According to researchers (Darling-Hammond et al., 2018; Ingersoll et al., 2016), there are broad factors that contribute to the growing crisis of teacher shortage in various areas:
Declining enrollment in teacher preparation and special education programs
increasing teacher attrition
A large number of experienced teachers approaching retirement or past retirement age
According to the Institute for Education Statistics (2022), two in five principals working in schools in the 2019-2020 school year left their school by the 2020-2021 school year. Other reports confirm that one out of every two principals is not retained beyond their third year of leading a school. School leaders retiring, transferring schools, or pursuing new opportunities within the education sector are not being replaced by qualified candidates. Furthermore, many school districts nationwide report principal vacancies and a severe need for more qualified applicants to replace them.
Consequently, many Educator preparation Programs have developed transformational initiatives to recruit, prepare, and retain teachers in their partnering school districts. This book will highlight some of these initiatives and their impact on the school systems. Readers can implement some of the highlighted models to help recruit and retain individuals interested in becoming teachers or school principals.