By: John-Paul Hayworth, Executive Director
Attracting and retaining teachers who are not only qualified, but good, is a problem in every state. At this year’s National Forum on Education Policy earlier this month in Denver, Colorado, delegates heard presentations on teacher retention and credentialing, new ideas on career and technical education and insights from teachers of the year.
One of the biggest topics discussed by the executive directors of state boards of education across the country was how each state was attempting to tackle the problem of losing good teachers. We talked about how higher salaries were important, but that research (and teachers directly) had shown that the biggest impact on a teacher leaving a school is the support they get from the leadership and their peers.
The Education Commission of the States (ECS) began in 1965 with the adoption of the Compact for Education by Congress. ECS serves as an education research and policy reporting body for all the states, territories and the District of Columbia. The President of the State Board of Education is a Commissioner of ECS. For the past three years, ECS has utilized grant funding to also bring together the executive directors from state boards of education across the country to compare notes and strategize on policy problems.
The Forum left me feeling hopeful for education policy across the nation and with some new and innovative ideas that might work for the District of Columbia.
D.C. State Board of Education Blog 