Retaining teachers is doable
Want to Retain Teachers? Here’s What Districts and Schools Can Do
In most school districts where I have worked, there have been strategic plans to address the recruitment and retention of teachers. I have served in various district-level roles (e.g., chief equity officer, director of equity and inclusion, and director of curriculum) that have challenged me to develop specific initiatives or strategies for the purpose of retention. Although there are many existing publications about the sustainability of educators within the field of education, here are some specific actions I have learned from inviting teachers to co-construct district-level measures for retention:
Student engagement is low after pandemic
Student Engagement in Learning Is Low. A Survey Offers Clues on How to Bring Them Back
Students are lacking a curiosity at school that is critical to learning, a new report finds. And it likely plays a big part in teachers’ ongoing struggle to reengage students post-pandemic.
Nearly half of teachers (46 percent) say student engagement has declined compared to 2019, according to a survey-based report by The Harris Poll for Discovery Education.
At the same time, the vast majority of students, 83 percent, say there are not enough opportunities at school for them to be curious.
That’s a disconnect that all vendors in the K-12 space should be paying attention to, said Lisa Katz, vice president of research and analytics at Discovery Education.
“There’s an intrinsic motivation that comes with curiosity,” Katz said, “It’s woven together.”
Empathy is a leadership trait
Assertive Empathy: The Key to Transformative Leadership
Can you be both firm and kind at work? Discover the power of assertive empathy.
Envision a leadership realm where strength is harmonized with compassion and assertiveness coexists with kindness. This vision is not just an idealistic dream; it’s a transformative reality achievable through the integrated approach of assertive empathy. This concept reshapes leadership dynamics and profoundly enhances team performance. Let’s delve into the neuroscience underpinning assertive empathy and explore why mastering this duality is pivotal for executive leaders.
3.2.1.: On impressing others, the power of the mind, and the hidden costs of success
“Focus on what provides value to others, not what impresses others.
Other people spend about as much time thinking about your lifestyle and accomplishments as you spend thinking about their lifestyle and accomplishments. Which is to say, not much time at all.
The things we do to impress others rarely impress them for longer than five minutes. But the things we do to provide value for others can last a lifetime. In the long run, one of the most impressive things you can do is provide exceptional value.”
Leaving your legacy
It’s important to leave a leadership legacy you can be proud of. Alaina Love writes about a colleague and a friend who broke the mold.
At the conclusion of a recent development session with a senior leadership team, we discussed the moment that all leaders eventually face: It’s the last day of their tenure in the organization, the day they’ll retire or move on to another role in a different organization. These are pivotal moments of passage that every leader should ponder well in advance of them happening, so I asked participants to consider what their final words to their team might be on that momentous day. What will be their leadership legacy?
Early Childhood
For all the campaign arguments about immigration and the United States border, you’d think that we were embarking upon a new situation, something coming, an arriving novelty barely visible over the horizon. And yet, as far as schools are concerned, this is a past tense debate. The U.S.’s demographic reality is already shifting in remarkable ways, many of which are being driven by immigration patterns.
Cohorts of younger Americans are more diverse than older Americans in essentially every way. In 1986, 70% of U.S. K–12 students were white, just shy of 10% were Latino, and not quite 3% were Asian or Pacific Islander. In 2022, U.S. K–12 enrollment was 44% white, 29% Latino, and 5% Asian or Pacific Islander. Similarly, in 2022, roughly 21% of school-aged children spoke a non-English language at home — in 1990, it was under 14%. Go younger, and linguistic diversity grows. In 2022, roughly 1 in 3 children under 5 years old spoke a non-English language at home.
