Research Spotlight on Hard-to-Staff Schools NEA Reviews of the
Research on Best Practices in Education What characterizes
"hard-to-staff" schools, those schools that have difficulty in
finding and retaining qualified, effective teachers? Many are
high-poverty inner-city schools or rural schools that, as a
consequence of their location in economically depressed or
isolated districts, offer lower salaries. Their districts also
lack the amenities with which other districts attract teachers.
Such schools have high turnover rates and a high percentage of
relatively new teachers because more experienced teachers, whose
seniority gives them greater choice, tend to go elsewhere
(Education Commission of the States, 2007). Consequently, these
schools have great difficulty maintaining stability and
developing a strong organizational culture that supports
learning. Elizabeth Glennie, Charles R. Coble, & Michael Allen
say (Education Commission of the States, 2004): Hard-to-staff
schools differ from their peers in several