Alliance recognizes that our educators are the main connection with our scholars. Prioritizing their well-being lifts the entire ecosystem of each school. Our focus on creating sustainable careers allows Alliance to keep the best educators; Alliance has an 87% educator retention rate, which is well above the national average of 77%.
Applying Best Practices
Reimagining the Alliance Educator is a limited series podcast hosted by Alliance VP of Network Initiatives Sonja Grant, introducing some of Alliance’s most important initiatives to prioritize teachers’ well-being. These include our programs to address:
- Teacher Training through the Alliance Residency Program
- Teacher Mental Health with pilot programs creating double planning time
- Financial Well-Being through excellent compensation
- Career Development with mentorship, observation, feedback, and community
This series features interviews with principals, teachers, and scholars sharing the most inspiring changes Alliance is making to reimagine education.
Preparing the Educator
The Alliance Teacher Residency Program offers a fast-track apprenticeship program for aspiring educators to gain practical experience in classrooms under the guidance of seasoned mentors while pursuing their California Teaching Credential.
Through Alliance’s partnership with the Marshall Residency and USC’s Rossier School of Education accelerated teacher preparation program, Alliance provides a combined $52,500 financial aid package and an additional $10,000 in available CA grants with a 2-year teaching commitment.
Residents also receive an education laptop for the 100% remote certification curriculum and a collaborative community. This is built to mirror the support principles that we provide scholars themselves, which leads to our 94% college acceptance rate.
Making it Sustainable
Alliance is taking major steps to prioritize teacher mental health in LA.
A growing body of research shows that teacher well-being is closely linked with student mental health and success. Yet across the country, teachers report that higher time demands than in other industries can lead to burnout.
With workload being a major factor in teachers deciding whether to stay in the profession, Alliance has created a pilot program to double the number of planning sessions that teachers have in a school day. This also allows teachers to have more flexibility in creating enrichment programs for their students, focusing on special interest areas.
Uplifting the Environment
Alliance recognizes the beneficial effects of music on creating a more pleasant working environment.
We put the control in teachers’ hands by creating a curated Alliance Staff and Student playlist named One Alliance, which is available to play during transition times, in cafeterias at lunch, and during study sessions.
Schools are encouraged to create their own playlists to submit to One Alliance. Many reflect and celebrate the scholars from that school, such as playlists honoring “The Evolution of Music through Black Artists” and “Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month.”
Investing in Educators
Across the country, teachers report lower levels of job satisfaction than in other careers, with historically lower pay.
Alliance addresses this head-on by providing teachers with industry-leading compensation. A first year teacher’s salary begins at $70,000 a year, nearly 40% above the California average. Experienced teachers make up to $130,000 a year.
Reaping the Rewards
Teachers are the vital link between the best-laid educational plans and actual student success.
By prioritizing teacher well-being, we support them in creating student success trajectories that make 94% of families recommend Alliance and 100% of eligible schools placed on the “Best Schools in America” rankings.
Source: https://www.relay.edu/leaders/how-one-principal-invested-in-teacher-wellness-part-1-of-3
Additional sources:
https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/research/pdfs/what-is-well-being-eng.pdf
https://www.ibo.org/research/wellbeing-research/well-being-for-schoolteachers-2024