Testimony Before the Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole at the Public Oversight Hearing on Teacher and Principal Retention in the District
By Anne Herr, Senior Director of School Support, DC Charter School Alliance
November 28, 2023
Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee. My name is Anne Herr, and I am the Senior Director of School Development and Accountability at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success.
Nationally, we’re facing an unprecedented moment in education. The pandemic threw schools into disarray, spiking stress levels (1) among teachers more than any other profession. And in the last few years, the public education system has been put under a harsh political spotlight, often portraying burnt-out, stressed-out teachers as sinister forces of indoctrination. As a result, dozens of states and jurisdictions have proposed or passed legislation to ban books, limit what students can hear, and what lessons can be taught.
Additionally, nearly two-thirds of public schools in the United States are understaffed in critical roles such as special education, with vacancies nearly double that of other subject areas (2). Shortages in other critical support positions, like social workers, nurses, bus drivers, food workers, and substitutes, create added burdens on educators who must pick up the slack, contributing further to the growing shortage of teachers. And, with growing expectations on schools to be experts on issues like public health and public safety, in addition to mentors, caregivers, and advocates, educators are simply being pushed to their limits.
Locally, we hear from educators that the high cost of living, particularly the high cost of housing in the District, is a huge problem that has improved very little. Teachers find it difficult to live in the communities where they work. That makes taking opportunities in the suburbs more appealing, where they can often find more affordable housing, shorter commutes, and better quality of life.
Retention Strategies That Have Worked
However, we know from our conversations with LEA leaders that many retention strategies have worked for their schools.
First, schools have reported that, unsurprisingly, compensation is a major factor in retaining teachers and principals. With rising costs of living, living and working in the District isn’t feasible for many educators. That’s why the District’s work toward regularizing and increasing funding so that schools can provide competitive compensation packages has been critical in retaining teachers and staff.
Second, schools that offer staff wellness programs are more likely to retain their educators. Just as students need to be healthy to perform at their highest ability, so do our school’s staff who are charged with educating them. Charter schools have reported implementing several wellness initiatives to support their staff's physical and mental health, including partnering with organizations to provide counseling and therapy and implementing mindful meditation breaks. For example, one school reported having a ‘zen room,’ a dedicated area for staff to isolate from distractions to practice meditation.
Third, charter schools’ autonomy allows leaders to try innovative solutions to respond to staff requests quickly, such as implementing flexible schedules. A common frustration among teachers is not having enough time for planning, so school leaders have used their autonomy to build in additional planning and collaboration time. For some schools, that means providing double planning periods, half days, or allowing virtual work on Fridays. Autonomy also allows leaders to respond quickly to scheduling needs in real-time. For example, one leader reported they closed their school for two days to provide mental health resources to staff following an incident of violence in the community.
Recommendations
The Council and the Administration can support our schools in several ways in their ongoing efforts to retain teachers and principals. To start, we need your support to ensure charter schools can maintain teacher compensation commitments with recurring funding for teacher pay increases included in the UPSFF in FY25 and in future budgets. All the strategies in the world to retain teachers and principals won’t make a difference if schools don’t have the money to pay them what they’re worth.
Additionally, we know that the high cost of housing is one of the top barriers to retaining talent in the District. We need a greater focus on innovative workforce housing initiatives that allow teachers, principals, and other educators to live and purchase homes in their communities. We appreciate the Council's work on this issue, adding educators as first responders in the Employer-Assisted Housing Program (EAHP), and we would like to continue working together on additional opportunities to make the District more affordable for critical workers that we need to support our community.
Finally, as a result of the pandemic, more expectations have been placed on schools, leaders, and staff to be experts in issues not related to their core expertise – educating students. We need better citywide systems and procedures to address these issues that are more appropriately the responsibility of broader social safety nets.
Moving Forward
We’re eager to collaborate with the city to create an atmosphere that welcomes educators and makes space for them to live and work in the District long-term. However, we want to caution against overly prescriptive solutions because one of the main reasons educators choose to work in charter schools is they value the autonomy of those schools to be responsive and innovative in addressing these problems.
Our schools are doing their best to retain educators, but there’s always room for improvement. We’re grateful to the Council for bringing attention to this critical issue because we know that consistency and stability among educators are essential for both student success and overall workplace satisfaction.
Thank you for your time and attention, and I welcome your questions.
Citations
Teachers’ stress exceeded other workers’ this year, survey finds. Chalkbeat. June 15, 2021.
Special Educator Shortage: Examining Teacher Burnout and Mental Health. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. May 22, 2023.
