Texas Teacher Exodus Sparks Urgent Reforms to Boost Retention

Texas is grappling with a severe teacher retention crisis, as the state saw a record-high turnover rate of over 13% in 2023. This follows a 11.5% exodus in 2022, prompting Governor Greg Abbott to commission a task force to find solutions to the growing shortage of educators.

The 46-member task force has now unveiled a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at improving teacher recruitment and retention. Key proposals include raising overall teacher pay, investing in programs like the Teacher Incentive Allotment to reward high-performing educators, and expanding "grow your own" initiatives to help paraprofessionals and students become certified teachers.

Task force members, such as Dallas ISD teacher Eric Hale and Highland Park ISD's Jean Streepey, have played a pivotal role in shaping these reforms. Hale, a former teacher of the year, says the incentive programs have allowed him to more than double his salary over the past decade. Streepey, meanwhile, has worked to establish a new teacher residency pathway to better support and train new educators.

While the task force's efforts have led to new laws increasing teacher pay and funding for incentive programs, some educators feel a greater sense of urgency is still needed. As Hale puts it, "We're driving now, we're headed in the right direction, we just need to get there faster."