Getting and Keeping New Teachers

Retaining new teachers has never been easy and when the teachers are on the fast track in urban settings, turnover and retention are real problems. This book examines how schools can work to recruit, support, and somehow hold on to new teachers, many of whom have only limited formal preparation and experience in the classroom. Getting and Keeping New Teachers explores the orientation of new teachers, their lives in urban schools, and the key role of school leadership and strong collegiality, all of which combine in some cases to support and retain new teachers in important ways.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction - From Teacher Recruiting to Retention Chapter 3 Who Are these Recruits? Chapter 4 Principal's Administrative Leadership Chapter 5 Peers Who Care Chapter 6 Understanding Different Student Cultures Chapter 7 Overcoming Student Apathy Chapter 8 Managing The Classroom Chapter 9 Poor Resources, Poor Education = Fewer New Teachers Chapter 10 Lessons We've Learned

About the Author :
Janet Mulvey is assistant professor at Pace University School of Education in New York and has served as school principal and teacher for over thirteen years. Her interests include politics, policy, and school research in urban settings. Bruce S. Cooper is professor of educational leadership at Fordham University and former president of the Politics of Education Association. His interests include labor relations, school finance, and school policies.

Review :
Educational communities across the country are concerned about the need to maintain a quality teaching workforce. Mulvey and Cooper's book, Getting and Keeping New Teachers, outlines key steps from real-life experiences that will help school leaders create successful working and learning environments. Recruiting, mentoring, and training future teachers at an early age are proven strategies that result in higher teacher quality and retention. This book is a must-read for school leaders who need a little encouragement and guidance in hiring and retaining caring, competent, and committed new teachers. The crisis in American education derives in great measure from the failure of high-needs school districts to attract, nurture, and retain good teachers. This book addresses the dynamics of this challenge in a knowledgeable and accessible manner, without sugarcoating the realities of the situation. The solution to the problem is complex; but this volume provides clear descriptions of various models of teacher training, recruitment, and retention. As a teacher educator, I welcome this book as it clearly shows how school leaders can support and sustain the eager new teacher candidates whom I prepare for the field. Getting and Keeping New Teachers by Janet Mulvey and Bruce Cooper makes an important contribution to our understanding of the single most important job of school leaders-the recruiting and retention of high-quality teachers. No one-not principals, superintendents, nor school boards-has a greater impact on students' learning and achievement than teachers. Mulvey and Cooper identify six essential steps necessary to accomplish this task. This text will be useful in personnel recruitment and appraisal courses and to enhance principals' understanding of this complex issue, as a timely and overdue contribution to problems of administrator practice. Getting and Keeping New Teachers is a must-read for new teachers, veteran teachers, school administrators, and anyone who cares about good teaching. In a series of deeply revealing personal case studies, Mulvey and Cooper bring to life the dramatic tensions and choices that enable a teacher to be effective in leading students to achieve.