Israeli Education System Urged to Prioritize Retaining Experienced Teachers

Naama Israeli, head of the Southern region for the Fourth Quarter Movement and an expert in organizational happiness and teacher retention, highlights a critical gap in Israel's education system: the lack of focus on retaining existing skilled teachers. Despite ongoing efforts to recruit new teachers amid widespread shortages, the system neglects the question of how to keep the teachers already in place. Israeli points out that schools rarely have dedicated roles or teams responsible for employee experience, support, and professional development, unlike many business organizations that invest heavily in these areas.

She emphasizes the heavy cost of teacher turnover, noting that when a good teacher leaves, it disrupts students' lives, drains institutional knowledge, increases workload on remaining staff, and perpetuates a cycle of constant recruitment. Israeli calls for a fundamental change in the work experience of teachers, advocating for dedicated human resource professionals in every school to manage onboarding, welfare, career development, and retention. She stresses that teachers need visibility, belonging, meaningful work, and growth opportunities to feel valued and remain in their roles.

Israeli envisions Israeli schools becoming top-ranked workplaces, where the best educators want to stay rather than just be recruited. She argues that simply filling vacancies is insufficient; the education system must build environments that teachers do not want to leave. This transformation is essential to securing quality education for future generations and stabilizing the teaching workforce across the country.