Executive Summary
Teacher and leader retention remains one of education’s most urgent challenges. The 2025 RAND reports shows that educators still plan to leave their jobs, citing well-being, workload, and burnout as critical issues. This blog explores how simulation-based learning offers districts a practical, scalable way to invest in growth, belonging, and purpose—key drivers of retention.
By blending seamlessly with existing professional learning, simulations accelerate “time to value,” enhance the impact of prior investments, and reduce change fatigue. They allow educators to safely practice decision-making, strengthen communication, and build alignment—fostering confidence, connection, and commitment across the school community.
By Ken Spero
The Retention & Vacancy Challenge
In nearly every conversation I have with district and school leaders, one theme keeps surfacing: How do we keep the people we’ve worked so hard to bring in?
Recruiting great teachers and leaders is difficult enough—but retaining them is the real challenge. At the heart of retention lies a single word: investment—not just in compensation or resources, but in growth, belonging, and purpose.
Recent data from the RAND State of the American Teacher Report (2025) adds new urgency and clarity to this challenge. While the share of teachers intending to leave their jobs fell to 16 % in 2025 (down from 22 % in 2024), teacher well-being remains a significant concern. Teachers continue to report poorer well-being than comparable working adults on every measure—a pattern that has persisted since 2021. Burnout, stress, and workload remain the most common reasons educators consider leaving (RAND Corporation, 2025).
Leadership stability mirrors this strain. According to RAND’s 2025 State of the American Principal Report found 13% of principals plan to leave their position within the next year—rates still above pre-pandemic levels (RAND, 2025).
Behind every percentage point is a human story—a teacher exhausted by constant demands or a principal stretched between policy pressure and community expectation. The challenge is not just about vacancies; it’s about sustainability.
Professional Growth as the Foundation of Retention
People rarely leave because they’ve lost faith in kids or the mission. They leave when they feel stagnant, unseen, or under-supported. Retention isn’t about keeping people in seats; it’s about giving them room to grow.
When professional learning becomes meaningful—inviting reflection, building confidence, and honoring experience—educators rediscover purpose and begin to see their district as a partner in their growth, not merely their employer.
Simulations as a Visible and Blended Investment in People
Simulations make that investment tangible—and more importantly, they enhance the value of every other investment a district has already made in professional learning and development.
A SchoolSims experience doesn’t replace existing PD frameworks; it strengthens them. Whether a district uses mentoring programs, PLC structures, instructional coaching, or leadership academies, simulations blend seamlessly with these initiatives. They accelerate “time to value” by turning theory, frameworks, and reflection tools into lived experience.
Educators step into realistic, branching scenarios that mirror the choices they face every day—balancing priorities, navigating conflict, and reflecting on the consequences of their decisions.
As one principal put it:
“The Sims helped me see the ripple effects of my choices before they happened in real life. It made me a better communicator and a calmer leader.”
That’s growth in action—and it’s the kind of growth that keeps people connected to the work. And because simulations work with what schools already have, they provide a scalable, cost-effective way to deepen impact without requiring a new initiative or major budget increase.
Increasing Time to Value
One of the hidden benefits of simulations is how they amplify the value and speed of impact of other investments—not just in professional learning, but across broader strategic efforts.
Districts often invest heavily in new frameworks, technologies, or change initiatives, only to face implementation drag or change fatigue. Staff need time to understand new expectations, leaders must communicate consistently, and alignment can take months or even years to achieve.
Simulations dramatically shorten that cycle. By allowing educators to experience the implications of a new policy, curriculum, or strategic shift within a realistic storyline, staff can internalize both the why and the how of change before it reaches the classroom.
- Faster application: Teachers can practice new instructional models or policy expectations through simulations before full rollout.
- Reduced change fatigue: Practicing new initiatives in a safe, reflective space makes change less threatening and more purposeful.
- Stronger communication and alignment: Leaders can use simulations as communication tools—helping staff explore decisions, consequences, and trade-offs in context, building shared understanding and alignment around direction.
- Better well-being and retention: When educators feel informed, supported, and part of the process, anxiety and uncertainty diminish—strengthening both wellness and commitment.
In this way, simulations not only make professional learning more effective; they make organizational learning faster and healthier.
Starting Strong: Induction, Belonging, and Wellness
Retention starts on day one. The induction period shapes whether new teachers feel overwhelmed or supported.
When simulations are built into induction, new hires can safely practice high-stakes moments—parent conversations, equity dilemmas, classroom management—before they’re alone in the room. Doing simulations together builds shared experience, fosters belonging, and promotes wellness, which in turn sustains growth and drives retention.
As one mentor reflected:
“New teachers weren’t just learning procedures—they were connecting with each other around real challenges. That sense of team has made all the difference.”
Belonging leads to wellness. Wellness sustains growth. And growth drives retention.
Leader and Teacher Preparation: A Continuum of Growth
The most successful districts treat simulation-based learning not as a one-off workshop but as part of a continuum—starting in preparation programs, continuing through induction, and evolving into ongoing professional learning.
This approach aligns with research from Frontline Education (2025), which found that districts aligning professional development to teachers’ needs and goals reported retention rates as high as 78 % (Frontline Education, 2025).
- Aspiring teachers: experience classroom and parent-interaction scenarios before stepping into their first classrooms.
- New teachers: rehearse engagement, equity, and communication challenges without the real-world stakes.
- Emerging leaders: practice decision-making aligned with PSEL and NELP standards.
- Veteran administrators: use simulations to mentor others, reinforcing a culture of reflection and growth.
Because simulations are modular and standards-aligned, they integrate easily with existing PD cycles, reinforcing ongoing initiatives rather than replacing them.
Sample PD Pathways for Retention
Districts using simulations as part of a retention strategy often design pathways such as:
- Induction Integration: Use simulations to jump-start team connection and confidence during onboarding.
- Quarterly Reflection Series: Staff participate in one simulation per quarter tied to district priorities (e.g., equity, communication, student well-being) followed by peer discussion.
- Leadership Pipeline Program: Aspiring leaders engage in leadership simulations aligned with PSEL or NELP standards as part of their advancement track.
- Mentor–Mentee Dialogues: Pair simulations with structured debriefs so mentors can model reflection and growth for early-career teachers.
- Board or Superintendent Rounds: Leadership teams rehearse governance and community-relations issues, modeling transparency and alignment.
Each of these pathways builds on investments already in place—coaching systems, mentoring networks, or leadership cohorts—amplifying their impact without additional programmatic overhead.
Retention = Growth
Retention is not a compliance metric—it’s a measure of growth. Educators stay when they see their organization grow with them.
Simulation-based learning provides that mirror: it captures the complexity of school life, allows safe failure, and reinforces that growth is expected, supported, and celebrated.
And because simulations can blend with existing professional learning and strategic initiatives, districts see faster returns on previous investments, greater alignment during times of change, and reduced stress across the system.
As one university partner observed:
“Our students said the leadership simulations were the most valuable part of their preparation because they felt what it was like to lead before they were actually in the seat.”
That sense of readiness—confidence through experience—transforms professional development into professional belonging.
The Real-Life Impact
Districts that integrate simulations into their professional learning ecosystems report not only higher engagement but stronger retention among both teachers and administrators.
As one superintendent summarized:
“Sims gave us a way to invest in our people that wasn’t just another training—it was practice for the real world. That investment has paid off in commitment and culture.”
In the end, simulations don’t just prepare educators for the challenges of their profession—they remind them why they chose it in the first place.
2025 Takeaway
The RAND 2025 findings make clear that retention is about more than pay—it’s about well-being, support, and meaningful growth.
Simulations offer a practical, scalable way to invest in educators’ development, accelerate the value of existing investments, and strengthen alignment around change—all while reducing fatigue and reinforcing a culture where teachers and leaders want to stay.
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