Addressing the Root Causes of Teacher Shortages in Lansing Public Schools

Image

In Lansing, Michigan, 32% of the district's teacher left the district within their first four years—a challenge even more pronounced in low-performing schools. Between year 1 and year 4, the percentage of teachers retained at low-performing schools drops from 43% to 11%. Lansing Public Schools and the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest requested support in reducing teacher shortages within the district. 
 

The Opportunity

To examine and mitigate teacher shortages in Lansing, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) provided a process to both analyze and address shortages through a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the educator talent continuum, as reflected in GTL Center's Talent Development Framework (TDF).
 

AIR's Approach

In December 2019, REL Midwest engaged Lansing in a robust inquiry, planning, and implementation process to achieve results related to teacher recruitment and retention challenges. The process consisted of three coaching sessions during 2020. The sessions included the following: 

• Session 1: Analyze Data. The team examined a range of teacher workforce data using GTL Center’s Talent Development Framework Data Tool. Using the tool and other sources, small breakout groups generated a series of findings. From there, the group identified four key problem statements on which to focus moving forward.
• Session 2: Identify Root Causes. A root cause analysis is a systematic process for identifying the deepest underlying cause or causes of a problem. Addressing the root causes, rather than addressing obvious symptoms, enables stakeholders to permanently address a challenge. The team chose two cause categories on which to focus, identifying six unique root causes of Lansing's teacher shortage
• Session 3: Select Strategies for Educator Shortage Root Causes. REL Midwest researchers scanned national databases and consulted with experts to find a series of strategy examples matched to the root causes. Lansing selected evaluation for professional improvement and principal leadership as the key strategies that best address the identified root causes. The intended outcomes include encouraging personnel to feel empowered to engage in honest dialogue about strengths and opportunities to grow.
• Session 4: READI Framework. After applying the READI Framework, the group identified 13 causes that could prevent the reformed evaluation program from reaching their most underserved schools and brainstormed program design features to help address those causes in advance. 

Project Outcomes

Lansing stakeholders revised multiple programs to empower staff to engage in honest dialogue about strengthens and opportunities to grow, while also developing design features to help address 13 identified causes that could prevent the reformed evaluation program from reaching the highest-need schools.