Communities Are Built Around Their Schools
Schools are built by the teachers and leaders who show up for kids everyday.
When Educators Stay, Students Learn and Communities Grow Stronger
Student Success depends on the teachers and school leaders who make learning possible every day.
The Educator Retention Crisis is Here.
Minnesota has invested nearly $200 million in teacher recruitment since 2023. But if retention is still stalled, where's the return?
1 in 3 new teachers leave within the first 5 years, and retirement is only 16% of these departures.
This crisis is a retention issue as much as a recruitment issue. We are losing teachers faster than we can replace them.
There’s no shortage of teachers
However, 7 in 10 districts report shortages. About 15% of all positions (20,846 positions) are open or filled by under-licensed staff.
Minnesota has enough licensed educators to fill them, but they’re no longer teaching: 38,160 (36%) of Tier 3/4 educators are no longer teaching in MN classrooms.
Educators tell us that workplace conditions are a big part of why they’re leaving.
of MN educators say that school climate, especially leadership support, drives teacher exits (MNSPIRE).
of teachers who left the profession said work-life balance was better in their new job (NCES Teacher Follow-Up Survey, 2021–22).
of teachers who left said their workload was more manageable in their new job (NCES Teacher Follow-Up Survey, 2021–22).
It’s predicted to get worse unless we do something, now.
The outlook of Minnesota’s educator workforce faces a pressure point with attrition and retirement:
- Retirement policy changes could still accelerate exits among veteran educators. In 2025, Minnesota changed TRA’s prior “62-and-30” early-retirement provision to a “60-and-30” provision with more favorable early-retirement reduction factors under the Level formula. That makes retirement earlier and more attractive for some experienced educators, even though it is not the same as full unreduced retirement at age 60.
- The strongest warning sign is early- and mid-career leakage, not just a retirement wave. Minnesota reporting indicates that nearly one-third of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years.
Based on the indicators from the Learning Policy Institute’s State of the Teacher Workforce Interactive Map, both North Dakota and Wisconsin outperform Minnesota on several factors tied to teaching attractiveness.
The main differences suggest that compensation competitiveness, early-career support, and pipeline strength are all key factors driving the regional gap.
By comparison, Minnesota tends to fall closer to the middle quintiles for teacher turnover and preparation pipeline indicators, which lowers its overall attractiveness rating relative to its neighbors.
Why Educator Retention Matters: Turnover is Costing MN Students, Taxpayers, and Communities
A student will lose up to ½ year of learning for every one teacher turnover.
Source: Learning Policy Institute, The Cost of Teacher Turnover (2024)
Turnover of one teacher costs Minnesota up to $20,000.
Source: Learning Policy Institute, The Cost of Teacher Turnover (2024)
Estimated Minnesota total cost associated with educator turnover, 2024–25.
Sources: Learning Policy Institute; mn.gov/deed
7 out of 10 MN School Districts report vacancies.
Sources: Learning Policy Institute; mn.gov/deed
When teachers are burned out, or leave their school community, student learning and well-being suffers. Students can lose up to ½ year of learning with each teacher turnover (Henry & Redding, forthcoming).
Because educators are the most important school-based factor in student success, retaining experienced educators protects instructional quality, builds consistency, and strengthens relationships that support both academic and social-emotional growth.
In Minnesota, replacing one teacher can cost up to $20,000, adding up to an estimated $90–192 million per year statewide in turnover-related costs.
Furthermore, educator turnover increases the cost and decreases the effectiveness of all other statewide initiatives. If we want statewide investments like the READ Act to deliver lasting results, we have to protect the educators who make implementation possible. High teacher turnover weakens return on investment by disrupting continuity, increasing training costs, and slowing the impact of even the strongest policies. When teachers stay, statewide initiatives gain traction, implementation deepens, and public dollars go further for Minnesota students.
Schools are often the backbone of a community. Especially in rural, remote, and frontier areas, when districts can’t recruit and retain educators, communities become harder to sustain. No teachers, no schools, no communities.
Retention Is a Workplace Conditions Challenge: Minnesota Can Lead the Way
Retention is often framed as an individual issue, however the data supports a different conclusion: educator retention is less about individual motivation and more about systemic conditions.
Statewide investment strengthens the entire teaching profession, far beyond what district-by-district efforts can achieve.
By reducing competition between districts and making Minnesota a better place to teach, every community can attract and retain great educators, and all students benefit.
“What do you think would help with teacher retention?”
According to the PELSB MNSPIRE Teacher Survey Report, June 2022, over 15,000 licensed teachers across the state responded to this question. The top solutions were:
Source: PELSB MNSPIRE Teacher Survey: Summary Report, June 2022
Explore Vital’s Work in North Dakota
Since 2023, serving ~50% of North Dakota educators and growing.
Sources/Appendix
- https://doe.sd.gov/data/turnover.aspx
- Learning Policy Institute: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/2024-whats-cost-teacher-turnover
- PELSB 2025 Supply & Demand of Teachers in Minnesota Biennial Report: mn.gov/pelsb – 2025 Supply and Demand Report
- MNSPIRE Teacher Survey: Summary Report June 2022: mn.gov/pelsb – MNSPIRE Summary Report
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.
Resources & Reports
Research, tools, and reference materials from Vital Network's work in North Dakota.
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 →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
North Dakota education leaders speak on Vital Network's influence: amplifying voices, improving morale, and driving measurable change.
Download →