Teacher Retention Academy targets teacher turnover with new support initiative

Teacher Retention Academy, founded by retired educator Dr. Mary Rivers, is helping school and district leaders focus on retaining teachers after they are hired. The new initiative offers training and strategies aimed at improving school culture, support systems and working conditions that influence whether educators stay.

Why it matters: - Schools spend heavily to recruit and hire teachers, but turnover still drains time, money and institutional stability. - Teacher Retention Academy is built to help leaders address the conditions that push educators out and make schools harder to staff. - Stronger retention can reduce teacher shortages and help schools keep experienced educators in classrooms.

What happened: - Teacher Retention Academy launched a new initiative centered on the message "From Hiring Teachers to Keeping Teachers." - The academy was founded by retired educator Dr. Mary Rivers. - The initiative is aimed at school and district leaders, including superintendents, principals, educational services leaders, charter school leaders and others responsible for supporting teachers. - The organization said educational leaders can learn more at teacherretentionacademy.com.

The details: - Teacher Retention Academy provides research-informed resources, training, consultation and practical strategies. - The academy focuses on school culture, administrator-teacher relationships, workload and burnout, teacher support systems, and the experiences of new and alternatively certified teachers. - Rivers said hiring is only the beginning and leaders must ask what they are doing to make good teachers want to stay. - Rivers also said teacher retention starts well before a resignation letter, through daily conversations, leadership decisions, support systems, expectations and whether teachers feel their work matters. - The organization’s stated mission is to help educational leaders create conditions that encourage teachers to stay, grow and thrive.

Between the lines: - The initiative reflects a shift from a staffing mindset to a retention mindset. - That matters because replacing teachers is often easier to measure than preventing burnout, but turnover problems usually start with culture and management. - The focus on new and alternatively certified teachers suggests the academy sees early-career support as a critical pressure point.

What's next: - Teacher Retention Academy appears to be positioning its services as a resource for leaders trying to reduce teacher shortages. - Schools and districts seeking support can use the academy’s training and consultation offerings to build retention strategies. - The organization is also promoting direct inquiries through its website and contact information for media and professional requests.

The bottom line: - The academy is betting that better leadership, support and workplace culture can keep more teachers in the profession longer.