Sometimes a problem arises and the cause is not immediately obvious. The origin of a drip from the ceiling or of a new, unsettling noise in a car engine requires investigation. Being unable to maintain a full teaching staff at a Jewish day school also requires pinpointing the source or sources of the issue.
Multiple reasons exist for teachers leaving the classroom and the difficulty in finding others to replace them. Recent doctoral work at the Azrieli Graduate School of Education of Yeshiva University by Len Fuld on why novice teachers leave Jewish day schools and by Eitan Lipstein on what prompts teachers to leave the classroom and become administrators led me to an interesting conclusion and, I would suggest, a possible solution.
Fuld explained that novice teachers leave their positions primarily because of a combination of low pay and poor feedback from administrators. Many respondents in Fuld’s study commented on the lack of clear advice and a path for growth laid out by administrators. In response to the small number of class observations by and conversations with these administrators, the teachers felt unled and were left with uncertainty about the quality of their teaching. The feedback those teachers received revolved around compliance instead of pedagogical skill growth. Fuld’s study indicates that without a sense of job security, a path of growth to follow, or a feeling of progress towards mastery, young teachers tend to leave the classroom for greener pastures, often outside of Jewish education. When teachers leave the profession due to poor supervision and mentoring, it creates cautionary tales that ward off people from entering the profession. Hearing negative narratives about teaching from former teachers creates a roadblock for the rising generation to choose Judaic Studies teaching as a profession.
Lipstein opines that teachers leave the classroom both for job security and for higher pay. That means that teachers who continue past their induction period (the first four years on the job) while becoming acclimated to the teaching environment often choose to leave classroom teaching to enter the school administration. Instead of their wisdom and collected experience being used to model for and mentor other teachers, these ex-teachers instead invest time learning the different skill sets of being an administrator. Two negative results emerge from this. First, the staff loses access to that teacher’s collected wisdom since the newly-minted administrator is busy with tasks other than academic guidance. Second, the new administrator needs time to adjust to the position and cannot function at full speed until they have grown into their new role.
The juxtaposition of the findings from these two studies leads to the conclusion that teaching has two holes in the bucket of retention: new teachers leaving because of lack of administrative support, and more veteran teachers leaving to assume administrative roles. Perhaps from a systemic level we can repair both holes. The current dichotomy of teachers and administrators in schools keeps the problems described above locked in place. By amending the system with the addition of a novel position, perhaps the problem could be alleviated.
What if a school created “master teacher” positions? The school would establish a role in which, after training an experienced teacher in mentoring and evaluating classroom practice, the teacher would receive fewer teaching responsibilities and move into direct academic mentoring and supervision with a higher salary and an enhanced title. The master teacher would evaluate, mentor, and guide novice teachers and would report to both the teacher and the principal on the novice teacher’s growth and classroom readiness. This would address some of the teacher retention issues described by the two Azrieli researchers. First, the novice teacher has a set mentor, a way to progress in their own practice, and a long-term opportunity for professional advancement without having to abandon the classroom. Second, teachers who understand and excel in the system would continue to share their skills and knowledge with other teachers, while still maintaining their own class responsibilities. Third, without bearing many of the other administrative, parent-engaging, and board-facing burdens, the master teacher could stay focused on the classroom and teachers…and the ultimate raison d’etre of the school—the students’ growth.
Multiple problems face Jewish day schools. The position of master teacher has the potential to solve at least some of those issues and strengthen our schools and our students.