Why do teachers stay? CECI programs show success in retention for early-career teachers

德万·华盛顿清楚地记得他的第一天 a teacher assistant. It was the start of the school year during the Zoom上出现了新冠疫情和13张幼儿园小面孔 squares on his computer.

"On that first day, my cooperating teacher's 网络断了，所以我不得不独自开始一天的工作。” said Washington, a 2021 Grand Valley graduate. "I was not ready 但事实证明这是一次很棒的经历."

Washington, who now teaches fifth grade at Fremont 巴特克里克的国际学院，可能得单飞了 但从那以后，他的教学生涯一直得到支持. As a first-year teacher, he participated in the Early Career Teacher Mentoring program (ECT) through GVSU's College of Education and Community Innovation. Washington continues to receive guidance in the 专业学习社区(PLC)，一个为第二和 third-year teachers.

The two mentorship programs are among the tactics supported by the partnership among Grand Valley, Battle Creek Public Schools (BCPS) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to positively impact education in that region. Established in 2019, the programs aim to increase teacher retention in BCPS. Nationally, nearly 40 percent of teachers leave within their first five years. 

Since the programs started, 97 BCPS teachers have participated. 访问教育学院的莎拉·考克斯(Sarah Cox)担任 她说，这些项目正在发挥作用 从2019年到2024年，该项目教师的保留率为85%.

BCPS教师的保留率正在上升，考克斯 她说，因为她和其他导师提供个性化的支持 和学员们坦诚地谈论他们的课堂和生活 as teachers.

"When you are a teacher intern, you understand the 教学的基础，但这只是成为一个 classroom teacher," Cox said. "They have to acknowledge 他们会充分参与学生的生活. But 然后他们深呼吸，看看教室环境，然后 ask, 'What does that mean?'"

Lexus Baxendale, also a 2021 GVSU graduate, teaches 巴特尔克里克中心高中的生物学教授，并担任 school's science department chair. Like Washington, Baxendale is in 她的第三年教学和已经参加了三年 mentor programs. She said each year the program content has a different focus and builds on the previous year.

"This year, we've been talking a lot about being a 如何做出改变并实施，”Baxendale说 said. “我们在过去进行的讨论的基础上继续努力 用两年的时间讨论我们如何做出重大改变."