How research-practice partnerships meet high-performing teachers’ needs

The question of how to attract and retain effective teachers in K-12 classrooms has become increasingly salient as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a persistent problem of teacher attrition. A January 2021 RAND study showed that 23% of teachers indicated a desire to leave teaching at the end of the 2020-21 school year (Steiner & Woo, 2021). This is in comparison to the prepandemic rate of 8% leaving annually between the 2007-09 and 2011-13 school years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). A recent survey of members of the National Education Association (NEA) found that 55% of its members were considering leaving or retiring from the profession earlier than planned because of the pandemic (GBAO, 2022).

Both the RAND and NEA surveys show that the top reasons for leaving included burnout and stress (GBAO, 2022; Steiner & Woo, 2021), and responses to the NEA survey also included lack of respect from parents and the public and a lack of planning or unstructured time as contributors to the decision (GBAO, 2022). Pre-pandemic research indicated that teachers were dissatisfied with the lack of career advancement pathways, lack of autonomy, low pay, challenging work conditions, accountability measures, and lack of support from school leadership (Carver-Thomas & Darling Hammond, 2017).Research on the attrition of high-performing teachers in the District of Columbia Public Schools showed that opportunities to take on leadership roles, switch to a new career, or improve their work-life balance all contributed to their decision to leave (Pennington & Brand, 2018).

RPPs can provide a pathway for teachers to advance in the profession without leaving the classroom.