Teacher Hiring Study Offers Lessons for Delaware

Teachers hired after the first day of school are twice as likely to leave their school, or the teaching profession, within a year, according to a recently released study from researchers from Michigan State and Northwestern Universities.

The report comes at an extremely prescient moment in Delaware, with the Senate sending Senate Bill 16 to the House for approval. SB 16 aims to curb our current practice of hiring the majority of teachers in late summer – something that has plagued Delaware schools for years. SB 16 tries to end this by ensuring 98% of unit count funds based on statistical (population/enrollment) projections conducted in March by the Delaware Department of Education.

However, Senate Bill 16 does not address the fundamental problem that underlies our late hiring practices, which is our unit count funding system. What’s needed is the replacement of our 62 year old funding system with one that is more simple, flexible, and equitable. This work would build upon recommendations advocated for previously by Vision 2015, the LEAD Committee, and Governor Markell, along with numerous national experts.