increase the number of teachers with over 4 years of experience joining our district.
- Novice Teacher Support: We focused on retaining and supporting existing novice teachers to enhance their effectiveness.
Results:
- Experienced Teacher Recruitment: Our efforts resulted in an increase in the proportion of teachers with over 4 years of experience from 48% to 62%.
- Reducing Novice Teachers: Concurrently, the percentage of first-year teachers decreased from 42% to 25%.
Addressing Disparities:
While we achieved progress in overall teacher experience levels, a separate evaluation indicated that the practice of placing a high number of teacher interns in high-poverty schools might unintentionally counteract these efforts. We are currently reviewing this practice to ensure it aligns with our goals of reducing disparities in teacher experience across schools.
Next Steps:
We are committed to building on these initial successes. Future initiatives will focus on:
Refining Recruitment Strategies:
We will continue to refine our recruitment strategies to attract and retain a high caliber of experienced teachers, with a particular focus on attracting them to high-poverty schools.
Refining Recruitment Strategies:
We will continue to refine our recruitment strategies to attract and retain a high caliber of experienced teachers, with a particular focus on attracting them to high-poverty schools.
Data-Driven Decision Making:
We will utilize data analysis to monitor the impact of our initiatives on teacher experience levels across all schools, ensuring equitable distribution of experienced educators.
Impact
Measurement:
We will continue to monitor the following metrics to assess the effectiveness of our efforts:
- The proportion of teachers with over 4 years of experience in each school.
- Retention rates of novice teachers, particularly in high-poverty schools.
- Student achievement outcomes in schools with varying teacher experience levels.
By focusing on both experienced teacher recruitment and supporting novice teachers, we aim to create a more stable and effective teaching force across the district, ultimately leading to improved student learning for all.
Progress
Overview:
Experienced Teacher Recruitment: Increased the proportion of teachers with over 4 years of experience from 48% to 62%.
Reducing Novice Teachers: Decreased the percentage of first-year teachers from 42% to 25%.
Challenges Addressed:
Teacher Placement: Evaluated the impact of placing teacher interns in high-poverty schools, which was found to potentially counteract efforts to decrease disparities in teacher experience across schools.
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