Coaching Project: Supporting State Use of Data to Prepare and Retain a Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher Workforce
In Connecticut, REL Northeast & Islands collaborated with the Region 2 Comprehensive Center to support the use of the state-produced guidebook, Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Diversity of the Educator Workforce: Guidebook for Hiring and Selection of Teacher. This guidebook is designed to support districts in examining their data and developing action plans to increase the diversity of their workforce. Along with the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, REL Northeast & Islands provided coaching to six pilot districts in Connecticut, with a plan to extend the work by supporting the implementation, assessment, and refinement of hiring and retention strategies at the local level. View a related infographic about educator workforce diversity.

Coaching Project: New Hampshire DOE/IHE Network Data Coaching and Catalog
REL Northeast & Islands is partnering with the New Hampshire Department of Education (NH DOE) and representatives from the state’s Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Network to develop a data catalog related to teacher preparation program experiences and outcomes for teacher candidates and graduates. The catalog will organize data previously collected by NH DOE and the IHE Network and will inform the state as it plans to implement new data requirements associated with program approval. The project will also provide valuable information on the potential for teacher preparation research to inform program improvements.

Training Project: Data Literacy for Teacher Preparation Programs
States in the Northeast & Islands region have committed to ensuring that all teachers are ready to teach all learners. One method to address this is to prepare data-literate teachers who can use data to identify and leverage their students’ assets to better address and meet their learning needs. REL Northeast & Islands developed and delivered a workshop series for teacher-preparation program faculty and leaders and for supervising and/or cooperating teachers in school districts across the region. The workshops supported participants to (1) learn strategies for increasing teacher candidates’ ability to use data and other information to enhance culturally responsive teaching and (2) develop a plan for integrating the workshop resources into teacher-preparation courses and practicum experiences. Learn more

Research Study: Teacher Preparation and Employment Outcomes of Beginning Teachers in Rhode Island
Education leaders in Rhode Island are concerned that many early career teachers are leaving the profession or not teaching in the grade level or subject area in which they were initially trained and certified. To better understand these trends, the Rhode Island Department of Education partnered with REL Northeast & Islands to investigate the mobility and retention rates of early career teachers. Specifically, this study explored whether there is a relationship between where a teacher is prepared in Rhode Island and teacher mobility, retention, and employment in the certificate area in which the teacher was prepared, and whether the teacher is working in a high-needs district. Learn more.

Research Study: Teacher Supply in New York: Pathways, Placement, and Retention
Teacher shortages are prevalent in specific districts and content areas in New York State. One option to address these shortages is to encourage new teachers to obtain certificates in hard-to-staff content areas or districts; another is to encourage existing teachers to obtain additional certificates in hard-to-staff content areas. For this study, REL Northeast & Islands is partnering with the New York State Education Department to examine the certification pathways by which new teachers enter the workforce, the content areas of their certificates, where they are employed, and their retention rates. The study also will determine the extent to which teachers with at least one year of experience obtain additional certificates, the pathways they use, and the content areas of the additional certificates. Learn more.

Webinar Series: Increasing the Diversity of the Educator Workforce: A Data-driven Approach for Districts (May 18, 2021)
A growing body of research is documenting that all students—and students of color in particular—benefit from being taught by teachers of color. As student populations across the country become increasingly diverse and many districts are comprised by a majority of students of color, school systems are striving to diversify the educator workforce. However, strategies for recruiting, hiring, and retaining a diverse educator workforce remain untested. This event offered an opportunity to learn from one state, and several districts within that state, about their efforts to diversify the educator workforce. View event details

Webinar Series: Using Data to Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching
This two-part interactive webinar series supports educator preparation program faculty and staff to prepare culturally responsive, data-literate teachers. Session 1 (November 6, 2019) introduces participants to foundational information about data literacy and culturally responsive teaching and presents scenarios for participants to examine together. Session 2 (June 4, 2020) explores tools, resources, and supports that can be used in educator preparation program courses to teach data literacy focused on equity and culturally responsive teaching. View event details.

Webinar: Building a Pipeline of Effective Principals: Costs, Resources, Challenges, and Opportunities (May 16, 2019)
Dr. Susan Gates and Dr. Julia Kaufman of the RAND Corporation present research findings on two studies related to The Wallace Foundation’s Principal Pipeline Initiative, specifically addressing questions surrounding the feasibility, effectiveness, and affordability of establishing a principal pipeline. Dr. Gates presents the results of a recently released study examining the student, school, and principal-retention outcomes associated with principal pipelines. Dr. Kaufman provides an overview of her research on the development and implementation of principal pipelines, with a focus on the importance and impact of strong principal pipelines. A practitioner representing a participating district discusses the implementation, impact, and lessons learned from the initiative. View event details.

Bridge Event: Equity and Diversity in Teacher Preparation: Learning from Research and Practice (June 25, 2018)
Dr. Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools at Boston College, discusses three broad bodies of research in teacher preparation—accountability, effectiveness, and policies; teacher preparation for the knowledge society; and teacher preparation for diversity and equity—and key findings within each line of research. She also describes a conceptual framework she has developed for “putting equity at the center” of teacher preparation. A panel of practitioners representing state education agencies, higher education, and alternative preparation programs discuss their efforts to promote equity in teacher preparation and their current research needs. View event details.