Graying Teachers

Nearly a million teachers will reach retirement age in the next 9 to 11 years. This report presents a complete state-by-state overview of the retirement programs available to America's teachers. Chapter 1 presents the issues of teacher aging, retirement, and early retirement and asks how school districts might effectively manage the retirement and replacement of teachers. Chapter 2 surveys retirement plans in the 50 states and provides information on how to calculate a teacher's pension, with relevant data by state. Chapter 3 looks at local and state programs to entice teachers to retire early. Empirical methods are used to assess the effectiveness of various plans. Case studies of early retirement incentive plans in six districts show how these plans work. Based on conclusions drawn from these data, school officials are advised on how to create, implement, and evaluate an early retirement program. Chapter 4 calls for a national task force on teacher retirement and argues that the future of the teacher retirement system depends on resolving six related issues: (1) threatened financial viability; (2) lack of consistency between local and state policies; (3) lack of portability of plans; (4) lack of system flexibility in investment and withdrawal of funds for teachers; (5) lack of control by teachers as individuals and as a group; and (6) lack of equity among teachers in various districts. (21 tables, 48 references) (MLF)

Veteran educators are being encouraged to take early retirement in order to create jobs for less-experienced, lower-paid novices. Veteran educators are not alone: early retirement promotions have become the norm for aging workers in America. Consequently, there is a brain-drain of skilled workers at the national, state, and local levels. The early retirement of our most talented veteran educators is leaving our schools without the necessary leadership, hard-earned experience, proven skills, and wisdom to meet the evolving challenges our country faces. Indeed, there are long-term consequences of losing skilled educators while they are in the prime of their professional lives. Addressing these concerns, this book challenges the "good news only" theory of early retirement promotions which suggest that veteran educators are no longer needed as they age and that their retirement is the only way schools can survive financially in times of economic uncertainty. This theory contends that everyone involved gets a reward: the novice educators get jobs and the veterans get some cash. This trade is seemingly no problem, until the veteran educators are out the door and the school staff, students, and parents are left without their steady guiding hands. Instead of hastily luring prime educators out the schoolhouse door with planned buyout promotions, schools should offer our most gifted veteran educators career alternatives that will encourage and reward them to remain on board, thereby allowing them to lead novice and mid-career staff, students, parents, and community members. Examining the negative consequences of early retirement promotions on school culture, administrative leadership, teacher and student performance, community reaction, Stopping the Brain Drain of Skilled Veteran Teachers will not only expose some of the major drawbacks of early buyouts of veteran educators, but will also suggest creative career alternative to keep such teachers on board.

Two-year colleges are critical to science educationOCOs futureOCoin fact, some data indicate that half of future science teachers will take their first years of science at a two-year school. To address the unique challenges of this special setting, presents 24 articles featuring the most useful and relevant insights and advice from NSTAOCOs Journal of College Science Teaching."

Under increasing pressure in the face of teacher evaluation systems and accountability measures, schools must focus on those teachers that exhibit marginal to incompetent teaching behaviors in their classrooms. This book is a vital resource for educational leaders who are responsible for instructional programs and teacher evaluation. Zepeda’s tried-and-true strategies will help you take the necessary steps to support and mentor struggling teachers by detecting underperformance, developing strategies to help teachers, engaging in difficult conversations to enact plans of improvement, and following legal requirements. The practical tools found in this book will help teachers improve their instruction, assessment, classroom management, and teamwork.

School and district leaders will discover how to develop, assess, and sustain a collaborative, team-based mentoring program that helps retain new teachers and improve student achievement.