Wisconsin
DPI report highlights difficulties retaining teachers in Wisconsin
Nearly one-third of people who complete teacher training never enter the classroom in Wisconsin, and nearly half of the people who do become teachers leave the profession within eight years.
That’s according to a new report from the state Department of Public Instruction that uses data from the 2023-24 school year. It highlighted ongoing challenges with retention even as overall staffing levels at schools remain relatively stable.
The report showed the number of teachers in Wisconsin has remained steady at 64,354 in the 2022-23 school year and 63,956 in the 2023-24 school year. But it also highlighted challenges retaining mid-career teachers due to compensation declines over the last decade and a half.
Understanding Wisconsin, Together.
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
State Superintendent Jill Underly attended a roundtable in Green Bay Monday with K-12 leaders and educators from northeast Wisconsin to talk about ways to boost teacher recruitment and retention in Wisconsin.
When districts lose educators, Underly said it results in larger class sizes, fewer courses being offered, less individual support for students and a loss of experience in the teaching labor market.
“We have to focus on keeping great educators in our classrooms,” she said. “They need to feel supported, they need to feel connected and they have to have opportunities to grow.”
Of the more than 5,256 people who completed a teaching training program in the state in 2023-24, around 30 percent, or 1,688, did not become teachers in Wisconsin.
For those who entered the teaching profession, only 52.6 percent were still working in Wisconsin classrooms by their eighth year on the job, the report says. For special education teachers, the retention rate was only 43.2 percent.
Underly and others who spoke during the roundtable said compensation is a major reason teachers are either leaving the profession or leaving the state.
According to the report, the total compensation for people entering their 15th year of teaching in 2024 was 22 percent less than it was in 2010 when adjusting for inflation. For teachers entering their 30th year, it was 13 percent less.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, the median teacher compensation in the state in 2010, including salary and benefits, was $110,722. By 2024, that number fell to $88,106.
Underly said low pay means some teachers have to work second jobs to stay in the profession.
“We’re asking a lot of these individuals to work multiple jobs when a job like teaching is so important and so highly valued in our communities,” Underly said. “We’re burning these individuals out, so they do make these choices five (to) eight years in. That’s when we’re losing them.”
Andrea Huggett, a middle school math teacher in the Green Bay Area Public School District, said compensation is a major factor. She said she’s “absolutely” been tempted to leave teaching because she could make more money in another profession.
“I’m not in it for the compensation. I’m in it to make a difference,” she said. “But that is a huge factor in my day-to-day life. I have a family, I have a home, I have a mortgage, I have insurance that’s costing more each year, and it’s a big factor in a lot of people’s decisions.”
Mai Vang, director of recruitment and talent development for the Green Bay Area Public School District, said compensation is one of the harder problems for districts to address and is not something that “one person or one school district” would be able to solve.
Underly said Wisconsin’s “public schools are severely underfunded,” limiting the ability of districts to address the compensation issue. She said the most recent state budget did not include any new general aid to school districts, which requires schools to do more with less.
“That really puts the burden on the school district, which then puts the burden on local taxpayers to have to pass a referendum,” she said.
Kewaunee School District Superintendent Scott Fritz said his district has not passed an operational referendum but has had to make budget cuts in recent years to try to ensure teachers receive fair compensation.
“We made that choice because we want to continue to have funding so that we can pay our teachers a competitive rate,” he said. “I can’t compete with where Green Bay is at, but I want to be able to compete with school districts our size.”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
A Safe Haven Baby Box has been purchased for Wisconsin Rapids. The next step is choosing the best alarm system for the project before it can be installed.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS − The city is close to having a Safe Haven Baby Box installed to help protect babies who are unwanted or unable to be cared for by their parents.
Volunteers have raised $35,000 for the Safe Haven Baby Box project and spent about $17,000 to pay for the box. The remainder will help to cover the cost of an alarm system and installation of the box in Wisconsin Rapids’ Fire Station 2, 1641 W. Grand Ave.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are secure, temperature-controlled, ventilated boxes that provide a place to anonymously put a newborn baby the mother can not or does not want to keep.
The project currently is waiting on the selection of an alarm system, said Linda Casper, who has led the efforts to get a Baby Box. Wisconsin Rapids Fire Chief Benjamin Goodreau is researching what system would be the best and most cost effective, Casper said. The alarm will alert the Wood County Communications Center when the box is opened. A delayed alarm then sounds after the baby is placed in the box and it is closed. The second alarm is delayed to allow the person dropping off the baby time to leave the area, Casper said.
Casper said she learned about the Baby Box when she was reading a newsletter from a state organization she and her husband belong to and found an article about the Safe Haven Baby Box. Casper thought it was a good idea for Wisconsin Rapids and contacted Wisconsin Rapids City Council member Jeff Penzkover about it. After discussions about a location that would work for the Baby Box, it was decided to place it at Wisconsin Rapids Fire Station 2.
Once the alarm system is chosen, Altmann Construction will begin the process of installing the box, Casper said. The installation will require removing bricks from the outside wall of the fire station. Before the box can be put into service, the firefighters and some members of the Wood County Sheriff’s Office will have to be trained on the correct protocols for handling a baby being left in the box, Casper said. Fire Department administration also will have to adjust the protocols to fit the department, she said.
Since the efforts to get a Baby Box in Wisconsin Rapids have become known, Casper has been getting phone calls from people in other communities, including Marshfield and Wausau, who want to know how she got the project going.
How you can help
Although the initial cost of the Baby Box is covered, Casper and the other people who have worked to bring the lifesaving device to Wisconsin Rapids still are working on raising more money. The box will need to be inspected each year by Safe Haven and the alarm system will have a monthly fee, Casper said. She hopes to raise enough to cover the costs for years to come.
People interested in helping can send donations to: Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 1150 Second St. N., Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494. Please put “SHBB,” for Safe Haven Baby Box, on the memo line so church staff know where the money should go.
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
Spring practice has wrapped up across the country, and college football has officially entered its quiet period of summer doldrums.
However, the mass influx of new intel on transfers gleaned from spring ball means top recruiting sites 247Sports and On3/Rivals have updated their national transfer portal rankings, and the Badgers’ class has gained more respect from both services since the initial transfer boom in the winter.
Wisconsin’s 2026 transfer haul currently checks in at No. 15 in the country on On3/Rivals, up slightly from its perch at No. 18 this winter. That’s good enough for third in the Big Ten behind UCLA (No. 11) and Indiana (No. 1).
247Sports sees the Badgers’ class a little differently; they’ve awarded Wisconsin with the No. 38-ranked class in the nation. That checks in at ninth in the Big Ten. Still, the outlet has bumped its individual ratings for several of the Badgers’ incoming transfers.
After initially not having signed a four-star transfer portal prospect in the eyes of 247Sports, the site has bumped quarterback Colton Joseph, running back Abu Sama and safety Marvin Burks Jr. to four-star transfer prospects, giving the Badgers three blue-chip portal players. Center Austin Kawecki was also bumped to a high three-star portal prospect.
On3, meanwhile, sees Wisconsin with just one four-star portal prospect in the Iowa State transfer tailback Sama.
It’s interesting to note that On3’s transfer portal grading system evaluates all of Wisconsin’s portal movement, additions and departures combined. 247Sports’ system is less additive and only evaluates teams based on how it ranks their newcomers.
Why it matters
In this day and age, programs have no choice but to deftly navigate the transfer portal if they want any shot at success. That doesn’t always mean you need to add over 30 signees, like Wisconsin did, but it’s a good sign that the Badgers are gaining recognition for one of the most important aspects of roster building.
Wisconsin is going to be a team largely fueled by mercenaries this season. I’d expect the vast majority of the Badgers’ production, especially on offense where new faces at quarterback, running back, tight end and receiver figure to dominate reps.
The Badgers still have a solid core of home-grown players, namely their two studs at inside linebacker and a handful of key cogs along the offensive line. After all, they rank 35th nationally in returning production; the cupboard isn’t entirely bare.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Technology7 minutes agoTwelve South’s AirFly Pro 2 has hit one of its best prices ahead of summer travel
-
World13 minutes agoEbola treatment center set on fire in Congo after residents clash with authorities over victim’s body
-
Politics19 minutes agoTop Republican warns Trump against making a deal with Iran: ‘Finish the job’
-
Health25 minutes agoHantavirus exposure risk may be higher than believed in parts of US, study finds
-
Sports31 minutes agoGiants’ key defensive tackle tears Achilles tendon during practice, out for the season: reports
-
Technology37 minutes agoInheritance scam email looks real but steals your data
-
Business43 minutes ago
Another California tech company lays off thousands
-
Entertainment49 minutes agoRicky Martin safe after ‘tear gas’ — or maybe pepper spray? — stops his concert in Montenegro
