Many New Teachers in Louisiana Are Throwing In the Towel

By Joanna Richardson

Many new teachers in Louisiana are sending an alarming message to the state's education community: They are giving up.

After two years, only about half of the state's beginning teachers are still teaching in the districts that hired them, researchers have found. Fewer than two-thirds are teaching in other public schools in the state.

The study, issued last month by the Louisiana Education Policy Research Center at Louisiana State University, paints a picture of frustration and low morale among new teachers in the state's...