New Teachers Are Receiving Support, Orientation, And Formal Training
As a shortage of teachers grows toward crisis proportions, the nation's schools are struggling against twin burdens to hire well-prepared new teachers and to keep them from leaving the profession. Many schools, particularly those in urban areas, have turned to formal programs of training and support for novice teachers as a way of easing what for many is a make-or-break first year, according to a new study. The study contends that the scope and quality of these induction programs has taken on unprecedented significance in the face of the nationwide demand for teachers. The attrition rate among new teachers stokes schools' hiring needs. Nationally, more than 19 percent of new teachers leave the classroom within three years. Nearly 11 percent leave in the first year of teaching alone. This is part of the reason for the projected need for 198,000 new teachers a year over the next decade, with demand highest in urban districts. The school districts responding to a new survey reported an average 89 percent retention rate for teachers participating in their induction programs. The data show unequivocally the importance of induction programs in helping to reduce high teacher turnover and in bridging the gap between teacher preparation and the reality of the classroom.