The Tennessee Department of Education wanted to speak directly to educators as it formulated pay-raise efforts and other programming. A listening tour wrapped earlier this year, with findings released in June.

More than 3,500 minutes of conversations with more than 1,000 teachers across the state took a look at challenges and opportunities. In addition to interviews, those who participated also were surveyed on specific issues.

Ten cohorts of 100 teachers each were created, with representation from each region, grade level, district and school type, years of experience and more, the department reports.

The goal, department officials say, was to find districts that are doing well in staff retention, recruitment, test scores and other metrics, and then share that information out to other systems. It broke all that down into six key areas for the summary report:

• Personalized and balanced professional development

• Pay and benefits

• Mentorship and collaboration

• Leadership support

• Teacher wellness and appreciation

• Policymaking and accountability

“We will keep having conversations with teachers, because a lot of them said they wanted to hear more from district and state leadership,” a department official says. “There’s been a shift in the way people view the teaching profession, and they want to regain some respect, so that’s why there is also a focus on teacher wellness and appreciation.”

That’s good to hear, says the TEA’s Coats, who says that increasing educator voice and professional respect is key to attracting and retaining teaching talent.

“No one knows what our students need more than the people who spend their day with them, helping them learn,” she says. “Educators are experts at what they do and should have a seat at the table when decisions are made. When educators are respected as professionals and included in decision-making, they have higher job satisfaction.”

Listening Tour Report