This report by the Southern Regional Education Board looks at one of our education system's biggest challenges: convincing new teachers to stay on. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, a quarter of beginning teachers leave the classroom during the first five years. "Reduce Your Losses" asks why many young teachers want to change careers soon after entering the classroom. One reason is poor training in pre-service programs. Another is lack of help and advice from veteran teachers. Yet another is the tradition of shoving new teachers into some of the toughest classrooms in subjects for which they're unprepared. The report notes that the overwhelming majority of teachers who leave the profession do not give low pay as the main reason. The states represented by the Southern Regional Education Board have launched a range of initiatives to retain new teachers, including mentoring support, assessments of beginning teachers, and regulations prescribing where a teacher can be placed (for example, not placing a teacher trained in English into a math classroom for the year). The Southern Regional Education Board sells copies of the report for $.50 and can be reached at (404) 875-9211. For a free copy go to http://www.sreb.org/main/HigherEd/ReduceLosses.asp
