Improving teacher retention in rural Alaska: an experiential place-based model

Timothy Jester; Education in the North

doi:10.26203/9hmn-3s71

Improving teacher retention in rural Alaska: an experiential place-based model

Timothy Jester
, Education in the North

Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

University of Alaska Anchorage

Research output: Contribution to journal › Feature › peer-review

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Abstract

This paper presents an innovative program focusing on teacher retention in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, developed through a partnership between the University of Alaska’s (UAA) School of Education, the Bristol Bay Foundation (BBF), and four rural school districts. This program offers a replicable model for supporting school districts and teachers in rural communities where high teacher turnover rates are an enduring challenge. The program in the Bristol Bay region has achieved a 95% retention rate among participating teachers, significantly higher than the regional average of 66%. The paper describes the program’s structure, emphasizing its place-based experiential learning approach that connects educators with local culture and community.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	326-335
Number of pages	10
Journal	Education in the North
Volume	32
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.26203/9hmn-3s71
Publication status	Published - 11 Dec 2025

Keywords

teacher retention
rural education
Alaska
experiential learning
teacher professional development

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10.26203/9hmn-3s71Licence: CC BY-NC

Jester_EITN_Improving_teacher_retention_VOR
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Final published version, 278 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "Improving teacher retention in rural Alaska: an experiential place-based model",

abstract = "This paper presents an innovative program focusing on teacher retention in Alaska{\textquoteright}s Bristol Bay region, developed through a partnership between the University of Alaska{\textquoteright}s (UAA) School of Education, the Bristol Bay Foundation (BBF), and four rural school districts. This program offers a replicable model for supporting school districts and teachers in rural communities where high teacher turnover rates are an enduring challenge. The program in the Bristol Bay region has achieved a 95\% retention rate among participating teachers, significantly higher than the regional average of 66\%. The paper describes the program{\textquoteright}s structure, emphasizing its place-based experiential learning approach that connects educators with local culture and community.",

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Improving teacher retention in rural Alaska: an experiential place-based model

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Keywords

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