Teacher attrition amid geographical, societal, and economic realities: Fifteen years of the Kansas teacher workforce

• In Event: Teachers on the Move: Recruitment, Retention, and Attrition in Context

Abstract

Leveraging Kansas administrative data, I find 16% of teachers turned over during the past 15 years, with attrition rising substantially after COVID-19, reaching 20% in 2022-2023. Unlike national trends, most Kansas teachers exited the state’s public school system entirely. STEM and SPED/ESOL teachers, city-school teachers, and teachers serving higher percentages of marginalized students experienced significantly higher turnover. Higher salaries were linked to lower attrition, especially among STEM and SPED/ESOL teachers, where the salary-turnover relationship was nearly twice as strong as for elementary teachers. My research informs Kansas education policy by highlighting long-term attrition trends, context-specific turnover patterns, and the differential relationships between salary and turnover. These findings support targeted, locally informed strategies to sustain the teacher workforce.

Author

• Chanh Bao Lam, Kansas State University