What Educators are Saying About Dr. Bill Fibkins New Book, Stopping the Brain-Drain of Skilled Veteran Teachers: Retaining and Valuing their Hard-Won Experience

Dr. Francis Koster, President, The Optimistic Futurist
Many school systems are focusing on promoting early retirement for their most experienced teachers. Just when we need them the most, we are sending raw recruits in to face the many challenges of today's secondary schools such as larger classes of single parent students, many of whom do not speak English well. The  end result is these novice teacher flee in droves after a year or  two. A system in which everyone,  students, parents, new recruit, and overwhelmed administrators, lose out

Bill Fibkins teaches us a new paradigm  to help solve this growing problem by creating career alternatives for highly-skilled veteran reachers who  to remain on board as full time or part time mentors and trainers and not retire./ A needed intervention to insure stability , particularly in our large secondary schools given the increasing number of novice teachers now filling our classrooms . A sound public policy requires that we stop the brain- drain of our best senior teachers and act to avoid leaving our schools lead by inexperienced educators . A presciption for chaos and crsis making.

There are many ways we can shape our future. We are not powerless. Dr. Fibkins shows us one more place we can put the lever to move the world in a better direction

Kenneth Guentert, President, The Publishing Pro
Whoa! Why hasn't this book been published before? The preference for younger, inexperienced, and presumably less costly workers is well known to anyone older than 50 in the United States. It's a pity, especially in education for all the reasons William Fibkins describes. His final chapter, suggesting that successful veteran teachers and administrators be enlisted as mentors to the less experienced and strugglinmg is a win-win and out to be implemented everwhere.

Dr. Paul Casciano, Superintendent of Schools, William Floyd School District, Mastic Beach, NY
Dr. Fibkins understands the value of influence experienced teachers have on their students, colleagues and the general culture of the school.  His candid and direct style is refreshing as he challenges the beliefs of those who strictly look at the " bottom line" with budgets and do not consider the unanticipated consequences of their near-sighted planning. Dr. Fibkins makes it clear that eliminating your most knowledgeable teacheers simply because they cost a district more money must not be a subsitute  for addressing ineffecive teachers regardless of experience levels. He challenges the mental models about what is " old" and offers insightful suggestions for changing our perspectives and practices, particularly those that, if left uncontested, will be diluting the quality of public education and other vital services.

Alexander Rutherford, Principal, Sanborn Regional Middle Schoool, Newton, NH
As a public school principal and volunter commissioner for a regional acreditation agency, I believe Dr. Bill Fibkins book shines an important light on a number of current school practices. These practices are designed o improve a school district's financial bottom line with little concern for the serious impact these measures will leave on raising or lowering overall student performance. Dr. Fibins thoughtful presentation of the facts and creative problem solving strategies offer a breath of fresh air to an American educational system struggling with increasing budgetary constraints and the constant imperative to improve student achievement.

Martha Mobley,Ph.D.  Director, Teacher Performance Center, Kean University
Fibkins writes of the national exodus of teachers and administrators from schools and districts, leaving behind an imbalance of professiomal experience and contextual history. His rational premise seems irrefutable in that there remains responsibility for skilled and willing educators to shape entry-level teachers and career changers as well as teach the next generation of school-age childrn and youth.

Admittedly, not every educator wants to continue working for that's a personal decision. Dr Fibkins addresses this topic also. However many do; and at one university are welcomed warmly in new capacities as supervisors. professional developers and PDS clinical instructors. Their skills and talents assist teacher candidates through the awkward and painful transition from student to professional. In addition, the hybrid role they play underlines their experiences, background, and interests as they strengthen bridges between the university and public schools.

At the end of the day, this is the book to read if one recognizes the impact on students, schools, even the community when multiple educators leave at he same time. That seems to be where we are in the 21st century.

Stopping he Brain-Drain of Skilled Veteran Teachers: Retaining and Valuing their Hard-Won Experience

As this new book by Dr. Bill Fibkins documents, veteran teachers are being encouraged to take early retirement in  order to create jobs for less-experienced, lower -paid novices. Veteran teachers are not alone; early retirement promotions have become the norm for aging workers in America. Consequently. there is a brain -drain of skilled workers at the national, state, and local levels.  The early retirement of our most talented educators is leaving our schools without the necessary leadership, hard-earned experience, proven skills, and wisdom to meet the evolving challenges our country faces. There are long-term consequences of losing skilled educators while they are in the prime of their professional lives.

This book challenges the " good news only" theory of early retirement promotions which suggest that veteran teachers are no longer needed as they age and that their retirement is the only way schools can survive financially in times of economic uncertainty. The theory contends that everyone involved  gets a reward: the novice educators get jobs and the veterans get some cash. The trade is seemingly no problem , until the veteran educators are out  the door andw the school staff, students, and parents are left without their steady guiding hand.

Instead of hastily luring prime educators out of the school house door with planned buyout promotions, schools should offer our most gifted veteran educators career alternatives that will encourage and reward them to remain  on board, thereby allowing them to mentor and lead novice and mid-career staff, students, parents, and community members as well as continuing to provide an advising and sounding-board  role for the school administration.

This book examines the negative consequences of early retirement promotions on school culture, administrative leadership, teacher and student performance, community reaction and  exposes some of the major drawbacks of early buyouts for veteran educators, but will also suggest creative career alternatives to keep such teachers on board.

Published by Rowman & Littlefield inJan. 2012.  Website is  http://www.rowmaneducation.com/ , click on "Fibkins" for books by Dr. Bill Fibkins