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Finances
Several survey participants mentioned higher salaries, hiring and retention
bonuses, housing subsidies, and student loan forgiveness as financial incentives that
states and school districts were using, or might use, to attract and retain teachers. One
Georgia participant mentioned a state program allowing retired teachers to return
full time to the classroom in high-need areas while drawing both a full salary and
full retirement. Several respondents who work at the postsecondary level mentioned
GYO fast-track programs at 2-year and 4-year colleges designed to help education
paraprofessionals become teachers while still earning a salary with a school system.

School/District Leadership
Lisa McKenzie (South Carolina State Organization) reported on efforts to create
a positive school culture that affects both teachers and students and contributes to
better teacher retention. Chandra Robinson (South Carolina State Organization)
pointed to transformational leadership as an emerging education leadership style
and the topic of her dissertation, An Examination of Transformational Leadership
Strategies on Teacher Retention in Selected High Schools Located in the Midlands
in South Carolina (2023).

Support
Support for both new and veteran teachers was the most frequently identified
area in which DKG chapters were already impacting teacher retention. At the chapter
level, Sloane Cliett (Georgia State Organization) described her chapter’s “Teacher
Tips” shared with members at each meeting. Chapter members suggest books to
read, instructional strategies to use, or methods to improve student engagement. For
many respondents, support for teachers included chapter projects that align with
DKG’s Support for Early-career Educators: treats bags, notes of encouragement,
small gifts, and classroom supplies. Cathy Daugherty (Virginia State Organization)
described the powerful impact of showing gratitude. Her chapter, Virginia Alpha
Alpha, provided food for the entire school staff twice during the 2022–2023 school
year—breakfast on the first day of professional training and lunch on the day before
a holiday break—as well as school supplies and coats for the school’s clothes
closet. In return, the chapter received numerous expressions of thanks from school
faculty and staff. In a similar vein, Julie Trafton (Wisconsin State Organization)
described one of Wisconsin Pi Chapter’s support projects—notes written prior to
each meeting to thank staff members at a local school for the important work they
do. Marie Mueller (Oregon State Organization)
suggested that chapters might provide support
Support for both new and veteran by adopting an entire school to meet a specific
need benefiting all the teachers, such as a new
teachers was the most frequently bench or an item for the teachers’ lounge.
Karen Duke (Texas State Organization)
identified area in which DKG recommended supporting teachers through local

chapters were already impacting awards and recognition events sponsored by a
chapter or state organization: “Only one teacher
teacher retention. from a campus or district can be recognized
by the National Teacher of the Year group, but
there are many ways to honor local teachers.”
Duke indicated that such recognition strategies

12 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators