Superintendent Tabitha Branum tells WFAA its unique benefits help RISD attract and retain high quality teachers.
RICHARDSON, Texas — Keeping teachers in the classroom has become more challenging in the last five years. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 10% of Texas teachers would leave in a given year. Since then, that number has jumped as high at 13.5%.
Richardson Independent School District is getting creative with incentives to support educators and their families in hopes of keeping them in education. ,
“Research is very clear about the power of a teacher in the classroom,” RISD Superintendent, Tabitha Branum said. “Our teachers have the number one impact on student learning and student achievement. There’s just no question about it.”
Jennifer Oliver, a first-grade teacher at Prestonwood Elementary and a Richardson ISD graduate, said she’s already taking advantage of the employee wellness clinic, available to district employees and their families for a $10 copay.
“We’ve been able to utilize that,” Oliver said. “Having the really cheap copay has been nice. We hope to get into the child learning center in next year, because that would be amazing to have cheaper daycare for our babies.”
RISD has Child Learning Academies, which offer affordable childcare for employees. Demand is extremely high.
“A young family can bring their 6 weeks to 3-year-old child for $350 a month and have that high quality childcare,” Branum shared.
Branum also credits her teacher advisory committee for informing district decisions and investments.
“It’s all worth it and I can tell you story after story where either because we had the benefits we do a teacher chose Richardson ISD or because we have what we have they chose to stay in Richardson ISD,” she said.
Richardson ISD went from a 17% turnover rate ahead of last school year, down to a 13% turnover rate ahead of this school year.