Study: Teachers Bail From Poorer Schools
About 100 schools lose 25% of teachers annually
Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 | Updated 1:19 PM CST
Keeping teachers in the classroom is a particular challenge at some city schools.
Research shows that about 100 Chicago public schools regularly experience high turnover among teachers -- losing more than a quarter of their staff every year.
Perhaps indicating that the cause is "burn-out," the study shows that teacher turnover is especially severe in high-poverty schools with a large African-American population.
The University of Chicago conducted the study and lead author Elaine Allensworth calls the findings "disturbing" and says it's difficult for schools to improve if they can't maintain a stable work force.
Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman says the city's overall teacher turnover rate is near the national average. And Huberman says not all turnover is bad because some people find that teaching isn't the job for them.
The study was done by the university's Consortium on Chicago School Research. It looked at teachers who worked for Chicago Public Schools from the fall of 2002 to spring 2007.
Copyright Associated Press
Posted Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009 - 2:17 AM CST
