Educator turnover rates in Alaska have increased overall, beyond levels preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from the Institute of Social and Economic Research, or ISER. It comes as the state continues working on ways to improve teacher retention and recruitment in the state.

Dayna DeFeo is the director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, a clearinghouse for education-related work with ISER. She said at a State Board of Education Meeting on Wednesday that the teacher and principal turnover rate has generally risen beyond rates seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re seeing just a fairly steady, consistent upward trend,” she said. “We’re going to see this pattern no matter how we splice the data.”

In 2024, 17% of teachers and 27% of principals left the

See Full Page