This study, by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, highlights the issues around recruiting and retaining effective teachers in Oklahoma’s rural school districts. The paper seeks to identify teacher mobility patterns and community factors as well as indicators of effective recruitment and retention practices. Key findings include: (a) teachers in Oklahoma’s rural school districts have a 70 percent chance of earning tenure which is lower than their nonrural counterparts; (b) the rate of success in recruiting teachers to rural school districts is lower than the rate of success in recruiting teachers to nonrural districts; (c) males, with a higher post-secondary degree and more teaching experience are more difficult to recruit and retain in rural school districts; and (d) increased compensation and in-school responsibilities are associated with increased teacher recruitment and retention in rural school districts.
