Written by: Erin Tobin
Finding, hiring, and training new (or new-to-you) teachers is a monumental task for school teams. After all, teachers are the ones in front of students day in and day out, leading them to success–or not. When a teacher resigns mid-year, the ripple effects are felt by everyone, and these ripples can become waves if administrators are caught off-guard. Rarely does a teacher quit with no warning signs, and by knowing what to look for, you can prepare for (or even prevent!) the storm left by a mid-year vacancy.
Flag 1: Disengagement with other staff members and their administrator
Teachers without a support network at school may be more likely to leave mid-year. Without a sense of community, struggling teachers don’t feel they have the camaraderie they need or the responsibility to the collective that would keep them from resigning before the end of the school year.
Look for teachers who:
- have slumped shoulders, are playing with their phones excessively, or regularly sit alone during staff meetings.
- keep to themselves at lunch, during duty times, or any other times when teachers typically interact with one another.
- exhibit a significant change in their demeanor or in their relationship with you.
Flag 2: Lack of Connection to Students
For similar reasons to those above, a teacher’s lack of connection to students is also concerning. For many teachers, students are the driving force behind the work they do–without this, teachers may be more apt to give up when times get hard.
Look for teachers who:
- cry frequently or display excessive anger towards students
- are regularly unprepared for school
- blame students or families for their own failures
Flag 3: Attendance Issues
Teachers who are heading towards a mid-year resignation may miss school at the last minute for job interviews or job hunting. Alternatively, they may be so disinvested or coming to school may distress them to the point that they come in late, leave early, or don’t come in at all.
Look for teachers who:
- Come in late and/or leave early without a reason or who are simply at school from bell to bell
- Have last minute absences without a reason
When a teacher exhibits one of these flags, it’s not necessarily an indication that they’re ready to jump ship–there are a variety of explanations for the above behaviors. However, when someone starts to show several signs that they may be on their way out, the risk is too great not to at least dig a little deeper and intervene before it’s too late.
If you do have a teacher resign mid-year, you’re not alone! Recent data suggests that nearly one third of teacher vacancies just a few weeks into the school year in Arizona are due to midyear resignations or teachers never reporting for work at all. Let OneTeacher help you fill your mid-year vacancies with qualified, permanent teachers. Contact us to learn more!
Erin Tobin is the Founder & CEO of OneTeacher and a former middle school teacher, teacher coach, and leader of new teacher development. She also served as a leader of a selective teacher preparation program at which she led the hiring of expert teachers and educational leaders to train and develop novice educators. Erin now leads OneTeacher’s work to create partnerships the make that “right match” between teachers and partner schools, supporting excellent outcomes for students, schools and communities.
