Post-Pandemic, A Partial Turnaround for Educator Turnover in Wisconsin

The rate at which Wisconsin public school teachers left their districts has declined since its pandemic peak but remained elevated in the 2024-25 school year, a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report finds. And, principal and superintendent turnover has not stabilized, with a new swing upward in 2025.

“It is too early to tell whether the recent declines in teacher turnover indicate that the profession is on a path back toward pre-pandemic levels, or if schools are facing a new, elevated norm,” the report notes.

Our analysis finds that, on average, a disproportionate impact of educator turnover falls on certain Wisconsin communities. Chief among these are the state’s smallest districts, districts serving a majority of low-income students or students of color, city districts, and teachers of color. Meanwhile, an array of unknowns makes it challenging for districts to plan how to address educator turnover moving forward.

This report is based on an analysis of public school staffing data from the state Department of Public Instruction. It updates previous Forum educator turnover reports in 2022 and 2023. While some level of turnover is to be expected and may even be beneficial, too much churn destabilizes schools, discourages staff and students, harms student outcomes, and costs districts valuable resources.

Down from 2023 peak

Superintendents, principals, and teachers combined to make 2023 (the 2022-23 academic year) a peak year for turnover. One fifth (20.3%) of superintendents, a similar share of principals (18.9%), and 15.8% of teachers did not return in the fall of 2022 to the same role and district as they held in the fall of 2021. All three educator groups saw lower turnover rates in 2024. Teachers’ turnover rate then continued to drop in 2025, landing at 12.9%, while for principals and superintendents, the rates ticked back up to 17.2% and 15.3%, respectively.

When analyzing turnover, it can help to distinguish between “moves” and “leaves.” A “move” is when a teacher shifts from teaching in one Wisconsin school district to teaching in another. A “leave” is when a teacher is no longer listed as such in the statewide public data set. This could be because the teacher left the profession, took a teaching job at a private school, or moved to another state.

The latest data confirm that leaves are the main source of turnover. While some departures may occur because individuals took different roles within the public school system or went to teach or lead in private schools or another state, most districts can be primarily concerned with losing educators to retirement or to other careers altogether.

Which types of districts are most affected?

Average teacher turnover fell in 2024 and 2025 across all district types examined, but the degree of decline varied between district types. Of particular note, the average turnover rate for teachers in Wisconsin’s smallest districts (those serving 455 students or fewer) barely budged from its 2023 high of 17.4%. On the other hand, disparities among districts based on the racial composition of the student body shrank. Greater stability at districts serving majority students of color played a large role in this convergence.

The state’s largest district, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), serves a high needs student population and faces competition for both students and teachers from surrounding school districts and robust charter and private choice options. These factors and others have historically left MPS with above-average levels of teacher turnover. The district’s fortunes may be changing, however: After reaching a 19.5% turnover rate in 2023, teacher turnover plummeted. Following an 8% raise for staff in the 2024 school year, turnover in the district dropped to 10.5% by 2025 – only the second time in the dataset that MPS logged lower turnover than the statewide average.

How turnover changed educator demographics

Our analysis also examined how the demographic makeup of the educator workforce has changed. Nationally and in Wisconsin, the vast majority of teachers are female. In 2025, three-quarters (74.9%) of teachers in Wisconsin identified as female, a percentage that is virtually unchanged since 2019. Meanwhile, the share of female principals rose from 42.5% in 2012 up to 51.4% in 2023.

The trajectory for female superintendents has been less straightforward. From 2009 to 2016, the share of women in the top school leadership role rose in every year, from 16.6% to 27.3%. This growth has since largely stalled, though in 2025, the share of female superintendents ticked up to 28.0%.

In 2025, 92.9% of Wisconsin public school teachers were white, compared to 65.8% of Wisconsin public school students and approximately 80% of the state’s overall population. The state’s share of teachers of color has increased since 2009 by 2.4 percentage points, compared to a 10.6-point increase in the share of students of color over the same period. The share of principals of color rose by a similarly small 2.5 points, but they started with greater representation in 2009: 7.6%, rising to 10.1% in 2025. Meanwhile, in 2009 there were just five superintendents of color in the state, representing 1.2% of the total. That figure grew to 5.5%, or fewer than 25 individuals, by 2025.

Grounding plans in persistent trends

Educator turnover is hard to predict, and today’s economic and political uncertainties make it even more so. Still, districts may ground their projections and plans in some persistent trends. Since leaves are the top driver of turnover – and one component of them, retirements, is largely inevitable – policy and district leaders may wish to focus on reducing turnover into other professions.

Compensation can play a critical role in reducing turnover. Future wage increases may be a difficult proposition for many districts, however, if their revenue sources do not increase proportionately or if they cannot identify other expenditures to cut. Ongoing student enrollment declines present a further challenge, although it may also prompt districts to think strategically about recruitment and retention.

Finally, any statewide efforts to stem turnover or otherwise address educator workforce issues should consider the disproportionate impact of turnover on certain communities. By targeting solutions, policies can avoid exacerbating existing disparities and work to ensure a stable workforce for the benefit of all students.

Click here to read the full report.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum is the state’s leading source of nonpartisan, independent research on state and local public policy. As a nonprofit, our research is supported by members including hundreds of corporations, nonprofits, local governments, school districts, and individuals. Visit wispolicyforum.org to learn more.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.