Special Report
Education

Swimming Upstream

By Lynn Olson — January 09, 2003 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Overcrowding. Lack of materials. Lack of support. A general distrust of initiative. Those are just some of the vexations that fourth-year teacher Rebecca Solomon of Los Angeles High School says push new teachers out of high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving schools.

“What keeps them,” says the Southern Californian, “is finding a small support group, either within their department or outside their department. Either that, or an extreme form of isolation in which they really just shut the door and don’t let anything bother them.”

Studies have pointed to a number of factors that contribute to the difficulty of attracting and keeping teachers in such schools, including noncompetitive salaries and the characteristics of the students themselves. But increasingly, researchers have targeted working conditions as a vital piece in explaining why new teachers leave--or stay.

Elizabeth L. Useem, the director of research and evaluation for the Philadelphia Education Fund, has interviewed middle school principals in high-poverty, high-minority buildings with low staff turnover. She’s found that such schools are characterized by a safe and orderly environment that is welcoming and respectful to all; ongoing support for new teachers; the timely provision of materials; and principals who are strong instructional leaders and who delegate authority and develop the leadership skills of others.

“Teachers will stay in schools like that even if they have opportunities to go to ‘better’ schools, with higher test-score performance or wealthier kids,” Useem asserts.

The following articles profile hard-to-staff schools in three different environments: an elementary school in the midsize city of Baton Rouge, La., a high school in rural Halifax, N.C., and a middle school in Philadelphia that has managed to build a stable teaching staff.

Their experiences underscore the complex challenges of making such places attractive to highly qualified teachers with other options. While each site has adopted strategies to lure teachers in and keep them there, administrators admit they are swimming upstream.

They also battle the image that such schools are chaotic, and even dangerous places to work. As these stories illustrate, that picture is far from the case. But the educational challenges are real.

See related stories:

Thwarted by Fact and Fiction

The Road Less Taken

Mission: Stability

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.

A version of this article appeared in the January 09, 2003 edition of Education Week

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz Are You Keeping Up With Trump’s Big Changes to K-12 Funding? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Is Trump Changing School Discipline Rules? Take This Week’s Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: April 30, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Quiz What Is Trump’s New AI Plan for K-12 Schools? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Illustration of tasks assisted with AI.
Canva