2026 Tennessee Educator Survey Snapshot: Teacher Retention

The 2026 Tennessee Educator Survey Snapshots offer quick, accessible insights from educators on some of the most important issues in our schools—including artificial intelligence, cell phone policies, student discipline, match curriculum and supports, career and technical education, early-career teachers, teacher evaluation and retention, and more. These one-pagers highlight what teachers are seeing and experiencing right now, providing valuable perspective to inform conversations about policy and practice across the state.

• Key Insight #1: Teachers’ reported retention plans for 2026 are consistent with 2025 retention plans, with over 80% of teachers planning to continue teaching at their schools. Outside of other/personal reasons, leadership, culture and climate, and workload are the top reasons teachers cite for plans to leave their schools.
• Key Insight #2: Teachers who are satisfied with how their school leadership handles student discipline are more likely to say they plan to continue teaching in their school next year.