Clerical Turnover in the K–12 Campus Office

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Robert
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Clerical Staff ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Suburban School District ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Turnover Costs

Clerical staff in the campus office (secretaries and registrars) perform critical functions essential to the operation of schools, yet do not receive research attention regarding their contributions. This study describes turnover rates of K–12 campus clerical employees in order to establish base information in the field. Eight years of employment data within a large suburban school district in Texas are examined to determine the number of clerks moving to different positions and/or leaving campus clerical employment. Findings reveal that the average clerical employee in this district is female, 50 years old, White or Hispanic, has 11 years of experience, changed positions at least once, and earns $15.61 an hour. The demographics of clerical staff more closely resembles student demographics that of than the teachers within the district. Turnover averaged 22% per year, with 16% representing leavers and under 7% representing movers; 25% of clerks left in their first year. Although teacher turnover is more frequent in high-poverty schools and varies based on level of campus, clerical staff turnover is significantly based on the level of position and pay. Results confirm findings from research on paraprofessionals (who have similar levels of pay) that level of pay and perceived lack of support are reasons for leaving. By providing induction activities and additional training, districts can reduce turnover costs of clerical staff despite the added cost of training.

Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Simon ◽  
Susan Moore Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
School Context ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Poor

Background/Context Over the past three decades, teacher turnover has increased substantially in U.S. public schools, especially in those serving large portions of low-income students of color. Teachers who choose to leave high-poverty schools serving large numbers of students of color usually transfer to schools serving wealthier, Whiter student populations. Some researchers have interpreted this trend to mean that “teachers systematically favor higher-achieving, non-minority, non-low-income students.” These ideas have influenced policy analysis concerning high-poverty schools but offered little guidance for those who would address this problem. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article presents an alternative explanation for turnover—one grounded in organizational theory and substantiated by an emerging line of research. In doing so, it reframes the debate over what fuels high rates of teacher turnover in high-poverty schools and provides advice for policy makers and practitioners, as well as recommendations for productive possibilities for future research. Research Design This article reviews six studies analyzing turnover as a function of school context rather than as a function of student demographics. Based on the patterns regarding what factors influence teacher departures across these studies, we pursue these predictors by summarizing what is known about them and how each supports teachers’ work. Findings/Results The six overarching studies reviewed here collectively suggest that teachers who leave high-poverty schools are not feeing their students. Rather, they are feeing the poor working conditions that make it difficult for them to teach and for their students to learn. The working conditions that teachers prize most—and those that best predict their satisfaction and retention—are social in nature. They include school leadership, collegial relationships, and elements of school culture. Conclusions/Recommendations The poor working conditions common in America's neediest schools explain away most, if not all, of the relationship between student characteristics and teacher attrition. This is important because, unlike demographic characteristics of students, working conditions can be addressed. Policy makers and practitioners have many options for improving aspects of the school environment, and, although more research can inform this work, much is already known about what matters to teachers as they are deciding whether to continue teaching in their schools.

The Principal-Teacher Churn: Understanding the Relationship Between Leadership Turnover and Teacher Attrition

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2110519
Author(s):  
David E. DeMatthews ◽  
David S. Knight ◽  
Jinseok Shin
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Urban Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Principal Turnover ◽  
Leadership Turnover ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: Principals are critical to school improvement and play a vital role in creating inclusive and high-performing schools. Yet, approximately one in five principals leave their school each year, and turnover is higher in schools that serve low-income students of color. Relatedly, high rates of teacher turnover exacerbate challenges associated with unstable learning environments. Our study examines the extent to which principal turnover influences teacher turnover. We build on past work by exploring how the relationship between teacher and principal turnover differs in urban, high-poverty settings and by examining the effects of chronic principal turnover. Research Methods/Approach: We draw on a student- and employee-level statewide longitudinal dataset from Texas that includes all public K-12 schools from school years 1999–2000 to 2016–17. We estimate teacher-level models with school fixed effects, allowing us to compare teacher turnover in schools leading up to and immediately following a principal exit, to otherwise similar schools that do not experience principal turnover. Findings: Teacher turnover spikes in schools experiencing leadership turnover, and these effects are greater among high-poverty and urban schools, in schools with low average teacher experience, and in schools experiencing chronic principal turnover. Implications: Improving leadership stability, especially in urban schools experiencing chronic principal turnover may be an effective approach to reducing teacher turnover. Principal and teacher turnover and their relationship with each other requires further investigation. The field would benefit from qualitative research that can provide important insights into the individual decisions and organizational processes that contribute to principal turnover.

Does New Teacher Induction Really Improve Retention?

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Ronfeldt ◽  
Kiel McQueen
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Induction ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
Beginning Teacher ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
Early Career ◽  
First Year ◽  
Induction Programs ◽  
New Teacher Induction ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Policy Trend

Policymakers have increasingly worked to combat teacher turnover by implementing induction programs for early-career teachers. Yet the existing evidence for the effects of induction on turnover is mixed. Drawing on data from the three most recent administrations of the Schools and Staffing and Teacher Follow-Up Surveys, as well as the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study, this study investigates whether different kinds of induction supports predict teacher turnover among nationally representative samples of first-year teachers. We find that receiving induction supports in the first year predicts less teacher migration and attrition, suggesting that using induction to reduce new teacher turnover is a promising policy trend. We also find that levels of induction support are fairly constant for different kinds of teachers and teachers in different kinds of schools. The exceptions are that teachers who are Black and who work in schools with more students who speak English as a second language report higher levels of induction supports.

scholarly journals ‘It’s not about punitive’: exploring how early-career teachers in high-poverty schools respond to critical incidents

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Lampert ◽  
Bruce Burnett ◽  
Barbara Comber ◽  
Angela Ferguson ◽  
Naomi Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Early Career ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
Career Teachers

scholarly journals Repatriation turnover revisited: A focus on South African multinational enterprises

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiaan J. Naude ◽  
A. Johan Vogel
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Multinational Enterprise ◽  
First Year ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Expatriate Managers ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Spearman’S Correlation

Background: The topic of repatriation turnover as a major source of concern for repatriates and their multinational enterprise has been covered extensively in the literature over the years, with the literature showing that between 15% and 38% of repatriated expatriates leave the employment of their multinational enterprise within the first year after repatriation. However, no such study has focused on the repatriation of South African expatriates. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between the repatriation practices of South African multinational enterprises and their repatriation turnover rates. The secondary aim of the study was to determine why repatriated employees leave the employment of South African multinational enterprises. Method: This quantitative study surveyed 41 expatriate managers of South African multinational enterprises, with the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient being used to test for correlations between the repatriation practices of South African multinational enterprises and their repatriation turnover rates. Results: The results revealed positive correlations between appointing a mentor to an expatriate to assist with the repatriation process, conducting an orientation programme prior to repatriation and supporting the expatriate with various initiatives during repatriation and lower repatriation turnover rates. Meanwhile a negative correlation was found between when a multinational enterprise starts with an orientation programme prior to repatriation and repatriation turnover rates. Conclusion: These findings provide valuable insights for South African multinational enterprises into practices they can employ to reduce their repatriation turnover rates.

scholarly journals Value Added of Teachers in High-Poverty Schools and Lower-Poverty Schools

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Sass ◽  
Jane Hannaway ◽  
Zeyu Xu ◽  
David Figlio ◽  
Li Feng
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools

Resegregation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Grundy
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Inner City ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
Drug Trade ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
School Rankings ◽  
City Schools

Shows how the end of busing and the advent of school choice sparked widespread resegregation, particularly in inner-city neighborhoods and outer-ring suburbs. Describes the effects of resegregation on West Charlotte, which was left with a high-poverty population of often-transient students as well as high levels of teacher turnover. Explores the fraying social fabric and the rise of the drug trade in the neighborhoods around the school, and the efforts of teachers, families and students to overcome the resulting challenges. Describes the way West Charlotte students contended with the increasingly harsh judgments directed at inner-city schools, in part because of a new emphasis on school rankings based on standardized tests, and in part because a resurgence of negative racial stereotypes focused on inner-city African Americans. Covers the Leandro lawsuit, in which a federal judge termed the education at Charlotte's high-poverty high schools "academic genocide."

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