Schools in the United States average an annual teacher turnover of 16%, with half of all teachers who change jobs also leaving the profession. This problem is important because high teacher turnover interrupts the development of pedagogical acumen among teachers, adversely affects student achievement, and diverts budget dollars that are needed…

This report reveals that about 100 Chicago schools suffer from chronically high rates of teacher turnover, losing a quarter or more of their teaching staff every year, and many of these schools serve predominantly low-income African American children. In the typical Chicago elementary school, 51 percent of the teachers working in 2002 had left…