County public schools dealing with loss of teachers as they gain experience

Some alarming information was presented at a July 25 Warren County School Board and administrative staff “Retreat”.  The alarm bells weren’t raised solely by the number of teachers who left the system at the end of the 2017-18 school year (66 of a teacher workforce of 432), but rather by the fact that Warren County Public Schools lost 72% of the teachers hired five years ago, who now have at least five years of teaching experience.

Asked for detail on the teacher retention report, Schools Superintendent Greg Drescher explained that of 53 teachers hired five years ago, only 14 are still with the county public school system – 28%.

Those distressing numbers compare to the loss of 38% of fourth-year teachers; 33% of third-year teachers; and 10% of second-year teachers.

However, the picture isn’t totally bleak. According to Drescher a majority – 261 of the systems’ teachers have more than five years experience.

The 9 a.m. “retreat” last Wednesday at the Warren County Government Center was designed to review trends within the school system in order to prepare for coming years.  That preview includes replacing the loss of what Schools Superintendent Greg Drescher reported last month at an acknowledgement of the system’s retiring teachers as the loss of 624 years of teaching experience in the coming school year.

The staffing report noted that in addition to the total of 53 teacher resignations at the end of the last school year, another 10 teachers left for retirement and three others were listed as “deceased”.  Another 13 cited “other reasons” for leaving.  Those reasons included: family schedule; relocation; taking a break from teaching; moving to a career outside education; becoming a stay-at-home parent; and finally “no reason given”.

The Warren County School Board has a lot on its plate as the 2018-19 school year approaches, including how to replace 53 resigned teachers, including 72% of those with over five years teaching experience. Photos/Roger Bianchini

But it is the loss of more experienced teachers to resignations that is foremost on school board and administrators minds.  The problem – and this isn’t rocket science, kids – appears to be that surrounding localities are making better offers to teachers as they gain experience but haven’t yet become fully entrenched in the system and community where they were initially hired.

And it is not only wealthier, higher tax-dollar revenue communities in Northern Virginia that are gobbling all those more experienced teachers up – a total of 21 of the 53 teachers who left by resignation regardless of tenure, left for Northern Valley or other smaller, rural communities elsewhere in the state.

Those defections included: 11 to Frederick County; 3 to Shenandoah County; 2 to Winchester City; 2 to Clarke County; 2 to Culpeper; and 1 to Franklin County.

Those Northern Virginia communities “abducted” 14 teachers, with Harrisonburg and Manassas Cities taking two more.  Those numbers included: 6 lost to Loudoun County; 3 to Fauquier County; 2 each to Prince William and Fairfax Counties; and 1 each to Harrisonburg and Manassas Cities.

Other than the loss of experience, negative impacts were cited in the breakup of 31 Standards of Learning (SOL) teaching “teams, five of which the staff report noted were comprised totally of teachers with over five years experience.  Numbers presented to the school board indicated the more experienced the teaching team, the better the results by a 14-8 margin, with 4 results considered equal.

Of the problem of teacher turnover, particularly on the more experienced side, Public Schools administrative staff told the school board that, “While not a new issue with Warren County Schools, turnover is an issue that has increased to the point of it being more and more difficult to maintain status quo.  Training 60-plus new teachers every year leaves an experience gap that has no solution other than: 1/ keeping those we train; and 2/ hiring people with experience – neither of which can happen without offering competitive wages and benefits.”

Five of the school system’s 10 retiring teachers were present to be acknowledged for their service at the June 6 school board meeting. From left, Joanne Richmond, Jayne Coulter, Jackie Jenkins, Anne Jeschke and Ruth Ann Henry pictured with WCPS Superintendent Greg Drescher. Drescher noted that the system was losing 624 years of combined teaching experience heading into the coming school year – sure any of you don’t want to reconsider?

Superintendent Drescher pointed to the negative impact, not only on the county’s educational system, but on the community itself:

“A significant bottom line on this issue is the economic impact on our community.  Being able to continue to boast a positive and high performing school system creates students that become positive and high performing community members, workers, and attracts much-needed, high-quality industries to our community.

“Allowing us to become a training ground for educators will have the opposite result,” Drescher observed.

Compensation Study

The Warren County Board of Supervisors, which oversees the public schools budget purse strings, recently authorized a compensation study to address this precise problem of the loss of more experienced staff across County departments, including all administrative staffs, law enforcement, emergency services and public schools.

The County has contracted Maryland-based PayPalHR, which completed a staff compensation study for the Town of Front Royal this year.  That study was motivated by an average 17% annual staff turnover rate, also often among the Town’s more experienced employees.

Royal Examiner will explore the numbers resulting from PayPalHR’s compensation study for the Town as they could impact what the County might expect to hear from its study in a related story.

We’ll throw another party for you, if you do – just kidding, enjoy that retirement – you earned it!!!