Jefferson City News

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), in collaboration with the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC), has released its first-ever Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook. This initiative outlines eight foundational elements for establishing a robust state system aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers.

These cornerstones include the need for statewide campaigns to elevate the teaching profession, strategic use of public policy tools, targeted funding, collaboration, and constituency building. Additionally, the playbook emphasizes recognizing teacher voices and aligning recruitment, development, and compensation efforts to improve retention rates.

"The release of our own Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook provides a vision for the future," stated Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger. She emphasized that this strategy is designed to tackle current teacher shortages across Missouri schools.

William J. Slotnik, CEO of CTAC, highlighted the urgency of addressing teacher recruitment on a national scale. "By planning carefully, allocating funds strategically, and coalescing all key constituencies," he said, "Missouri is taking the lead in catalyzing innovation."

Through its Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grants program, DESE supported local education agencies in strengthening their strategies for attracting educators. Over three years of data collection from grant recipients revealed positive outcomes in enrollment and graduation rates within Grow Your Own (GYO) programs—initiatives focused on increasing new teacher supply by engaging students already interested in teaching careers.

The evaluation confirmed an increase in GYO graduates being certified to teach and subsequently hired by Local Education Agencies (LEAs). The findings informed the development of this comprehensive playbook now available on DESE's website.