Educator/ESP Workforce Retention Survey

Why We Stay
Georgia Association of Educators is seeking input from experienced educators and Education Support Professionals (ESPs) in rural Georgia public school systems, including early childhood educators who work with Pre-K and kindergarten children.

Your responses will help GAE describe what keeps employees in their roles and what changes could support retention in its presentation to the Georgia Blue Ribbon Study Committee on Education Performance Metrics and Workforce Stability.

Who should respond: Current employees in rural Georgia public school systems, with a primary focus on those with 15–20 years of total public education experience. Responses outside this range may be collected and summarized
separately. Early childhood educators and ESPs will answer one additional section.

Estimated time: 20–30 minutes (about 10 minutes more for the early childhood section). Participation is voluntary.

You may skip any question or stop at any time. Use specific examples when possible; brief responses are welcome.

Please do not include your name, names of colleagues or students, or other identifying details. GAE intends to report grouped findings and use quotations only with permission, after removing identifying details.

Participation

Do you currently work in a Georgia public school system?

Do you consider your current school system rural, surburban or urban?

If you answered No to either item, please stop here. If Unsure about rural status, you may continue; your response will be reviewed separately.

Do you work primarily with children in Pre-K, kindergarten or preschool special education?

If Yes, you will also complete the Early childhood educators and ESPs section.

1. What is your current job title or role?

Optional role group:

2. How many total years have you worked in public education?

Type a question

3. How many years have you worked in your current district and in your current role?

Why you have stayed?

4. What are the three biggest reasons you have remained in public education?

5. What is the most important reason you have remained in your current school district?

6. If you have seriously considered leaving your district or public education, what was happening and what ultimately caused you to stay? If this has not happened, please say so.

7. What role has your salary or hourly wage played in your decision to stay or consider leaving?

8. Beyond pay, which benefits or working conditions have most influenced whether you stay? You may discuss insurance, retirement, leave, schedules, job security, relationships or other factors.

Leadership and working conditions

9. How has school or district leadership affected your decision to stay or consider leaving? What specific leadership practices have helped or hurt retention?

10. What about working in a school system helps employees stay, and what makes staying more difficult? You do not need experience in another system to answer.

11. How have respect, recognition and opportunities to be heard affected your decision to stay? Describe an experience that made you feel valued or undervalued, without identifying anyone.

12. What changes in your job during your career have most affected whether you want to continue working in public education?

13. Which responsibilities, workload demands or working conditions are hardest to sustain? What would make them more manageable?

Changes that could support retention

14. What could your local school district do differently to help experienced educators and ESPs remain in their roles?

15. What could the State of Georgia do differently to retain experienced educators and ESPs in school systems?

16. If Georgia could make only one policy change to improve educator and ESP retention, what should it be and why?

17. What would make you recommend a career in your school district to a young educator or ESP? What would make you hesitate?

Early childhood educators and ESPs

Answer this section if you work primarily with children in Pre-K, kindergarten or preschool special education, including lead teachers, assistant teachers and paraprofessionals. If not, skip to Question 18.

EC1. Which best describes your early childhood role? (Click Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC2. What keeps you working with young children in your district, and what makes staying in early childhood more difficult? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC3. How do your pay, benefits, contract length or work calendar compare with colleagues in other grades, and how has that affected your decision to stay? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC4. How have expectations for young children’s academic readiness, assessments or documentation changed during your career? How have those changes affected your work and your desire to stay? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC5. How do classroom staffing, adult-to-child ratios, assistant or paraprofessional support and substitute coverage affect whether you stay? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC6. What support do you need for children’s developmental, behavioral or special learning needs? What is available in your rural community, and what is missing? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

EC7. What training, credential or career-pathway opportunities would help you remain in early childhood education? What makes them difficult to access in a rural area? (Type Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

Thinking about the past 12 months, how has the following factor affected your willingness to remain in your current role in your current district?

EC8 Support for your early childhood classroom (staffing, materials and access to specialists) (Click Not Applicable if you serve grades 6-12)

Your message to policymakers

18. Complete this sentence: I have stayed in public education because…

19. Complete this sentence: If Georgia wants experienced educators and ESPs to stay, policymakers need to understand…

20. What is one thing you would say to members of the Georgia Blue Ribbon Study Committee about retaining experienced educators and ESPs in rural Georgia?

Permission to quote your response

May GAE use excerpts from your answers in its Committee presentation or related retention report, after removing identifying details?

Brief retention ratings

Thinking about the past 12 months, how has each factor affected your willingness to remain in your current role in your current district? Select one response for each item. These ratings supplement your written answers.

21 Your salary or hourly wage

22 Your benefits, including health insurance and retirement

23 School or district leadership

24 Your workload and staffing levels

25 The respect and voice you have at work

Educator/ESP Workforce Retention Survey

About your work