Improving Iowa Teacher Recruitment and Retention After ESSER Funds

James Colyott, February 2024 

Introduction

The final round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds are expiring soon and Iowa’s 275+ school district superintendents needed guidance on how to continue funding staff and educational programs originally funded by federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan. In June 2023, the Region 9 Comprehensive Center (R9CC) hosted an event in Ankeny, Iowa, for local education agency representatives to come together to learn about challenges and solutions related to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on student learning and well-being. R9CC provided current research, engaged participants with national experts, and facilitated the identification of key priorities for improvement. Because participants identified teacher shortages as the top priority for Iowa leaders to address, R9CC collaborated with the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) to provide guidance to superintendents on how to improve teacher recruitment and retention after ESSER funds ended.

The Problem

In September 2023, SAI surveyed Iowa school district superintendents about the number of teaching position vacancies they were facing at the start of the 2023–24 school year as well as the number of students that those vacancies would impact. The response was extraordinary—255 superintendents responded, highlighting over 1,000 open teaching positions throughout the state. With so many open positions, this shortage would affect more than 37,000 Iowa students.

This staffing shortage problem is playing out in states across the country. Schools are facing challenges in finding and retaining qualified teachers, leading to vacancies and understaffed classrooms. The shortage not only affects teaching positions but also extends to support staff, bus drivers, and substitute teachers. These staff shortages strain the education system, as schools will continue to welcome students regardless of staffing difficulties.

Additional comments from the Iowa staffing survey identified the most common challenges that schools face due to staffing shortages:

• Difficulty finding qualified candidates for teaching positions—especially for hard-to-fill positions such as special education, math, science, music, and English learners. 
• Shortages of bus drivers and substitute teachers leading to disruptions in transportation of students and classroom instruction. 
• Limited numbers of applicants for classified staff positions—including positions such as paraeducators, maintenance workers, and food service workers. 

Facing this shortage, SAI leaders decided to dedicate a portion of their annual executive committee meeting to discuss teacher recruitment and retention, and to draft priorities to share with Iowa legislators. These leaders invited R9CC to facilitate that discussion and share the latest resources and strategies for superintendents.

In collaboration with SAI, R9CC developed a two-pronged approach for supporting Iowa superintendents: 1) facilitate an in-person discussion of resources and strategies to counteract the teacher shortage; and 2) host virtual Community of Practice sessions to review additional resources and engage superintendents in discussions about experiences in their districts and priorities to share with Iowa legislators.  

On-site Collaborations

R9CC supported SAI by traveling to Ankeny, Iowa, in October 2023 to connect partners with expertise by meeting with over 75 superintendents and Area Education Agency representatives. R9CC led a 2-hour session to review staffing issues and their impact on Iowa schools and students, share national resources and strategies related to teacher recruitment and retention, establish local priorities to share with Iowa legislators, and brainstorm innovative approaches to improve local teacher recruitment and retention.

During the event, superintendents compared their districts to Iowa and national averages regarding teaching attractiveness and teacher equity indicators. Superintendents also explored other factors influencing teacher supply and demand, such as the teacher pipeline, student enrollment, workforce characteristics, and teacher financial strain. Next, superintendents shared how staff shortages had impacted their districts and students and what actions they were taking to mitigate those effects. 

R9CC then led a discussion about recent years’ staffing levels and teacher compensation rates in Iowa and across the nation. R9CC presented information about grant programs, grow-your-own programs, school-based mental health recruitment and retention initiatives, and mentoring and induction programs. These talks informed superintendents’ conversations about their own districts’ priorities for teacher staffing; they also helped superintendents develop recommended priorities to guide Iowa legislators in funding academic recovery efforts and in improving teacher recruitment and retention.

Lastly, R9CC shared a seven-part resource brief collection originally developed as part of the R9CC Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition project with the Illinois State Board of Education. This collection outlines the most common challenges related to recruiting and retaining teachers from underrepresented backgrounds or with certain certifications in Illinois—challenges that are common across the country, including Iowa.

Virtual Collaboration

After the October in-person meeting in Ankeny, IA, R9CC facilitated two virtual Community of Practice (CoP) sessions for all Iowa superintendents to learn about other resources on using ESSER funds and to share potential strategies for improving teacher recruitment and retention. R9CC designed this virtual collaboration so superintendents could participate without traveling or giving up time they needed to address local needs in their districts.

Community of Practice #1: Attracting, Recruiting, and Preparing Iowa Teachers – November 2023

R9CC focused the first CoP on attracting, recruiting, and preparing Iowa teachers to achieve the following outcomes for district superintendents: (1) reflect on spending of ESSER (or other) funds to attract, recruit, and prepare teachers; (2) review and use trend data on teacher pathways and preparation; and (3) self-assess partnerships to attract, recruit, and prepare teachers.

R9CC facilitated three discussions for superintendents. In the first, superintendents considered how tailored approaches to specific local challenges can resolve staffing shortages more effectively than general solutions. In the second, superintendents investigated different types of pathways for educators and the benefits of each. In the third, superintendents analyzed the three stages of partnership development between superintendents and their local community partners, along with the ways these partnerships may support the increase in school staff.  

Community of Practice #2: Retaining Iowa Teachers – December 2023 

R9CC focused the second CoP on retaining teachers to achieve the following outcomes: (1) understand state retention data and be able to compare them with the data for an individual district; (2) recognize the importance of collecting other data on teachers (or other staff) to inform retention efforts; (3) understand ways to collect district data regarding teacher retention and attrition; (4) consider retention strategies that could be used in a superintendent’s own district/schools; and (5) reflect on ESSER (or other) funding used to support teacher retention.

R9CC summarized Iowa teacher retention data from previous years and asked superintendents to share their perspectives. Superintendents acted as thought partners by discussing the causes of increased local teacher retention issues. R9CC also shared several examples of teacher exit surveys, demonstrating how they could help superintendents better understand why teachers were leaving their districts prior to retirement. Lastly, R9CC shared information about educator engagement and retention to show how teachers’ perception impacted retention rates. Superintendents coached one another on possible ways to measure teacher and staff perception in their districts.

Impact 

Through the support of R9CC, Iowa superintendents were able to come together in person and virtually to cultivate their professional learning network, connect partners with expertise, and share local and specific experiences regarding staff shortages. During this time together, superintendents were able to: (1) evaluate the impact of their use of ARP ESSER funds and other resources to help address local challenges related to staffing shortages; (2) develop a greater understanding of strategies and methods to improve teacher recruitment and retention in Iowa schools; and (3) share recommended priorities with Iowa legislators to strengthen alignment and enactment of policies to improve teacher recruitment and retention and to fund academic recovery efforts.

Moving Forward

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the staffing shortages in Iowa. The best approach will vary depending on the specific needs of each school district. Overall, Iowa superintendents highlighted the urgent need to address the teacher shortage issue by collaborating with peers and community partners, implementing measures that enhance the overall attractiveness and support of the teaching profession, and using innovative ideas to support and retain teachers already employed in Iowa schools. 

James Colyott, EdS, a Senior Technical Assistance Consultant in his 9th year at the American Institutes for Research, is the lead for the Iowa project on teacher recruitment and retention for the Region 9 Comprehensive Center. Before joining AIR, Colyott had more than 20 years of experience in Illinois public schools, serving 8 years as a classroom teacher, 6 years as a school principal, and 7 years as a district superintendent.