Deploy service scholarships, loan forgiveness, and teacher residencies to staff high-need fields and schools¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 3 studies (3 associational), q2 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report recommends service scholarships and loan forgiveness that "cover all or a large percentage of tuition; target high-need fields and schools; recruit academically strong and committed teachers; and commit recipients to teach with reasonable financial consequences". It also recommends teacher residencies in which candidates "work as paid apprentices to skilled expert teachers", earning income while completing a credential in return for a multi-year teaching commitment. These strategies offset entry costs and tie financial support to retention in shortage locations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programs must cover a large share of tuition, target high-need fields and schools, and carry a teaching commitment with reasonable financial consequences for non-fulfillment

Constraints¶

• The report notes stipend-style incentives may only be effective while the additional money is being received, as attrition climbed after one transfer bonus program ended

Target Learners¶

• prospective teachers entering high-need fields such as mathematics, science, bilingual education, and special education, and teachers in high-poverty urban and rural schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• recruiting and retaining well-prepared teachers in hard-to-staff subjects and schools

Claims¶

• GSTG recipients report teaching in high-need schools and shortage subjects, with most intending to stay after their service obligation [+W]
• Districts with shortages most often lack special education, mathematics, and science teachers, and most lack middle and high school teachers [+W]
• In 2015–16, 48 states plus DC reported special education teacher shortages, 42 reported mathematics shortages, and 40 reported science shortages [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Establish high-retention preparation pathways—residencies, Grow Your Own models, service scholarships, and mentoring/induction—to stem turnover in high-need subjects and schools
• Build high-retention, supportive pathways into teaching for candidates of color
• Remove barriers to retired-teacher re-entry—earnings cap exemptions and Deferred Retirement Option Programs—to fill immediate vacancies in shortage fields
• Design service scholarships that cover a substantial portion of preparation costs, with stable multiyear funding and linked data systems
• Offer targeted service scholarships, loan forgiveness, and 1-year postbaccalaureate residency programs to rapidly expand the supply of well-prepared teachers in shortage fields and locations
• Provide financial support and induction mentoring in exchange for a multi-year teaching commitment
• Develop high-retention pathways — Grow Your Own programs and teacher residencies — to build and diversify local teacher supply
• Recruit classified school employees into teacher credentialing with braided funds plus individualized financial and non-financial supports
• Build a diverse teacher pipeline through Grow Your Own grants, teacher academies, scholarships, MSI investment, and residency pathways
• Diversify the educator workforce through Grow Your Own programs, scholarships, and retention supports
• Use Teacher Residency Grant Program funds, braided with other sources, to recruit and retain a diverse teaching workforce
• Deploy a portfolio of research-based strategies — service scholarships, residencies, Grow Your Own programs, mentoring and induction, and compensation reform — to strengthen the teacher pipeline

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2016). Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage. doi:10.54300/262.960