September 23, 2013

The Other Dropout Problem in Urban Schools

By Taleeb Starkes
Across America, many urban school districts are on life support, and in some places, the plug is ready to be pulled.  This dire reality is routinely discussed, but missing from the conversation is the ever-growing dropout rate in urban schools.  No, not the student dropout rate, but that of teachers.  The teachers' dropout rate is a result of burnout after their ambition is crushed by a climate of cultural adversity.  In other words, their 'save the kids' optimism dissolved into a 'run from the kids' reality.  These teachers anticipated teaching life-changing lessons to the kids but ended up learning life-changing lessons from the kids. According to the National Commission to Teach America's Future (NCTAF), NCTAF's findings are a clear indication that America's teacher dropout problem is spiraling out of control.  Teacher attrition has grown by 50 percent over the past fifteen years.  The national teacher turnover rate has risen to 16.8 percent....(Read Full Article)