Teacher turnover and the stress of reform
A UC Berkeley study showing alarmingly high teacher turnover rates at Los Angeles charter schools is no surprise. More and more teachers can't keep up with the demands placed on them.
 LAUSD and charter school community to celebrate the opening of Jose Castellanos Charter School, which will be operated under the Public School Choice Program. A recent UC Berkeley study showed that charter schools have high teacher turnover rates. (Los Angeles Times) |
That's not a slam at local charter schools, many of which bring talent and passion to the task of educating disadvantaged students. It's just that the study echoed something I'd observed anecdotally many times, starting with my niece.
A bright and cheerful young woman, my niece yearned to teach high-needs children. She took her bachelor's degree atUC Santa Barbara, then her credential, and started out in the San Francisco public schools, where she was assigned to the toughest elementary school in the district. Fifth-graders threw chairs across the room — and at her. Parents refused to show up for conferences.
She wasn't willing to deal with this level of apathy and teacher