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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

ISLAND VOICES
Attracting teachers starts with retention

By Loretta Krause

The hidden cost of teachers leaving our classrooms is more expensive than ever imagined. Allocating funds to retain those who are already here will reap many more benefits than trying to recruit replacements.

According to an estimate from the state Department of Eduction, about 1,500 teachers are expected to depart at the end of this school year. The estimated expenditure to get replacements is one-third of the first-year salary. At $36,000 for an entry-level position, Hawai'i will be spending $12,000 per teacher, about $18 million for 1,500 new hires.

The traditional length of service in the teaching profession is 30 to 40 years. The natural attrition rate should be about 5 percent per annum due to retirement, health and similar reasons. There are 13,000 DOE teachers statewide; 5 percent is the equivalent of 650 teachers.

So why is our teacher turnover at 1,500 rather than 650? The simple answer is 850 are leaving the profession before completing 30 to 40 years of service. Our recruitment expenditure is therefore more than double because we need 1,500 rather than just 650 replacements. In addition, there is a very high premium paid for the 850 who are prematurely departing.

Studies done by the Texas Center for Educational Research indicate that turnover could cost as high as one and a half times the departing teacher's salary. The reason is you need to include education subsidies, in-service teacher training, mentoring programs, accrued benefits, early termination expenses, etc., as part of the overall cost.

Using $45,000 as an average salary, multiplied by 1.50, multiplied by 850, the total economic loss is $57.4 million. The premature departure of 850 teachers is the equivalent of investing in the construction of a $55 million-plus building and then demolishing the building before the end of its useful life.

The Hawai'i Department of Education's Office of Human Resources has an excellent group of dedicated recruiters. They attend the college job fairs and similar events on a year-round basis. Unfortunately, our recruiters can only present what is essentially a very weak package in a fiercely competitive environment. For example, the starting salary difference between someone with six years teaching experience and no experience is very small. Hawai'i seems to attract mostly from the latter group, consisting of newly trained teachers with little or no experience.

But the problem with recruiting newly trained teachers is they don't stay. Let's assume Hawai'i is successful in finding 1,500 recruits from local and Mainland colleges. Based on a study done by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, we can project about 690 of the 1,500 new hires will be gone from our classrooms within the first five years. This 46 percent departure rate is for teachers leaving the profession. It does not include those who might transfer out after being hired by another school district.

The present situation is a revolving door. But why are so many leaving? Are there issues causing disillusionment for what was once considered an honorable profession? Equally as important, what would it take to retain more teachers in our classrooms?

Members of the House Education Committee and the Senate Education & Military Affairs Committee must have that information, and they need to hear the reasons directly from Hawai'i teachers.

Loretta Krause is professor emerita, University of Hawai'i, with more than 40 years in education and 32 years as principal of the Laboratory School. She recently started American Institutes for Learning, an education consulting firm. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.