Teacher Retention Toolbox: Strategies To Retain Newer Teachers and BIPOC Teachers

It is paramount that Philadelphia increase the effectiveness and diversity of its teachers.

The most important determinant of a school’s success in advancing student learning is the effectiveness of its teachers, and all students, particularly students of color, benefit from a diverse workforce. The problem for Philadelphia is the pool of effective teachers is rapidly shrinking every year, and only 35% of teachers are people of color, whereas 86% of student are people of color (this report will use the term “teachers of color” and “BIPOC” to represent teachers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and other people of color who identify as not white, including Hispanic/Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, biracial, and multiracial).

Further, the rate at which newer teachers and teachers of color are leaving the city is outpacing the availability of viable replacements, which is upending the efforts and resources schools invest in cultivating and onboarding these teachers.  For example, 22% of newer teachers (0-2 years of experience teaching in Philadelphia) and 16% of teachers of color left their Philadelphia teaching positions following the 2022-23 school year (compared to 12% of white teachers). 

The Philadelphia Citywide Talent Coalition (the Coalition)—with over 35 organizations represented, ranging from school systems, civic, philanthropy, research, education, and nonprofit organizations—was formulated to improve both the diversity and effectiveness of the city’s public district and charter school teachers.

After analyzing data, research, and practices at the local and national levels, the Coalition has  developed a “Teacher Retention Toolbox” to support schools and school systems to better retain their newest teachers and current BIPOC teachers. This Toolbox includes four strategies: 

• Boost New Teacher Salaries & Financial Incentives: Raise Teacher Salaries and Offer Bonuses, Certification Reimbursements, and No-Cost Guidance on How to Access Additional Financial Supports
• Modernize the Profession: Create a Dynamic Workplace Environment that Offers Teachers Opportunities for Leadership, Inter-School Collaboration, and Utilizes Cutting-Edge Technologies
• Enhance Professional Supports: Provide Training, Mentoring, and Coaching Focused on Teaching Students From Under-Resourced Communities
• Create Inclusive School Cultures: Foster Inclusive School Cultures that Attracts and Retain People of Color and Establish Teacher-to-Teacher Support Networks

This report provides research, data, evidence cases, and examples for each of the strategies in the Teacher Retention Toolbox.  Schools and school systems should review the content of the report, assess their current strategies utilizing the teacher retention assessment tool, and refer to the implementation tool to enhance or adjust their ongoing efforts to retain newer teachers and BIPOC teachers.

In early 2022, the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Education—with the support of the William Penn Foundation—recruited Elevate 215 to lead the development of a comprehensive talent plan for Philadelphia to address our most persistent issues in teacher recruitment, retention, and diversity across the District and our charter schools.  This process entailed amassing workforce data from local school systems, conducting a landscape assessment of current efforts, researching promising and proven practices, and engaging an Advisory Group of school system leaders for input and feedback.  The end product—the Citywide Strategy for Diverse and Effective Teachers, a comprehensive plan for recruiting, retaining, and developing more quality teachers in Philadelphia, and in particular more teachers of color—enumerated the following approaches:

• Build a local collaborative to foster alignment and drive action;
• Clarify multiple pathways to teaching and increase career support;
• Decrease financial burden to entering teaching;
• Improve the narrative around teaching in Philadelphia;
• Expand early pipeline initiatives to attract the next generation of educators; 
• Boost teacher support and retention; and,
• Advocate for statewide and local policy changes and support.

The Philadelphia Citywide Talent Coalition—composed of representatives from the School District of Philadelphia, charter operators, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, civic leaders, research entities, and local philanthropy—launched in January 2023 to drive implementation of this strategy.  Successes from our first year include:

• Commissioning a comprehensive data report on the current state of the teacher workforce and procuring funding to make data tracking a key driver for future action;
• Securing over one million dollars of federal workforce funds to reimburse schools for teacher certification costs;
• Launching TeachPHL, a one-stop-shop resource hub for current and aspiring teachers
• Administering a Philadelphia Citywide Teacher Survey—responded to by 734 Philadelphia District and charter teachers—to gather feedback on recruitment and retention strategies around professional and financial incentives;
• Supported the launch of a Career Technical Education K-12 Teacher Program at SLA Beeber and launched structures to support additional high schools to start or enhance programming to expose students to teaching and get on a path to become future teachers; and
• Facilitating the creation of the Philadelphia Affinity Group Network to support and retain teachers of color.

Experience Of New And BIPOC Teachers

The most concerning trends that were revealed in the aforementioned analysis of local  teacher retention and mobility data was among our newest teachers. 

For teachers hired in 2017:

• 55% who started in the School District of Philadelphia were still teaching there five years later.
• Less than half in charters hired that year were still teaching after five years.  

Even more concerning is that more recent trends demonstrate increased attrition rates.  For example, for newly hired teachers in 2021 who are in their first three years of experience, over 28%—more than one out of four—were no longer teaching in the very next school year.  Based on this trend, we can expect the five-year attrition numbers to be much higher for the group of teachers hired in 2021.  

Losing this number of teachers puts an incredible capacity and financial strain on schools and school systems to recruit, onboard, and support such a large number of new teachers each year, especially in schools with high turnover rates that are more likely to serve higher populations of students of color and who grow up in poverty.  Research further suggests that gains in teacher effectiveness are most accelerated in teachers’ initial years of experience; therefore, we are losing hundreds of teachers at the point of their careers when they can have an accelerated impact on student outcomes.

When examining retention rates comparing teachers of color versus white teachers in Philadelphia, Research for Action has found that teachers of color consistently have lower rates of retention. There is also a marked difference in the percentage of people of color among new teachers versus those who are more experienced.  In fact in 2023-2024, 45% of teachers who were in their first to fifth year of experience identify as people of color versus 32% of teachers with six years or more of experience.  Therefore, there is an opportunity for a multiplier effect in increasing the retention of new teachers as this would support increasing the overall diversity of the entire teacher workforce. 

To better understand our current teachers’ views on the direction of schools, their experience in the profession, and ways to recruit and retain more diverse and effective educators to teach in the City, the Talent Coalition commissioned a Philadelphia Citywide Teacher Survey of 734 district and charter teachers in the fall of 2023. The survey found that many Philadelphia teachers are passionate about their work and making an impact in the lives of their students, but struggle with overwhelming workloads and insufficient salaries. 

Despite this common experience, effective retention strategies vary depending on a teacher’s race/ethnicity and length of time in the profession.  The survey found that newer teachers are more diverse than the overall teacher workforce.  For example, teachers who identify as BIPOC compared to white teachers were more likely to:

• Live in Philadelphia (73% BIPOC vs. 54% white);
• Have more than $50,000 in student loan debt (37% BIPOC vs. 23% white, with 46% of Black teachers who responded having more than $50,000 of student loan debt); and,
• Be teaching on an Emergency Permit or not certified (29% BIPOC vs. 6% white).

Among the major concerns about teaching in Philadelphia, new teachers and teachers of color have the same top concerns, although with slightly different ranks (see graphic):

Teaching workload:

• 1st – BIPOC Teachers (45%)
• 4th – New Teachers (46%)

Unrealistic expectations around student achievement:

• 2nd – BIPOC Teachers (44%)
• 3rd – New Teachers (47%)

Inadequate salary or benefits: 

• 3rd – BIPOC Teachers (43%)
• 2nd – New Teachers (48%)

Managing student behavior:

• 4th – BIPOC Teachers (42%)
• 1st – New Teachers (51%)

When asked what financial incentives would motivate teachers to continue teaching in Philadelphia, increases in salary was the top incentive across the board for all teachers irrespective of demographics and years of experience.

However, based on the data above showing new and BIPOC are more likely to have higher student loan debt, it should come as no surprise that student loan forgiveness was the second highest rated incentive for new teachers (40%) and those who identify as BIPOC (47%).

Additionally, new teachers ranked tuition and certification reimbursement as the third most important factor, highlighting the financial barriers recent graduates and certification recipients face when entering the profession. (See the graphic for more details.)

When asked what professional incentives would motivate teachers to continue teaching in Philadelphia, the following were the top three incentives for teachers of color and new teachers, though in varying order (see graphic for more details):

Reducing the amount of administrative tasks assigned to teaching staff, including paperwork:

• 1st – BIPOC Teachers (47%)
• 2nd – New Teachers (44%)

Increased preparation time or team-based work time:

• 2nd – BIPOC Teachers (43%)
• 1st – New Teachers (54%)

More Flexible work hours:

• 3rd – BIPOC Teachers (42%)
• 3rd – New Teachers (40%)

The Citywide Talent Coalition has made progress in elevating the pipeline assets in the city and creating new opportunities to increase the effectiveness and diversity of the teacher workforce; however, further actions are needed by our employers to impact our most vulnerable teachers from a retention standpoint: those who are new and who identify as people of color.  

Based on over two years of data analysis—including the recent studies enumerated above—research, and convening, the Coalition has published this toolbox to support our schools and school systems–and their partners–to elevate their current efforts.  The strategies below are meant to be a menu of options at different levels of cost, the amount of organizational change required, and the time horizon (summary).  The additional funding from the city and the state–after decades of woefully inadequate underfunding–presents an opportunity to transform the experiences of our city’s teachers via enacting or enhancing the below strategies.

If you are a school or school system leader and wondering where to best start, use this teacher retention assessment tool to identify what strategies and actions to prioritize based on your specific context.

In order for Philadelphia to have a world-class education system, it must have effective and diverse teachers.  In two years, the Citywide Talent Coalition has demonstrated the impact collective action can have in the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to support and retain current teachers and recruit future teachers.  The above recommendations and strategies implemented by our schools and school systems with the support of their partners and utilizing new funding from the City and state will accelerate our city’s ability to ensure our teacher workforce is more representative of our student population and effective in providing transformative opportunities for our children.