Addressing Teacher Turnover in Catholic Schools: Lessons Learned from the University Consortium for Catholic Education Model

The United States is experiencing a teacher shortage that threatens the vitality of Catholic Schools. Yet, specialized Catholic school teacher formation programs under the umbrella of the University Consortium for Catholic Education model consistently produce Catholic school teachers who are well-formed for their ministry and who tend to remain employed in Catholic schools. This qualitative, grounded theory study sought to answer these two research questions: 1) Why do Catholic school teachers who are graduates of UCCE teacher preparation programs commit to remaining employed in Catholic schools; and 2) How can the experiences of UCCE program graduates be applied to traditional teacher formation and professional development programs that currently exist to support Catholic schools? The findings, which are drawn from the lived experiences of 10 participants, propose a continuity of formation that spans pre-clinical practice, student teaching, and the first critical years of a novice teacher’s employment in a Catholic school. This formation includes intentional collaboration between university programs and PK-12 Catholic school partners in the areas of faith formation, community-building, and coordinated mentoring and coaching support for aspiring and novice Catholic school teachers.