Communities Are Shaped by Their Schools
Schools are built by the teachers and leaders who show up for kids every day.
According to the Learning Policy Institute’s teaching attractiveness ratings, Colorado sits in the lowest tier nationally, scoring low on compensation, working conditions, and teacher turnover and hiring. The bright spots: collegiality and classroom autonomy rank near the top.
Learning Policy Institute, The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
of Colorado teachers stayed teaching in the same school from 2020–21 to 2021–22, about 20 points below the national average.
Learning Policy Institute, The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
of Colorado teachers plan to leave the profession as soon as they can.
Learning Policy Institute, The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
Starting salary and wage competitiveness are among Colorado’s lowest-scoring areas nationally.
Learning Policy Institute, The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
For time for professional development, perceptions of evaluation, dissatisfaction, and test-related job insecurity.
Learning Policy Institute, The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
Why Retaining Colorado’s Educator Workforce MattersEducator turnover carries real costs.
When a teacher leaves mid-year, students can lose up to half a year of learning.
Henry & Redding, The Consequences of Leaving School Early, Education Finance and Policy (2020)
spent by Colorado districts annually on teacher turnover alone, by current estimates.
Learning Policy Institute, What’s the Cost of Teacher Turnover? (2024)
47% of Colorado educators say they’re considering leaving the profession in the near future (CEA, 2024). Not a prediction — a warning signal. And a big one.
Colorado Department of Education, TLCC Survey (2023–24, 2025–26); Colorado Education Association, Member Survey (2024); Colorado Educator Exit Survey (2025)
growth in total education spending since 2020, while K–12 enrollment has fallen five straight years.
Common Sense Institute, Dollars and Data 2025 (2025)
Retention Is a Systems Problem
Pay isn’t the only predictor of whether an educator stays. Research shows that workplace conditions are leading indicators.
Educators can see how decisions get made, and have a real voice in making them.
Professional development that respects educators’ time and connects directly to their work.
Support educators can count on when the job gets hard, not just when it’s easy.
These aren’t abstract culture goals. They’re design choices leaders can measure, adjust, and improve.
What Can We Do to Support Colorado’s Educator Workforce?
Burnout is a design flaw, not a personal failure.
The conditions driving Colorado’s numbers, heavy workloads, thin decision-making power, unsustainable meeting and evaluation loads, are the same conditions that have been successfully redesigned elsewhere. Colorado is already trending in the right direction: turnover fell from over 19% in 2023 to 17% in 2025. The open question is whether that improvement stays incidental, or becomes intentional and sustained.
Vital defines two forces that counter burnout:
The mental energy and motivation that comes from knowing a brighter future can be created through your own actions.
The purpose and energy that comes from working in an empowering community that values your worth.
Here’s what it looks like when a state gets intentional about building both. →
Explore Vital’s Results
Districts that took part in Vital’s 2025–26 case studies saw five common results:
- Visible changes in daily work. Seeing feedback turn into action builds trust and hope.
- Less unnecessary friction. Removing avoidable friction saves energy for teaching and student support.
- Shared ownership of improvement. Leadership that reaches beyond one principal builds belonging and outlasts transitions.
- Looking beneath the averages. Averages can hide the people most at risk of leaving.
- Complete feedback loops. Honest communication about what’s next reduces cynicism, even when not everything gets fixed.
Want to read more?
- Learning Policy Institute: The State of the Teacher Workforce (interactive map)
- Learning Policy Institute: What’s the Cost of Teacher Turnover? (2024)
- Common Sense Institute: Dollars and Data 2025 (Colorado)
- Borman & Dowling: Teacher Attrition and Retention, Review of Educational Research (2008)
- The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s rural schools and low teacher salaries (2025)
- Colorado Department of Education: Teaching and Learning Conditions in Colorado (TLCC) Survey (2024, 2026)
- Colorado Education Association: The Educator Exodus, 2024–2025 State of Education report (2024 Member Survey)
- Colorado Department of Education: 2025 Colorado Educator Exit Survey report
- Henry & Redding: The Consequences of Leaving School Early, Education Finance and Policy (2020)
- Vital Network: The Vital Experience
- Vital Network, Cross-Case Study Report (2025–26)
What North Dakota Educators Say
Across districts partnering with Vital Network, educator voice data reveals a consistent statewide pattern: educators remain deeply connected to students and to the purpose of their work, even as structural conditions continue to strain daily experience.
Source: Vital Educator Workplace Experience Survey, Fall 2025 (N = 5,370)
Working in education is one of the most meaningful and challenging paths you could choose. It’s not easy. There are long days, emotional demands, and moments of frustration, but the impact you make is real and lasting.
— Fargo educator
Through the Vital Experience survey, educators reported…
The extent to which required meetings are worthwhile.
The ability to maintain a healthy balance between school responsibilities and your life outside of work.
The experience of having enough time, resources, and support to do the job well without the work feeling unmanageable.
When we address work-life balance and workload pressure, schools become more attractive places to work.
How and Why: Measuring Educator Experience – Pillars of Educator Experience
Quality of leadership relationships, collegial trust, and sense of community among staff and families.
Psychological safety and belonging are foundational for engagement, collaboration, and stability.
Educator input in school and district decisions, clarity of communication, and collective problem-solving.
Ownership and collective efficacy are strong predictors of motivation and retention.
Workload manageability, value of meetings, and autonomy over time use.
Sustainable time use reduces burnout and protects effectiveness.
Hope, sense of purpose, energy, and belief in school improvement.
Closely linked to intent to stay and long-term career satisfaction.
Surveys & Actionable Insights
Vital surveys are meticulously crafted to be short, practical, and lead to learning and action. Data are delivered quickly to allow data review to happen right away.
Each question yields insights on the leading indicators of what makes great places to work, illuminating educator experiences that help leaders get ahead of burnout and turnover. By drawing on the latest research on the underlying causes of educator well-being and job satisfaction, the data become a powerful shared text on which teams can reflect, act, and improve.
- The people closest to me would say that I speak positively about my job.
- Most days, I feel a sense of accomplishment about what I do.
- I receive the information I need in order to effectively do my job.
- Staff have a process through which we work with administration to improve our school.
- Staff in my school work well as a team.
- Educators are respected in my community.
- The amount of time I spend in scheduled meetings is reasonable.
- I find value in the meetings I am required to attend.
Vital Districts are seeing increases in critical areas of workplace experience: Hope, Life Balance, Workload Manageability among the top ranked.
In Their Own Words
North Dakota leaders, educators, and partners on what changed when their districts worked with Vital Network.
Jeff McCanna shares how Vital Network transformed staff well-being and organizational health at one of North Dakota's largest school districts.
Dr. Jeff McCanna
Chief Human Capital Officer, Fargo Public Schools
Resources & Reports
Research, tools, and reference materials from Vital Network.
The full research report on educator workforce conditions in North Dakota. Data, findings, and recommendations.
View Resource →Learn how more than 10,000 special education professionals across North Dakota experienced their workplace during the 2025-26 school year, in this short policy brief.
Download PDF →An interactive self-assessment tool helping school and district leaders identify their mindset strengths and growth opportunities.
Take the Quiz →