BALTIMORE — A new study is finding what works to keep teachers in the Baltimore City School System. It releases information from months of research by the nonprofit Fund For Educational Excellence.
The report is called "Should I stay or should I go? Retaining the teachers Baltimore City Students Need." It addresses how teachers feel about their jobs, both the good and the bad.
"Things that are keeping them in the profession that make them feel rewarded being teachers and then other things that are making them, in certain instances, make them question whether or not they want to continue to be teachers,” said Kwane Wyatt, Fund For Educational Excellence Program Director.
Over 200 current Baltimore City Public School teachers were interviewed along with nine recently separated teachers. Questions were asked about their working conditions, experiences in and out of the classroom, difficulties they face along with what they love about teaching.
The study found seven themes which include impacts from the pandemic, what teachers value, rely on, and how they're treated. The results point out two main themes.
"The management style of their principals varies from school to school in a wide way. And then also, just the workload, teachers really complained a lot about the things that are put on their plate outside of the lesson planning, outside of what they do in the classroom,” said Wyatt.
One city teacher agreed stating the job can be demanding.
"The workload is always daunting because this is not a job where you're working with inanimate objects, you're working with lives, you're working with children and they come with so much,” said Jared Perry, a teacher at Booker T. Washington Middle School.
He says resources are key and the solution starts at the top, "It's that top down affect, support the teachers, support the principal so they can support the teachers and then we'll understand more about how to fix this and address these things.”
The study also provided four recommendations focused on staff management practices, improved culture, a pipeline for certified teachers and decreasing the workload.
"Something we see as a way to combat that is having someone at the district who can serve as a clearing house for requests, thinking through deadlines, does this make sense, is this a good time to ask teachers to do this, “said Ruth Farfel, Fund For Educational Excellence Manager of Analysis and Engagement.
While Baltimore City Schools started with 1,000 vacancies for the next school year, officials say they are rapidly filling them.
Teachers have until July 15 to decide whether they will commit to another contract year or not.
The full report can be found here https://ffee.org/wp-content/uploads/T-Retention_Final_Digital.pdf
