Wisconsin public schools facing retention challenges

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – Wisconsin’s education force is in dire need of support, according to Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly. A report released this week highlights challenges facing the K-12 system.

“We are losing our best and brightest educators at an alarming rate in this state,” Underly said.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released a report on the state’s education workforce, which highlights a need to address retention. It states only 55% of new Wisconsin teachers will stay in the industry after seven years. Only around 18% stayed in the same district. In special education, only around 46% of teachers stay in the industry.

“Let me be blunt, nearly half of the new teachers in Wisconsin leave the state or the profession entirely after just seven years and in special education, the situation is even more dire,” Underly said.

“Special Education is one of those positions that really takes the right person,” Brandon Wick, the HR manager with the Eau Claire Area School District, said. “We have an amazing group across our district for special education but that’s certainly an area that our special education team and leadership is really focusing on with teacher retention.”

Wick said retention is a priority in ECASD.

“We’re always looking to retain and recruit our best teachers and that’s really the lifeblood of our organization,” Wick said.

While the DPI report said staff retention is an issue across the state, locally Wick said at ECASD there’s an 8-10% turnover each year, including retirements.

“One of the things that we’ve done with our compensation plan is typically at about every six years, there’s a retention bump that’s built into our certified scheduled,” Wick said. “So we actually have that of trying to be proactive and make sure we have nice steps for our staff.”

But, the challenges with staffing in Wisconsin’s public schools are far from over. Underly said the schools need more assistance.

“It’s a crisis for our students, our families, our schools and our communities and we must do something now,” Underly said. “Our schools are telling us they need help with fewer teachers. The ones who stay on are stretched thinner and thinner, trying to meet the growing needs of every student. That is a recipe for educator burnout.”

“We want to keep the staff that come here and make sure that they retire here too,” Wick said.

Dr. Underly is running for re-election for the state superintendent seat. She is running against Brittany Kinser, a former special education teacher and elementary school principal.

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