Teacher Recruitment and Retention
As noted in a variety of resources, teacher recruitment and retention in rural areas is a critical issue. One strategy that I am finding is rarely promoted is the loan forgiveness programs.
Loan forgiveness programs allow teachers that work in a) low income schools (a common reality for many rural schools), b) teach in high shortage content areas (i.e. mathematics, science, performing arts, foreign language) and/or c) has shown a commitment (over 5 years) to teaching in this setting to alleviate the financial burden of student loans.
By doing a quick search of my local area, I was very surprised to see how many of these schools qualify for loan forgiveness. To find out if your school is on the list go to https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp . A list of “high shortage areas” by state can be found at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf
Teachers and administrators need to know about these programs. Lifting the financial burden of student loans may serve to offset some of the issues associated with lower salaries that are typical in rural schools. It is a wonderful recruitment and retention tool that I hope all area schools are sharing with their educators.
A special thanks to Robin Lambert from the Rural School and Community Trust for compiling the resources listed above. For more information on loan forgiveness, check out the October edition of Rural Policy Matters avaiable at www.ruraledu.org
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