Rethinking Teacher Retention: What 1,000 Teachers Taught Us About Building a Sustainable Workforce

The Retention Crisis Isn’t New, But the Opportunity Is 

Nearly 86% of public schools report struggling to hire qualified teachers, and almost half of new teachers leave the profession within five years. 
Behind these statistics are real people, educators who entered teaching with purpose and left because the system stopped working for them. 

District HR leaders are often on the front line of this crisis. You’re tasked with recruiting, retaining, and supporting a workforce in an environment that feels increasingly unstable. But what if solving teacher retention isn’t only about hiring more teachers? What if it’s about rebuilding the conditions that make teaching a sustainable, fulfilling career again? 

What Teachers Told Us 

At Elevate, we surveyed over 1,000 teachers to understand what drives satisfaction and what makes educators stay. Three priorities rose to the top: value and support, meaningful impact, and flexibility. 

These aren’t radical asks. They’re reminders that the foundation of retention is respect, voice, and trust. 

3 Strategies for Building a Sustainable Teaching Workforce

The teachers we surveyed made it clear: retention starts with culture, not contracts. When districts invest in systems that make teachers feel valued, focused, and supported, they don’t just slow turnover. They create the conditions for long-term success.

1. Value and Support: No Teacher Should Have to Teach Alone 

When teachers feel isolated or undervalued, they leave. The most effective districts are rethinking how they build belonging, creating systems where teachers feel connected, heard, and supported every day. That might mean pairing new teachers with experienced mentors, giving educators more voice in decision-making, or reimagining professional learning to happen alongside real classroom instruction.

Today, support can take many forms. Some districts are blending in-person collaboration with virtual coaching or co-teaching so that every teacher has access to expert feedback and shared growth. These models protect instructional quality while reinforcing a culture of connection and trust. When teachers know they have someone in their corner, they are more likely to stay and thrive.

Practical steps HR leaders can take: 

• Empower teachers to lead, not just instruct, through mentorship roles, advisory councils, and peer-led professional learning.
• Leverage virtual coaching and co-teaching to connect new or alternative-certified teachers with experienced mentors who can model best practices in real time.
• Build regular feedback loops that show teachers their voices influence real decisions and program design.
• Foster belonging and community by pairing teachers across schools or even districts so every educator has a network of support.

As one Elevate teacher put it: 

“I feel heard. Elevate genuinely cares about what teachers experience and acts on our feedback. I finally feel supported.” 

When teachers feel part of something bigger than themselves, retention stops being a struggle. Instead, it becomes the natural outcome of belonging. 

2. Impact and Focus: Give Teachers Time Back for What Matters 

Today’s teachers work an average of 50+ hours per week, yet much of that time is spent on non-instructional tasks. 
The result? Burnout, frustration, and less time with the students who need them most. 

Districts can reverse this by redesigning how work gets done: 

• Simplify and streamline by reducing administrative burden through smarter staffing models. 
• Leverage support roles like classroom coaches or paraprofessionals as true partners who help manage day-to-day logistics and create meaningful connections with students during transitions, lunch, or recess, so teachers can stay focused on instruction and relationships.
• Adopt co-teaching and hybrid models that allow specialists to focus on instruction while maintaining collaboration and classroom consistency.
• Use technology to empower, not evaluate, with real-time insights, like those from Elevate’s TEACH Tool, to help teachers grow their practice without adding compliance pressure. 

When teachers have the time and partnership to focus on what matters most—teaching and connection—everyone benefits.

3. Flexibility and Balance: A Non-Negotiable for the Next Generation 

In nearly every other sector, flexibility has become a given. Corporate employees have options for remote work, hybrid schedules, and control over when and how they work. Yet for teachers, the structure of the profession has barely changed in decades. The school day remains fixed, the calendar immovable, and the expectations unyielding. And it is costing us talent. In our survey, 38% of teachers cited work-life balance as their top priority, reflecting a growing demand for more flexible and sustainable teaching models.

Districts have the opportunity to change this narrative. Flexibility can look like part-time schedules teachers design themselves, opportunities to teach from home, or hybrid roles that keep strong educators engaged even when full-time work is not possible. It can also mean rethinking start times, creating flexible staffing pathways, or building virtual teaching partnerships that expand instructional capacity and give teachers new ways to stay connected to the profession.

Reimagining what teaching can look like requires persistence and partnership. Bringing more voices to the table is not easy. It takes time, negotiation, and alignment across many stakeholders. HR leaders can partner with state and regional agencies, teachers’ unions, and legislators to rethink the structures that make flexibility possible without sacrificing student learning or instructional quality. It means treating flexibility not as a perk, but as a workforce strategy that strengthens schools and keeps great teachers in the profession.

Dayton Public Schools offers a powerful example: 

By blending Elevate’s LIVE teaching model into their staffing plan, Dayton re-engaged retired and part-time teachers, ensured certified content experts in every classroom, and made special education services more sustainable, all while protecting rigor and equity. 

The takeaway? Flexibility isn’t a compromise. It’s a retention strategy. 

The Results Speak for Themselves 

Across the country, districts that invest in supportive, flexible systems are seeing measurable gains: 

• 93% teacher retention among Elevate educators. 
• A +36 teacher Net Promoter Score, compared to an industry average between -17 and -29. 
• Over 15,000 annual teacher applicants, showing that when teachers feel valued, the word spreads. 

These outcomes are proof that sustainable teaching models don’t just fill vacancies; they build thriving, long-term workforces. 

Looking Ahead 

Teacher retention isn’t a problem to fix once. It’s a culture to cultivate. 
When HR leaders center teacher voice, protect instructional time, and design with flexibility in mind, schools become places where teachers stay, grow, and make a lasting impact. 

Ask yourself: 

What bold step could you take this year to give your teachers more control, more support, and more reasons to stay? 

About Elevate K-12 

Elevate partners with districts nationwide to deliver consistent, high-quality instruction from certified LIVE teachers across core, special education, ELL, and enrichment programs. Our models expand capacity, protect teacher time, and strengthen instructional quality, helping districts create the stability every educator deserves. 

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