LYNN — The Lynn Public Schools has not been spared by the Great Resignation.
To better understand why educators are leaving the district, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler has introduced an exit survey, which will be sent to all staff members once they send written notice of their resignation.
Tutwiler said the exit survey was developed by his administrative team in response to a request from the School Committee, which had been briefed on the difficulties the district was encountering with hiring and staff retention in early March.
“It is no secret that attracting and retaining professionals in the current context has been particularly challenging in nearly every field,” said Tutwiler at a March 3 School Committee meeting. “Of course, we are intimately aware of this, and have already begun to take steps to support a successful hiring season.”
Last week, Tutwiler updated the School Committee on these efforts, saying that the new exit survey is aimed at better understanding a departing educator’s rationale for leaving, which will allow the district to make improvements. The goal in improving the overall professional experience is to better retain its existing staff and attract new candidates, Tutwiler said.
“As it relates to retention, a genuine effort to solicit input on plans and feedback on how things are going is deeply important,” said Tutwiler. “In the event that a staff member decides to move on, it is important to understand that individual’s experience, the reasons for their departure, and anything that could have been done differently or better to avoid the departure.”
Tutwiler said the exit survey will allow the district to do something new during its spring hiring season: gather data. He said staff members representing all professional “lanes” ― which refers to an educator’s salary as determined by their education level — have departed over the course of many years.
“We have no data as to indicate why,” he said.
To combat this, the district developed its exit survey using a framework from the Massachusetts Association of School Personnel Administrators. Tutwiler said his administrative team also analyzed exit surveys used by similar school districts.
However, Tutwiler said, there was a bit of a snag when it came to analyzing the experiences of these other districts. He said his team learned that there is generally low participation in exit surveys among departing staff members; typically, less than 20 percent participate, he said.
In Lynn, if departing staff members choose not to participate in the exit survey, the school district will draw upon the reason they provided in their resignation letter or email to continue its data-gathering efforts, Tutwiler said. This scenario is typical, he said, explaining that the letter usually indicates a reason for their departure.
Tutwiler said he envisions this survey to be an important addition to the district’s retention effort, one that will provide “useful information and potentially actionable data.” He said he plans to update the School Committee on the collected data, and what action the district is taking in response, at least once per year.
“I believe strongly that the most important aspect of any recruitment effort is anchored in retention strategies,” said Tutwiler. “The extent to which staffing remains stable and members feel well-positioned and supported to do their best work not only reduces the number of vacated positions, it becomes a selling point for (prospective) staff.”