Beyond the Exit Interview: What Keeps Great Educators with You

The Silent Goodbye.

Our educators don’t always leave with a loud announcement.

Sometimes, it’s the small things: the emails that stop coming, the planning meetings they quietly opt out of, the spark that used to light up around student success…dimming.

By the time we get to the exit interview, it’s often too late.

But what if we stopped treating retention as a reaction, and started seeing it as a relationship?

Retention Begins Long Before Resignation

Keeping great educators isn’t about perks or pizza parties. It’s about creating the kind of professional environment that fuels passion, supports growth, and values humanity.

Here’s what I’ve learned from both watching people leave—and helping others stay:

Keeping great educators isn’t about perks or pizza parties. It’s about creating the kind of professional environment that fuels passion, supports growth, and values humanity.

1. Clarity matters more than charisma.

People want to know what is expected of them. Consistent communication, clear job roles, and shared goals give educators a sense of direction—and dignity.

2. Appreciation should be specific and consistent.

A generic “good job” at the end of a meeting isn’t enough. Specific feedback tied to their contributions (“Your facilitation of that IEP meeting helped the parent feel heard”) makes people feel seen.

3. Professional development needs to be relevant and empowering.

When PD feels like a checkbox, teachers check out. When it’s purposeful and builds their toolbox for the students they serve—it energizes them.

Ask the Right Questions—Now.

Instead of waiting for the final goodbye, start asking:

• What part of your work makes you feel proud?
• Where do you feel stretched too thin?
• How do you want to grow this year?
• What kind of support would help you most right now?

These questions signal care, not control. And when leaders ask them with genuine curiosity, they create space for trust.

Systems That Support, Not Suffocate

Retention isn’t about doing “one big thing.” It’s about doing many small things well—and consistently. A few practices we’ve embedded in our early childhood programs:

• Monthly pulse checks with team leads to listen, not report.
• Staff recognition boards that highlight actions aligned to core values.
• Flexible planning time built into the schedule (not after hours).
• Growth plans that are collaborative, not punitive.

Retention isn’t about making people stay—it’s about making it meaningful to stay.

We also started every supervisor check-in with a single question: “How are you doing?” Not their data. Not their caseload. Just them as a person.

It sounds simple. But it opened the door to conversations that let us lead from empathy, not just urgency.

The Ripple Effect of Staying

When people stay, they don’t just save your district turnover costs—they become culture carriers. They mentor new staff. They stabilize classrooms. They champion students.

But most of all, they become the proof that this is a place worth investing in. And that, more than any incentive, speaks volumes.

Final Reflection

If you’re struggling with staff retention right now, you’re not alone, and you’re also not powerless.

Retention isn’t about making people stay—it’s about making it meaningful to stay.

So let’s stop asking, “Why are they leaving?”

And start asking, “What are we doing to help them stay—and thrive?”