One of the largest charter school networks, KIPP, is trying to reel in its high teacher turnover rates with more family-friendly policies, according to this story from The Hechinger Report.
Low teacher retention numbers have been a persistent issue for the charter movement (and one frequently pointed to by opponents), and KIPP is no exception, writes Rachel Monahan for The Hechinger Report:
In Houston, an astounding 36 percent of teachers left their positions, according to data for the 2013-14 school year. Still, if you factor in teachers switching into leadership roles and out of the classroom, the retention rate rises: three-fourths of teachers stayed with KIPP Houston in some capacity—a notable improvement from the previous year, when KIPP Houston only kept two-thirds of its teachers on its payroll."
KIPP schools are often high-performing while serving mostly low-income and minority students, and its successes—as well as its teacher turnover rate—are often attributed to its long school days and years.
So now the network is offering a buffet of family-friendly policies to ease the load on its educators and keep them in the classroom, including daycare facilities, lactation rooms, flexible schedules, and priority for staff members’ children in KIPP school admissions.
You can read the full article, including the American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s take on KIPP’s initiative, here.
Related:
- Charter School Teacher Turnover: What the Numbers Show (or Don’t)
- Why More Charter Schools Aren’t Unionized