Chapter 8: The Time is Now: The Role of Professional Learning Communities in Strengthening the Resiliency of Teachers in Urban Schools

“Teacher retention has become a national crisis” (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 2003, p.3). Teachers constitute 4% of the overall workforce in the United States and the turnover rate for teachers is higher than any other profession (Ingersoll, 1999). Teacher attrition is twice as high as that of nurses and five times as high as that of lawyers (Ingersoll, 1999).

Research shows that between 30 and 50% of teachers leave within the first 5 years (Ballinger, 2000; Halford, 1999, Ingersoll, 2002b, Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 2002; Prince, 2002). The U. S. Department of Education (2000) reported that 22% of new public school teachers left the profession within the first 3 years. Two years later, according to data from the 1999-2000 Teacher Follow Survey, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2002) reported that nearly one third of teachers leave within the first 3 years and almost half leave within the first 5 years. In urban districts, the attrition rate is nearly 50% (Nieto, 2003b; Prince, 2002; Sachs, 2004; Saffold, 2003; Voke, 2003).