Irreplaceables: The Real Retention Crisis

As a less seasoned school administrator, I had a leadership coach share an article and research from TNTP with me about “Irreplaceables.”  "Irreplaceables" referred to the top teachers in a school and their positive impact on students and their leadership in the school is so valuable that they are nearly impossible to replace, but too often they leave because of inattention or neglect.  On average, each year they help students learn two to three additional months’ worth of math and reading compared with the average teacher, and five to six months more compared to low-performing teachers.  Teachers of this caliber not only get outstanding academic results, but also provide a more engaging learning experience for students. For example, when placed in the classroom of an Irreplaceable secondary math teacher, students are much more likely to say that their teacher cares, does not let them give up when things get difficult and makes learning enjoyable.   "Irreplaceables" influence students for life, and their talents make them invaluable assets to their schools. The problem is, their schools don’t seem to know it. 

A school leader once said “An effective teacher is worth his/her weight in gold.  Too few people really know this.”  As we were reviewing EOC and MAP data last week, I was reminded of the importance of great teachers and how profound their impact is on students.  In a week with very disappointing results from testing, there were a couple of bright spots that made us all smile at how our students performed.  One teacher had every single child in her class to meet or exceed their mid-year MAP goal of 5+ points improvement.  She had almost these same exact results in all of her classes, face-to-face and virtual.  This is despite only having 54 instructional days, with 27 of those being remote, instead of the normal 90 days in a semester.  When you hear from school after school and teacher after teacher about students scoring far below expectations and not meeting targets and some lower than ever before, how does one teacher or a couple of teaches in a school have this type of performance?……because they’re one of the “Irreplaceables!”  It doesn’t matter what challenges they might face or where their students come to them performing or what resources they might not have……they find a way to reach every student they come in contact with, they raise the bar for everyone else, and they’re the exemplar of what teachers should strive to be.  They don’t make excuses, they find a way to get results! 

I knew one of these teachers was “irreplaceable” far before she ever came to our school.  In talking with a middle school student about their favorite teacher of all time, he named her without even having to think about it.  He said she was tough and expected them to work hard every day, but she cared and tried all kinds of stuff to help him learn.  The attitude and way he perked up when he talked about the teacher let us know really quickly how much the student loved and respected the teacher.  I’ve always found it interesting that when asked about a favorite teacher, more times than not, students pick a teacher that held high expectations for them and even higher expectations for themselves in helping the student be successful.  Students don’t work for people they don’t like, but they’ll run through a brick wall for people they think care about them.  

The real retention crisis isn’t just looking at the total number of teachers that choose to leave the building each year, but the loss of truly great teachers.  Truth be told, the school probably improves when some adults choose to leave the building each year.  Statistically, schools have between a 69-73% chance of improving when an ineffective teacher leaves the building. In many cases, a beginning teacher fresh with energy and enthusiasm carries a far more positive impact on student learning than one that is negative or ineffective.  Schools only have a 8-14% chance of attaining a similar positive impact when an "irreplaceable" leaves the building.  

The article discusses ways to retain “Irreplaceables” in the school.  In most cases, simply feeling appreciated or having a principal communicate that they want them to be there is enough to keep them.  Surprisingly, money was one of the factors near the bottom of the list of why great teachers leave their school.  The adage that “people don’t leave places, they leave bosses” holds true.  One of the other top reasons they leave schools is principals not holding the line on good teaching for all and holding people accountable.  Also surprisingly, most schools have similar retention rates for "Irreplaceables" and "ineffective teachers.  Most schools also do more to encourage ineffective teachers to stay than they do to encourage them to leave.  Most schools also do far too little to try to retain their most effective and "irreplaceable" teachers.  How is it possible to improve schools when this is standard practice amongst most schools.

In this pandemic year, it’s more important than ever for principals to find a way to retain their most effective teachers.  One of the best ways I’ve learned to be a good principal is hire, train, support, and retain great teachers.  It’s one of the simplest, but most effective, ways of increasing student achievement and have a great school.  If you can retain your “Irreplaceable” teachers as you help other teachers improve, you are bound to continue to improve as a school.  As a principal, you better let your “Irreplaceables” know how much you care about keeping them in your school and how profound their impact is on students before another principal lets them know how much they’d like to have them in their school.  Hold the line on good teaching for all teachers and high expectations for all students.  It doesn’t cost a dime to do either one of these to keep your “Irreplaceables.”  Listen to your "Irreplaceables" and get their input in decision-making because they always have the students' best interest at heart, not what's easiest for the adults.  One of the best ways for a principal to take care of the students in the school is by taking care of the teachers. This is especially true with your "Irreplaceables", even though they are generally the ones that ask for the least support, make the fewest complaints or requests, and are always willing to do the most to help students....they still need to feel appreciated and respected for all they do.  What great teachers have is both a mindset and skillset for greatness in teaching; an impact on student learning that is so profound that they are impossible to replace!