A new report published today by the Progressive Policy Institute’s Reinventing America’s Schools (RAS) Project provides a deep dive into the connection between teacher autonomy and teacher retention and job satisfaction. Teacher autonomy refers to teachers’ self-direction, capacity, and freedom, which are often limited by institutional factors in traditional school districts. The report is titled “Autonomous Schools Can Help Solve the Problem Behind the Teacher Shortage Problem,” and is authored by Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of PPI’s Reinventing America’s Schools project.
“The link between teacher job satisfaction and autonomy is not exactly news,” writes Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of RAS in the report. “Yet, too many traditional school systems seem oblivious to the fact that nobody in their right mind would love working in a place where their agency is disrespected while at the same time, they are held accountable for things over which they have no control. Districts that have failed to respond to teachers’ oft-expressed desires for more professional agency and autonomy should not be surprised, in this tight labor market, that they are struggling to retain educators.”
Against the backdrop of this year’s historically poor National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test scores, Pankovits argues that it is more urgent than ever for education leaders to take bold, pragmatic steps to recruit and retain high quality teachers, including rapidly evolving the underlying systems in which teachers work.
“We must prioritize making teachers happier and more effective in the classroom because research shows that teachers are estimated to have two to three times the effect on students of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and leadership, Pankovits writes. “Now is the moment to seize the opportunity to move away from the antiquated, overbearing command and control model of school management, and evolve into a model of independent schools that are both more easily adaptable to changing times and that afford educators more flexibility to innovate in the classroom without central office interference.”
Read and download the full report:
The Reinventing America’s Schools Project inspires a 21st century model of public education geared to the knowledge economy. Two models, public charter schools and public innovation schools, are showing the way by providing autonomy for schools, accountability for results, and parental choice among schools tailored to the diverse learning styles of children. The project is co-led by Curtis Valentine and Tressa Pankovits.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Aaron White; awhite@ppionline.org.
