for Educator Workforce Recruitment and Support

Results of the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE’s) 2021-22 Teacher Retention Survey offered key findings for strengthening the educator workforce statewide

Out of 31,641 Mississippi teachers in the 2021-22 school year, 5,856 completed the survey The anonymous survey included 71 questions and took about 25 minutes to complete

It was conducted within MDE’s Office of Teaching and Leading and provided sample data on recruitment, onboarding, support, community involvement, school leadership and compensation among Mississippi teachers

Key survey findings showed MDE’s efforts to strengthen instruction through strategies such as Mississippi Instructional Materials Matter and Mississippi Connects had a positive impact� The survey also revealed teachers primarily learn from other teachers, the Professional Growth System (PGS) should drive professional learning and school leadership is the biggest factor in teacher retention and attrition

Concerning recruitment, 51% of survey respondents noted they heard about open positions from a colleague or friend, while 3% became aware of positions from online job boards or a job fair Also, 47% of teachers were influenced to apply for jobs based on their geographic location, and 28% applied after having a conversation with a school leader Only 2% applied for jobs based on a recruitment event

When describing steps in their hiring process, 79% of teachers reported completing an in-person interview with the principal Far fewer teachers — 3% and 2%, respectively — reported the process included demonstrating a teaching lesson or an activity using student data

Other survey findings included teachers valuing clear communication during job onboarding and new teachers staying in the profession because they have a formally assigned mentor The majority of respondents agreed they work in a safe environment with sufficient access to instructional technology, that curriculum taught is aligned with the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Stan- dards (MCCRS) and parents/guardians are provided useful information Only 37% of respondents agreed enough efforts are made to minimize routine paperwork on the job

Finally, while 64% of teachers reported feeling valued as a result of the new teacher pay raise for the 2022-23 school year, only 29% reported they were satisfied with their salary

MDE’s strategies to address teacher retention and attrition include:

• Continuing the Mississippi Teacher Residency program, which includes a formal mentor component

• Providing a Mentoring and Induction Toolkit that any school or district can use to create a local mentoring and induction program for new teachers and their mentors

• Aligning the Virtual and Faceto-Face Professional Development Catalog to Professional Growth System domains and standards

• Updating the Orientation to School Leadership (OSL) credits needed for conversion to a standard, renewable administrator license