As many as 1 in 10 first-year teachers drop out of the profession

An alarming number of first-year teachers leave the profession before they ever get to a second year, according to an article in the current Education Week magazine. The item reports a very recent study that tracked "a sample of public elementary and secondary school teachers who participated in the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey, and whose first year of teaching was 2007 or 2008."


Teacher-retention is a goal certainly not lost on policymakers here in the Evergreen State. The compensation work group authorized in House Bill 2261, which was passed and became the law of the state in 2009, is directed to look at strategies promoting the keeping of teachers on the job.

Over at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) program works to provide stronger support for young teachers. OSPI is striving to implement BEST in as many as 15 school districts and/or regional consortia. The 2011-2012 BEST grant recipients administered by the state superintendent office's Early Career Educator Development program were recently announced. Be sure and check out the winners at the BEST website. Just like any other budget item, of course, the future of the BEST program depends on the kindness of strange budget times.