ALBANY, GA — The Dougherty County School System’s (DCSS) Human Resources Department has been recognized by the Georgia Association of School Personnel Administrators (GASPA) with a prestigious Gold Award for Best in Class Retention Practices. The award highlights DCSS’s comprehensive and innovative New Teacher Induction Program, part of the district’s broader Talent Development System aimed at recruiting, developing, and retaining high-quality educators.
The GASPA Best in Class Award recognizes exemplary human capital management practices across Georgia school districts. DCSS’s award submission showcased the significant strides made through its multi-year Talent Development System, which combines a Teacher Apprenticeship Program for aspiring educators with an intensive New Teacher Academy for novice and induction-phase teachers (0–3 years of experience).
“We are honored to receive this recognition from GASPA,” said Jill Addison, DCSS Chief Human Resources Officer. “This award reflects the intentional work of our Human Resources team, mentors, school leaders, and professional learning partners and the vision of the superintendent and Board of Education to ensure that new teachers have the support and resources they need to succeed from the very beginning of their careers.”
Launched in 2022, DCSS’s Talent Development System was designed in response to state and national data on teacher burnout, high turnover rates, and the challenges facing early-career educators. Through the combination of structured mentorship, professional learning, and job-embedded coaching, DCSS has seen teacher retention rates rise sharply — from 45% in 2020-2021 to 90% in 2023-2024.
Key features of the program include:
Mentor and Master Teacher Model: Experienced educators serve as trained mentors, providing individualized coaching, classroom observation, and real-time feedback to new teachers. These mentors also receive ongoing professional development to strengthen their coaching skills.
New Teacher Professional Learning Modules: Teachers participate in regularly scheduled, research-based professional development sessions that focus on instructional best practices, classroom management, student engagement, and data-driven instruction.
Teacher Apprenticeship Program: Aspiring educators, including paraprofessionals and teacher assistants, receive classroom-based training while completing certification requirements, strengthening the district’s teacher pipeline.
Stakeholder Collaboration: The program incorporates feedback from teachers, mentors, and administrators, leading to continuous improvement and refinement of supports and resources.
The program is one of several recruitment, retention and employee support programs created as action items from the District’s Strategic Plan. That plan emphasizes “Investment in Human Capital” as one of the five key priorities for the school district.
“Our goal has always been to create a culture where new teachers feel supported, confident, and capable of providing high-quality instruction for our students,” Addison said. “The data is clear — when we invest in our teachers, we invest in better outcomes for our students.”
The GASPA Gold Award recognizes DCSS’s retention work as among the best in Georgia, underscoring the district’s ongoing commitment to excellence in teacher development and student achievement.