This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone: Teacher turnover is high, and this hurts education, both financially and pedagogically.

The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future conducted an 18-month study of five public school districts from Chicago to New Mexico and found:

  • The costs of teacher turnover — including recruiting, hiring and training –  are substantial;
  • Teacher turnover is especially tough on at-risk schools because it hurts tight budgets AND the educational climate;
  • But schools could invest in teacher retention and save money in the long run.

While the study identifies the problem and the dollar costs, it doesn’t do as much to assess the impact on students.

Two areas of interest to student journalists: How does education in YOUR school suffer because teachers may not stay long and what does your district do to retain teachers?

And, on a related note, what does adviser/journalism teacher turnover mean to your student media?