Chapter 7: Factors that Influence Young, Highly Effective Educators to Leave Traditional Public Schools For Charter Schools

The goal of this study was to answer one singular research question: what factors lead young, high performing educators to leave traditional public-school placements in favor of charter schools. In order to get to this answer, the investigation centered on analysis of the perspectives of six teachers. All participants were under the age of 40, identified as high-performing or highly effective using one or more metrics, and decided to quit working in a traditional public school and began working for a charter school district or network. The study is designed so that the findings may be helpful for discussion and then development of new policies that address teacher happiness, effectiveness, and ultimately, retention. Once charter schools and traditional public schools have a better understanding of why their best young talent move around, they can make informed decisions to retain the next generation of educators.