Teacher shortages are increasingly impacting districts across the United States. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this worrisome trend. Moreover, teacher shortages disproportionately impact rural districts and their communities. Colorado’s rural districts are no strangers to the challenges faced by high turnover and staffing shortages of qualified teachers, school leaders, and special service providers. In response to these trends, education agencies and partnering organizations have sought to address teacher shortages in a myriad of ways. One such effort is the rural stipend program spearheaded by the Colorado Center for Rural Education (CCRE) at the University of Northern Colorado.
Teacher Retention Summary
In 2016, the CCRE was established with a mission to support the needs of rural educators in Colorado and a vision to ensure an excellent education for Colorado’s rural students. A priority in meeting its mission and vision is recruiting and retaining qualified educators for Colorado’s rural classrooms. To meet this priority, the CCRE administers a variety of pre-service and in-service stipends for rural educators. These stipends are intended to incentivize talented teacher candidates to teach and remain in rural schools.
To promote more stipend applications and provide information about the results of the program, CCRE contracted with Marzano Research to analyze the relationship between receiving a stipend and teacher retention, examine stipend recipients’ perceptions of the program and their current work in rural schools, and explore perceptions of the University and District or BOCES mini-grant program partners. Marzano Research analyzed teacher retention data from the Colorado Department of Education, administered a survey to 583 stipend recipients, and conducted interviews with five selected stipend recipients and six university partners. Interviewees represented both mountain and plains schools at elementary and high school levels. The surveys and interviews collected information about the stipend recipients’ current teaching assignment and their perceptions of the program, the impact of the stipend on their career and school, and of teaching in rural areas.
Overall, the stipend program was associated with positive outcomes for rural educator recruitment and retention. For example, during the 2020-2021 school year:
- 84% of teachers who received a preservice stipend and were employed by Colorado had a one-year retention compared to 74% for all Colorado teachers
- 100% of teachers who received an in-service rural stipend had a one-year retention compared to 80% for all rural teachers in Colorado
- 85% of teachers who received a stipend during the 2017-2018 school year were still in the same school
Survey and interview participants reported the stipend:
- created new career opportunities
- influenced them to teach in a rural district
- improved their teaching practice
- reduced financial stress
- positively impacted rural students and communities
These promising results from our evaluation of the CCRE rural stipend program demonstrate the necessity to see CCRE’s work carried forward and expanded to support more rural teachers and schools. If CCRE had more funding, more teachers could receive stipends. Out of the 919 preservice teachers from 2017-to 2021, only 548 were funded. Furthermore, during the 2020-21 school year, 66 rural teaching positions were unfilled the whole year.
Marzano Research plans to continue working with the CCRE to provide strategic guidance, data collection, and data analysis. These supports will help CCRE track stipend outcomes, ensure that lessons learned from the program are disseminated, and incentivize continued funding and support from state partners.
