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State education officials present 2023–24 teacher recruitment and retention survey results
Summary
Officials told the board that 6,903 Mississippi teachers responded to the 2023–24 recruitment and retention survey; concerns include instructional interruptions tied to student personal devices, campus safety and school leadership as a driver of attrition. The department outlined strategies and a new Professional Growth System portal.
Courtney Van Cleave of the Department of Education’s Office of Teaching and Leading presented findings from the 2023–24 teacher recruitment and retention survey at the Oct. 4 Mississippi Board of Education meeting.
Van Cleave said 6,903 teachers completed the survey and that responses were broadly representative across experience levels. She told the board that instructional interruptions — with student personal devices cited as a top source of disruption — and concerns about campus security and student behavior rose in teacher comments.
"We saw an uptake last year in terms of instructional time interruptions… cell phones in the classroom rose to the surface with those interruptions largely being attributed to students' personal devices during instructional time," Van Cleave said.
At the school level Van Cleave said leadership remains the second-biggest factor in teacher attrition; teachers identified trust and autonomy for school leaders as critical retention levers. The department described statewide strategies in response, highlighted a Professional Growth System (PGS) portal that has launched within the MECA platform, and said 100% of districts submitted PGS data for 2023–24.
Board members asked follow-up questions about campus security findings and how the department plans to use the survey to inform future initiatives. Van Cleave said the full survey results will be published on the department’s website to support districts, universities and other stakeholders.
