The Teaching Well Model:

A Case Study in School Sustainability

Teacher turnover is costly, and not just in dollars.

Nationally, our teachers leave the classroom within the first five years, and in high-need communities like
east Oakland, teacher five-year attrition is a staggering 70%. Teacher burnout comes at a huge cost to
student learning and relationships with communities that are often most in need of stability. Teacher
churn also has a massive financial impact on an already strapped system: according to a 2014 study by
the Alliance for Excellent Education, increasing national teacher retention by just 2% would create an
additional $44 million to spend on our students.

The Teaching Well takes an organizational health approach to education by interrupting the chronic
teacher turnover cycle at both the individual and systemic levels. We work in partnership with schools to
more effectively leverage the brilliance of their educators, by providing tools for healthy dialogue,
emotional regulation, and mindful stress resilience. Our work touches all educators on campuses we
serve, with particular focus on highly effective teachers and teachers of color, and is a catalyst to creating
sustainable school systems.

Our work shifts teachers from burnout to endurance mindset.

“I am so thankful for the Teaching Well partnership. After 12 years of teaching, I

finally feel that I am supported and that I have the strategies that will allow me not to
feel overworked, and instead feel accomplished and confident.”
— Marquel Coates, 12th year educator in OUSD

Website: www.theteachingwell.org | Email: info@theteachingwell.org | Find us on Facebook and Instagram

 Our Results: Return on Investment

In two years, The Teaching Well has kept 56 more teachers in the classroom and
saved our partner sites and districts over $1 million in turnover-related costs.1

School staff retention,* School staff retention,*

before Teaching Well partnership after Teaching Well partnership

Includes all student-facing staff: general and special

education teachers, RSP, RJ coordinators, librarians,
nurses, interventionists, etc.

2014 - 15 2015 - 16 2016 -17 2017 - 18

39/66 = 59% 35/71 = 49% 105/132 = 79% 96/127 = 76%
Average: 54% Average: 77%
= over 50% increase in teacher retention

Our Partners:
District and Charter Public Schools and Networks

1 Dr. Linda Darling Hammond & The Learning Policy Institute: Teacher Attrition Calculator, 2017