Running Head: PERSUASIVE ESSAY

Increasing Teacher Tenure in Charter Schools

Jamie L. Jackson
University of St. Thomas
Dr. Phyllis Tyler
April 19, 2015

Increasing Teacher Tenure in Charter Schools

PERSUASIVE ESSAY

Bing! My computer alert brought me back to reality. For the past 10 minutes I had been
rehearsing my comments over and over again in my head. It was time for my mid-year meeting.
As I walked past portraits of students with motivational quotes like YES Prep has taught me
that I can do anything and No one can stop me from being successful, my heart began to
pound in my chest like a bird trapped inside a metal cage. I couldnt place the feeling; was it
guilt? Was it anxiety? I had no idea what to say or how to say it.
I walked through the door and I felt the welcoming gaze of the School Director, the
Middle School Principal, and the Director of Academics; three people who had spent the last
year and a half pouring their efforts in to developing me as a teacher. I was so grateful for
everything they had done for me, that I hardly knew how to tell them how much I was struggling.
Each one of them had helped me become the strong, confident teacher that I am today. Despite
their best efforts, I was still feeling the intense pressure shared by many teachers in the charter
school system.
In December of each year, teaching staff at YES are asked to provide an update on their
plans for next year. At a regular public school, this might seem unusual. However, the average
teacher tenure at charter schools is 2-5 years (Lerner, 2013) and administrators know that YES
teachers wear out early and often. A year and a half of working at an urban charter school had
worn me down. Despite lots of success (for both me and my students) in the classroom, weeks
stacked with 12 hour work days, Saturday school, multiple weekly observations and hundreds of
parent meetings had taken their toll. Finally, the words slid out of my mouth, I dont not plan to
return next year. The next week in staff notes, I found out that I was not alone. Over half of our
staff had also chosen not to return as well. As I left my meeting, I remembered something that

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the YES Prep superintendent, Mark DiBella has told us in an all-staff meeting the week before;
Charter schools must focus on retaining teachers, because high teacher turnover negatively
affects student achievement. If teachers cannot be retained, students will never reach their full
potential.
Charter schools are more challenged by teacher turnover than typical public schools.
When teachers choose to leave a school (not necessarily the profession) after only a few years,
schools become instable and unable to achieve the same success as schools with high teacher
retention (Exstrom, 2012). In fact, students taught by teachers in the same grade-level team in the
same school did worse in years where turnover rates were higher, compared with years in which
there was less teacher turnover (Sawchuck, 2012). It is not the school, but rather the teachers
inside, that contribute to a conducive learning environment.
The negative impacts of teacher retention are most prevalent in low-income charter
schools with a large population of low-achieving, black students (Sawchuck, 2012). Many low
income households can be tumultuous environments and students who do not have the
opportunity to form enduring connections with adults are likely to experience lower achievement
levels and are at high-risk for dropping out (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center,
2004). Moreover, research finds that the effects of teacher turnover might be more than just
academic. Teacher turnover in charter schools has been found to have a negative effect on school
culture. When students are consistently exposed to first-year teachers, with little classroom
exposure, student reported a lack of motivation and focus due to a feeling of instability
(Monahan, 2014).

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For many students, the school environment is the most stable connection in their lives.
When this connection is also instable, students are left with little to rely on. Without the focus
and motivation that stability breeds, students are bound to fail.
Many charter school teachers are aware of the effects on students due to teacher turnover,
so why do they leave? A University of California Berkley study offers some insight in to this
challenging question. Teacher retention begins to wane as teachers approach their 30s. This is the
age that many women choose to get married and start their families and consequently, they
choose to exit the charter school system due to unsustainable demands (Monahan, 2014). The
high level of teacher demand reflects the kind of intense commitment that's feasible short-term
but can become unsustainable in the longer run (Zelon, 2014). As the personal lives of teachers
require more responsibility and family demands, exhaustive work days become less appealing.
Additionally, Zelon (2014) states that charter schools do not provide many options for protection
of their teachers and some might see charter schools as a stepping stone to a union job that offers
better benefits such as yearly contracts and tenure.
If charter schools want to keep their teachers at school, they must offer employees a way
to stay in the classroom while still achieving personal goals such as raising a family. The
effectiveness of a change centered on family values can be seen in KIPP (Knowledge Is Power
Program) public schools, one of the nations largest public school networks. KIPP saw an 8%
increase in one year after adding an on-site daycare program and other amenities for new
mothers such as a dedicated Room for Moms and a flexible scheduling (Monahan, 2014).
While the true causes of teacher turnover are still be determined, schools must focus on
investing in their teachers for the long term, not just for a few years. Teacher turnover affects

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student achievement, both inside and outside of the classroom, and charter school teachers must
stay in order for all students to be successful.

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6
References

Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2004, August 4). Issues A-Z: Student
Mobility. Education Week.Retrieved April 19, 2015 from
http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/student-mobility/
Exstrom, M. (2012, July 1). Teaching in charter schools. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
Lerner, M. (2013, August 27). Charter schools are developing teachers with short tenure.
Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.examiner.com/article/charter-schools-aredeveloping-teachers-with-short-tenure
Monahan, R. (2014, November 11). Charter schools, better known for churn and burn, now try
to keep teachers with mom-friendly policies. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
Sawchuck, S. (2012, March 21). Teacher turnover affects all students' achievement, Study
indicates. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
Zelon, H. (2014, August 20). Why charter schools have high teacher turnover. Retrieved April
19, 2015, from http://citylimits.org/2014/08/20/why-charter-schools-have-high-teacherturnover/