How Staffing Policies and Practices Exacerbate Inequitable Teacher Distribution in a Large Urban School District

• In Event: Roundtable Session 100
  In Roundtable Session: Policy Issues Related to Teachers’ Career Paths and Teacher Quality

Abstract

While studies indicate that the most high-poverty schools are served by less qualified teachers and have the highest teacher turnover, explanations for this typically center on challenging working conditions, geography or salary. We investigate how policies exacerbate inequitable teacher distribution in one urban school district. Using three years of teacher staffing data, we confirm that when teachers move within the district, they most often move from more to less vulnerable schools. As a consequence, the most vulnerable district schools have teachers with less experience and fewer credentials than those in less vulnerable schools. Using document and interview data, we demonstrate that the district’s policies and practices work against hiring and retaining teachers in the most vulnerable schools.

Authors

• Julia Heath Kaufman, University of Pittsburgh

• Richard James Correnti, University of Pittsburgh

• Mary Kay Stein, University of Pittsburgh