Poster #104 - The Efficacy of Targeted Funding on Retaining Alternative Certification Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Districts

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Many school districts in the United States have difficulties filling teaching positions with qualified educators. Different factors contribute to staffing challenges for districts in specific contexts. For instance, remote rural schools may have limited pools of potential educators they can draw from due to their geographic isolation. Urban districts may face constraints in matching the salaries of nearby suburban districts. Ultimately, contextual conditions of hard-to-staff schools can act as barriers to the recruitment and retention of teachers, which, in turn, negatively impact the education provided to students.

Recognizing these challenges, the South Carolina General Assembly established the Rural Recruitment of Education Initiative (RRI) in 2015–16. Despite the name, this initiative has been open to all eligible underserved districts in the state since it was enacted, not solely rural ones. Annual eligibility is based on teacher attrition and district wealth. Districts with a 5-year average attrition rate of greater than 11% are eligible unless they are among the 15 wealthiest in the state. The funding available to eligible districts is based on their 5-year average attrition rate and the number of teachers in the district.

Qualifying districts have the flexibility to use allocated RRI funds in various ways. This approach enables districts to target recruitment and retention issues based on their contexts. For example, districts can use general recruitment funds to cover travel expenses to attend job fairs. They can also reimburse teachers for costs associated with graduate coursework or pay teachers in critical need areas a salary stipend.

Despite the allocation of millions of dollars over the last decade, the short- and long-term effects of these strategic investments are underexamined. Tran et al. (2024) found, when considered collectively, that the RRI funds allocated from 2015–16 to 2018–19 led to a 0.57% decrease in attrition. The efficacy of funding specific incentives, though, is unknown. In this study, we focus on one such incentive, alternative certification funds. This is one of the most frequently employed incentives and is intended to cover the costs associated with participating in alternative certification programs.  

Specifically, we will assess whether district RRI expenditures on alternative certification have an impact on the alternative certification teacher retention rate in the district and the progression of alternatively certified teachers toward a professional certificate. We will use statewide data for the 2021–22 to 2024–25 academic years to determine indicators for retention and progression toward a professional certificate at the individual teacher level. These indicators will then be aggregated at the district level to serve as the two outcomes of interest. Districts eligible for RRI funding will be classified into treatment and control groups based on whether they chose the alternative certification incentive in the previous years. Difference-in-differences modeling will reveal the potential causal effects of funding on the two outcomes. Ultimately, the results will speak to the efficacy of this use of RRI funds and should inform policymakers’ decisions around allocations for the alternative certification incentive in subsequent years. 

Authors

• Brian Cartiff, University of South Carolina
  Presenting Author

• Angela Starrett, University of South Carolina
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Svetlana Dmitrieva, University of South Carolina
  Non-Presenting Co-Author