Across the country, early childhood programs and school systems are struggling with teacher retention.
The data is clear, according to national reports from the Learning Policy Institute and RAND, teacher stress and burnout have reached some of the highest levels recorded in recent years. In some regions, nearly one in three teachers report that they are considering leaving the profession. In early childhood settings, turnover rates can exceed 40 percent annually.
What the Research Tells Us About Why Teachers Leave
- National studies consistently highlight several drivers of turnover:
- High levels of stress and emotional exhaustion
- Limited support from leadership
- Lack of meaningful feedback and coaching
- Few opportunities for professional growth
- Inadequate compensation
- Feeling undervalued
Interestingly, while salary matters, research shows that relational support and leadership quality are often stronger predictors of retention than pay alone.
Teachers stay where they feel seen, where they feel genuinely supported, and where they experience ongoing growth; this is the space where leadership moves beyond management and becomes truly transformational.
Moving From Assumptions to Data
Many administrators believe they know why teachers leave. But assumptions can miss important nuances within a specific program.
If we truly want to understand teachers, we must gather real data inside our own buildings.
1. Quarterly Pulse Surveys
Short anonymous surveys every quarter can help leaders detect early signs of burnout.
Include multiple choice items such as:
- I feel supported by my supervisor
- I receive feedback that helps me improve
- My workload is manageable
- I feel emotionally supported at work
- I see a future for myself in this program next year
Then add one or two open ended questions like these (but make sure to craft your own):
- What is one thing that would improve your experience right now?
- What makes you feel valued here?
Quarterly surveys prevent small frustrations from becoming resignation letters.
2. Stay Interviews
Once or twice per year, administrators should conduct intentional stay interviews. Not evaluations or compliance check ins, but conversations that ask:
- What energizes you in your work?
- What drains you?
- What support would make your role more sustainable?
- What would make you excited to stay here long term?
This simple shift from evaluating to listening to their needs and what is important to them, changes culture.
3. How Often Should Leaders Gather Information
- Quarterly pulse surveys
- Biannual deeper climate surveys
- Annual stay interviews
- Exit interviews every time someone leaves
- Ongoing coaching reflection meetings
Consistency matters more than grand gestures. It is the small, regular moments of listening that slowly build trust.
Practicing With Teachers What Teachers Practice With Children
Here is something we see often in our work. Programs focus heavily on improving CLASS scores, analyze domain data, create improvement plans, etc.
But sometimes they forget that CLASS is not just about interactions between teachers and children. It is also about interactions between leaders and teachers. Emotional Support does not begin in the classroom, it begins in leadership culture.
When administrators provide consistent, constructive feedback instead of sporadic correction, when they create psychological safety so teachers feel safe asking questions or admitting uncertainty, when they recognize effort in specific and meaningful ways, and when they offer individualized coaching rather than one size fits all directives, something important happens.
Teachers model that same support with children.
In fact, research on instructional coaching shows that teachers who receive ongoing, reflective coaching demonstrate stronger classroom interactions and report higher professional satisfaction. So, coaching teachers is not just an instructional strategy. It is a retention strategy.
When teachers feel they are growing, they stay longer. When they experience coaching as partnership rather than correction, they remain engaged.
At ChildrenFlow, we often see that the programs with the strongest CLASS outcomes are also the programs where teachers feel most supported by leadership.
Creating a Culture Where Teachers Stay
Retention is not solved by a single initiative or a one time incentive. It is built slowly through the everyday choices leaders make.
It lives in how transparently information is shared, how consistently coaching conversations happen, and how safe teachers feel bringing forward concerns or ideas. It grows when recognition feels sincere rather than performative, when leaders are accessible instead of distant, and when teachers have a real voice in decisions that affect their classrooms.
Culture is not created during staff meetings. It is created in daily interactions.
Most teachers do not enter this field for convenience. They enter because they care deeply about children. They believe in the work. They want to make a difference.
When leadership nurtures that care instead of draining it, something shifts. Teachers begin to feel that their commitment is protected rather than exploited. They begin to imagine themselves not just surviving the year, but growing within the program.
And when teachers can see a future where they are, they are far more likely to stay and build it with you.
If We Truly Want Teachers to Stay
Teachers are not leaving because they stopped caring. When they leave, it is often a sign that something in the environment needs attention.
When administrators shift from asking how do we manage staff to asking how do we support humans, retention improves.
When leaders model Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support in their own leadership practices, they strengthen not only CLASS outcomes, but teacher well being.
And when teachers feel supported, children feel it too.