Charter schools are plagued by many of the same problems year after year. High teacher turnover rates are one of the most common. So are high student and principal turnover rates. Obviously, such trends harm continuity, stability, collegiality, and learning. Students, parents, educators, and communities deserve and need better.
The main reason for persistently high teacher turnover rates in the charter school sector is poor working conditions, mainly low pay, long hours, and almost no meaningful say in anything. Many, if not most, charter school teachers are marginalized and disempowered.
It is no accident that the vast majority of charter school teachers in the U.S. are not unionized, treated as “at-will” employees, and tend to have fewer years of teaching experience than public school teachers. They also tend to work longer days and years than their public school counterparts, and often for less pay. Further, many charter school teachers in the U.S. are not certified. In fact, about six states and Washington, D.C. have charter school laws that explicitly state that charter schools do not have to hire any certified teachers. Several other states allow charter schools to hire a large percentage of uncertified teachers. Privatization often eliminates many basic requirements and standards.
A recent example of a charter school with a high teacher turnover rate is the Maine Arts Academy in Augusta, Maine. The privately operated school has operated for 10 years and serves students in grades 7-12.
The Maine Monitor reports that the school “has seen a large percentage of its teachers leave annually, often in the middle of the school year, raising concerns about the workplace and the impact on students.” The title of the news article says it all: “Turnover at this Maine charter school is worrying staff.”
The turnover problem has been severe for years: “During its first four years, it [Maine Arts Academy] had between three and seven teachers annually. But, each year, the school saw a turnover rate of 100 percent — meaning the equivalent of every teacher on staff left.” This happens in many charter schools across the country. It is yet another way charter schools violate the right to education by commodifying education.
Additional statistics point to the fact that Maine Arts Academy never really brought this disruptive problem under control: “As the teacher workforce grew, the rate of turnover decreased but averaged 23 percent annually between 2021 and 2025…. More than half of teachers who left did so in the middle of the year. In the 2024-2025 school year, five out of about 16 total teachers departed.”
Many current and former employees point to a punitive, heavy-handed culture at the school that contributed to broad disillusionment and fear among many: “The Maine Monitor spoke to nine current and former employees about the school’s climate, and all but one expressed concern about how the school is run, which they believe is prompting staff to leave. Six people said the head of the school, Heather King, and other school leaders created an environment that prevented staff from expressing disagreement or criticism. Five people felt that school leaders initiated disciplinary proceedings over minor issues.” The absence of free speech and dissent is widespread in the charter school sector. Administrators in charter schools do not like it when teachers and staff express their views. Teachers and staff always feel like their jobs are at risk. They are made to feel like they have to walk on eggshells all the time.
Even students at the school rated the school’s climate as poor: “Student survey results, which the charter school commission collects annually from schools, show that students in the 2024-2025 school year poorly rated their school climate, academic expectations and the nature of teacher-student relationships.”
Not surprisingly, “Student turnover is also high [at the school]: Between 2016 and 2025, an average of 22 percent of students left the high school annually. The vast majority of those students left in the middle of the school year. The academy educates more than 200 high school students annually.”
Is this any way to run a school? We are told over and over again by “school-choice” advocates that charter schools are amazing even though they have the same unresolved problems year after year. Clearly, privatization does not solve problems.
The Maine Monitor documents many other disturbing examples of problems related to the school’s persistently high teacher and student turnover rates. The point is not to go through each and every nauseating example but to remember that such problems pervade the entire charter school sector decade after decade. The solution is to end school privatization, fully fund traditional public schools, and empower teachers. It is imperative to block the influence of major owners of capital on education. Public education must be under the control of a public authority worthy of the name. Privatization lowers the quality and efficiency of everything.
Many examples of high teacher, student, and principal turnover rates in charter schools are easy to find. Here are a recent handful:
- Easton charter school is losing its 5th principal in less than 5 years
- Success Academy Attrition Worse Than Ever
- More than 1,000 Arizona teachers have quit since July. Why?
- Why is this Kansas City charter school seeing so much turnover?
While there is teacher turnover in traditional public schools, it is almost always higher in privately operated charter schools.