Issues regarding educator supply and retention have come to the forefront as the short- and long-term effects of the COVID pandemic have become evident. A national survey conducted in 2021 found that one in four teachers were considering leaving their job by the end of the year—compared to one in six before the pandemic.1 Pandemic or not, retention of educators is vital to student achievement, equitable education and school district fiscal health.2
This descriptive study focuses on Washington educators holding credentials in areas identified as high demand and addresses several questions:
Certain endorsements showed high turnover across all educator and school characteristics. Among educators under age 60:
For most educators, public K-12 education employers were the primary source of earnings during calendar years 2016 through 2020. Outside of public K-12 education, top employers were in other education services (including private schools) and public administration (federal, state and local government).
In addition to these findings, this study establishes baseline measures that can be used to evaluate pandemic-related influences once additional data become available.