Professional Development and Mentoring in Support of Teacher Retention.

The authors' discussion will describe how teacher retention is in jeopardy. Many novice teachers are ill-prepared to handle the rigorous school days and challenging students academically and behaviorally (Stansbury & Zimmerman, 2002). Novice teachers need guidance and support to ease tensions and stress levels which arise during teaching (Bolin, 2008). Common preparation periods and team teaching is an effective form of staff development (Lewis et al., 1999). Teamwork makes stronger teachers to help weaker teachers and produce improvements in teaching by sharing techniques and information. This has led to the need for staff developments that encourage mentoring to help teacher retention rates.