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Katharine O. Strunk
Does Charter School Autonomy Improve Matching of Teacher Attributes with Student Needs?
We examine the efficiency of traditional school districts versus charter schools in providing students with teachers who meet their demographic and education needs. Using panel data from the state of Michigan, we estimate the relationship between enrollment of Black, Hispanic, special education, and English learner students and the presence of Black, Hispanic, Special Education, and ESL teachers, and test whether this relationship differs at charter and traditional district-run schools. Because charter schools typically have less market power in hiring than large districts, we compare charter school employment practices to traditional public schools in districts of comparable size. Our results suggest that charter schools are more likely to employ same race teachers for Black students but not Hispanic students, and districts schools are slightly better at providing ESL and SPED teachers. We conclude that charter autonomy does not necessary generate better student-teacher matches, but Michigan charters may occupy a market niche by serving Black students and staffing Black teachers.
School Turnaround in a Pandemic: An Examination of the Outsized Implications of COVID-19 for Low-Performing Schools and Their Communities
Turnaround schools and districts that were charged with making rapid and dramatic improvements before the COVID-19 pandemic struck faced considerable challenges carrying out improvement efforts during pandemic schooling. Using survey and administrative data collected during the pandemic, we document some of the ways in which students and educators in Michigan’s turnaround schools and districts experienced the pandemic. We show that the communities in which turnaround schools are located were hardest hit by the pandemic and school and district operations were substantially disrupted. By extension, turnaround districts and especially the lowest performing schools in those districts that were targeted for school-level turnaround experienced high rates of student absenteeism, low student and parent engagement, and, ultimately, significantly smaller gains on math and reading benchmark assessments than in non-turnaround districts. Our findings have implications for policy as states amplify school and district turnaround efforts that were disrupted by the pandemic.
Should I Stay or Should I Go (Later)? Teacher Intentions and Turnover in Low-Performing Schools and Districts Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Teacher turnover is a perennial concern that became more salient during the COVID-19 pandemic as teacher-reported intentions to leave teaching escalated. The extent to which these teacher reports may translate into actual turnover remains an open question—especially given the pandemic context. Using unique survey data from teachers in 35 districts in Michigan linked to statewide administrative data, we examine the extent to which teacher-reported intentions are predictive of actually leaving. We measure behavior one, two, and three years following reported intent. We find intent is a significant predictor of turnover and becomes increasingly predictive over time. We also find organizational commitment and school organizational conditions are important factors in teachers’ intent and, to a lesser degree, actual turnover behavior.