What Makes Great Teachers Stay? 3 Retention Lessons From Recruitment
Keeping a great teacher is just as important as finding one.
Every unnecessary departure creates extra cost, disruption, and pressure for students, parents, colleagues, and school leaders.
After years of interviewing and speaking with candidates from around the world, I’ve learned that compensation matters — but it is rarely the whole story when someone decides whether to stay with a school.
Again and again, conversations about leaving a role come back to three things: leadership, team culture, and growth. Surprisingly, it’s not always about salary.
1. Appreciative, Approachable, and Fair Leadership
Teachers want leaders who communicate clearly, listen, set reasonable expectations, and treat people with respect.
People are much more likely to stay when they feel valued and supported — and when they know they can raise a concern without making the situation worse.
A useful question for school leaders is:
Do our teachers feel comfortable asking for help when something isn’t working?
2. A Supportive Team Culture
International teaching already involves adapting to a new school, culture, and often a new country.
Having a team that shares ideas, helps each other out, and makes new colleagues feel welcome can make a huge difference.
Experienced teachers can help new staff settle in, share resources, and make asking for help feel normal. Even simple team-building activities can go a long way.
If a new international teacher joined tomorrow, who would they naturally turn to during their first difficult week?
3. Internal Career Growth Opportunities
Good employees do not always want to leave the organisation. Sometimes they simply want a new challenge.
Before recruiting externally for every coordinator, senior teacher, or leadership role, it is worth asking whether someone already in the school is ready to step up.
If a good teacher has been doing exactly the same job for two or three years with no clear path forward, it is not surprising if they eventually start looking elsewhere.
Can your teachers see what their career could look like at your school two years from now?
Retention Starts During Recruitment
Schools understandably look at CV tenure when trying to judge whether someone is likely to stay. But past tenure does not always predict future commitment.
A shorter role might be the result of a layoff, school closure, family situation, contract change, or simply a poor fit.
Instead of relying too heavily on dates on a CV, hiring managers can explore motivation directly during their interviews with teachers:
- Why are you considering leaving your current role?
- What would make you stay with your next school for several years?
- What management style helps you perform at your best?
- What matters most to you in your next role?
(e.g. salary, housing, team culture, training, career growth)
Replacing a strong teacher costs more than another recruitment campaign. It takes management time, onboarding, training, and often creates disruption for students, colleagues, and parents.
That is why retention starts at the hiring stage. Finding someone whose expectations, values, and working style genuinely match the school can reduce the risk of an early departure later on. The right hire should be someone you’ll want to keep.
At Gold Star TEFL Recruitment, we’ve spent 17 years helping schools recruit international teachers.
We help schools find the right teachers, so your team can focus on what matters most — supporting students and parents.
Find out more about hiring English teachers from us here.
About the Author: Christine Lu
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