The demographics of a school are not solely based on the students; teachers also contribute to the social environment. We look at three indicators about teachers in a school: The percentage that are “highly educated,” the annual turnover rate among all teachers, and the turnover rate among “new” teachers, those with fewer than five years of experience.  We define “highly educated” teachers as those with either a Doctorate or 30 credits beyond a Master’s degree. Such credentials serve as a proxy for professional.  The turnover rate among teachers shows the stability among a school’s professional staff. 

Before moving to the figures, it is important to note that on Long Island, there is little difference in these measures by school poverty.  All three statistics (teacher education and both turnover rates) are quite similar across low- mid- and high-poverty schools, thus we do not show the poverty disaggregations for these indicators.  However, there are still some interesting trends.

The first chart shows that, compared to NYS, Long Island has substantially more teachers with Doctorates or 30 credits beyond the Master’s degree.  In 2010, 33% of teachers in the average NYS school were highly educated, while the Long Island figure was more than double—on average, fully 61% of teachers in LI schools possess such high credentials.  Over the five year period, the trend, especially for LI, has been increasing.  The LI figure for 2006 was 50%, with a linear increase through the years.  The percent is increasing across NYS as well, but not as steeply.      

While professional expertise is important, explaining the trend is just as relevant. The charts on teacher turnover offer some insight.  The annual turnover rate among all teachers is declining, both for NYS and for Long Island.  Long Island has a slightly lower turnover rate than the state at large, but the results and trends are quite similar.  In 2006, the average Long Island school saw 14% of its teachers not return the following year, and by 2010 this number had declined to 11%.  Teachers at large are not leaving their jobs in 2010 as much as they were in 2006.

Now look at the turnover rate for teachers with less than five years experience.  In Long Island schools, especially since 2008, “new” teachers are leaving their schools at an increasing rate.  In the 2008 average LI school, 19% of new teachers did not return the following year, while in 2010 the number increased five percentage points to 24%.

Taking all three teacher indicators together, we again see the effect of the financial crisis.  Schools have had to trim personnel, and the privileges of seniority dictate that new teachers are the ones that get let go—thus their increasing turnover rate.  In the face of such insecurity, teachers with seniority hunker down, and their overall turnover rate decreases as they wait out the uncertainty.  Teachers with less than five years experience are also the ones that are least likely to have accumulated additional credentials, like a Doctorate or 30 credits above the Master’s (Many teachers pursue credentials beyond the MA after they have established their teaching career).  Since those without advanced credentials (“new” teachers) are leaving at higher rates, on average, those who remain are more likely to have advanced credentials.  Thus the increasing presence of highly educated teachers is in part the results of the financial contraction disproportionately displacing new teachers.