Topic: Teacher Workforce Policy

Overview

Teacher Workforce Policy
State Policies to Elevate the Profession and Address Shortages

The most important thing a school can do for a student’s education is ensure they have a good teacher. States need a strong teacher workforce to increase student learning and to build a stronger economy. SREB helps state leaders address teacher shortages and improve policies that affect teachers across their careers — including recruiting, supporting and retaining great teachers.
 

A Comprehensive Approach to Teacher Workforce Policy

PREPARATION CERTIFICATION DEVELOPMENT COMPENSATION


These four elements support teachers at every stage of their careers — from candidates and early career teachers, to professional teachers and teacher leaders

Post

Building a First-Rate Teacher Workforce
Four Fundamentals of Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers — Starting with Data

 A teacher and an elementary school student sitting at a table together smiling at each other.Districts and schools are having to rely on a “warm body” approach to address teacher shortages, focusing on filling numerical vacancies over teacher qualification or preparedness. But taking a closer look at four fundamental areas of data can help make efforts to solve shortages more effective and longer-lasting.

Post

Teacher Compensation Across the South
Updated Nov. 2023: Dashboard & Analysis

A teacher sitting on the floor reading a book surrounded by young studentsTeacher compensation is about more than just salaries. Each year, SREB tracks and analyzes state-by-state data on teacher compensation packages, including heath and retirement benefits, salaries and take-home pay. Use our updated Teacher Compensation Dashboard to examine and compare data or see trends and key takeaways from around the Southern region. 

USE THE DATA DASHBOARD

SEE TRENDS AND TAKEAWAYS

Blog post Megan Boren, SREB Project Manager

Paying Teachers Less for Summers Off
Do teachers really get more leave than other professionals?

Megan BorenA common comment I hear in my work researching the teacher workforce and its challenges is that “teachers only work 10 months per year, so they should make less money.”

In my view, compensation should be about the level of skill and knowledge required, the impact of the position and the growth of the employee. In addition to the market rate, these are the typical elements factored into compensation for professionals.

Publication October 2023 | 12 pages
report cover

Recruiting the Next Generation of Teachers: Challenges and Innovations

Crafting programs and policies that address the teacher workforce requires knowledge of Gen Z, their interest in entering the teaching profession, and how to support them as new teachers. In this brief, the research team reviewed the literature on Gen Z’s background, interest in teaching as a profession, and what states and districts are doing to try and recruit them.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Publication April 2022 | 16 pages
report cover

A Blueprint to Solve Teacher Shortages

Imagine a world where more great people enter teaching, stay in the profession, and get better and better. How do we achieve this?

This report offers insight on how to elevate the profession by renovating policies that affect the teacher workforce. With lessons from SREB states that have forged comprehensive plans, it covers pathways and preparation, licensing, mentoring and support, and compensation structures. The report also includes data on shortages, what causes them and how they hurt our economy.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL BLUEPRINT  |  SEE A SUMMARY

Blog post Megan Boren | SREB Project Manager

Let’s give our teachers what any employee needs to be successful

Total Teacher Preparation Program Completions in the SREB Region We have a public-school teacher vacancy and turnover problem — more are leaving than coming in. In 2021, turnover equated to a loss of over 152,000 teachers from their positions in the SREB region. Yet we only prepared shy of 58,000 new teachers (traditional and alternative prep combined).