Teacher Retention Model : A Playbook for School Leaders

Thousands of educators each year quietly assess whether or not this year will be their last in the field. Estimates suggest each year, over 760,000 educators leave their current position, with some moving to other schools, some moving to different industries, and some retiring for good (Bieber & Kraft, 2022). Experts in the United States estimate K12 pre-Covid turnover-related costs as ~$8 billion annually (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017).

Turnover is increasing and intensifying, so what can education leaders do over the long term to retain more of their teachers? This playbook aims to provide educational leaders like you with specific researchbased strategies that we’ve woven into The Daily SEL Leader’s Teacher Retention Model (TRM). The model illustrates an approach to improving educator satisfaction and well-being and in turn, decreasing teacher attrition.