Teacher Attrition in the District of Columbia

Educators are vital to the success of our students and our schools. But PreK-12 school systems across the country —particularly those serving high-need student populations — have struggled with how to attract, develop, and retain strong teachers and school leaders.

Since May 2018, the District of Columbia's State Board of Education has sought to better understand trends in teacher turnover in the District and its implications for DC students and schools. As New America wrote in its testimony for the State Board's public meeting in October 2018, "attrition of principals and teachers, particularly more experienced ones, has an impact on remaining teachers’ practice and students’ learning... [but it is important] to remember the goal is not to just retain any teacher or principal, but to retain our best."

The ultimate objective of the State Board’s work on teacher retention is to develop and promote policies that will encourage more teachers to remain in their roles. With that in mind, the State Board released this video, featuring New America Education Policy program staff, to help policy makers and the public better understand why teachers leave, the impact of teacher attrition on students, and which actions have the most potential to increase teacher retention.