MILWAUKEE — A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum about teacher turnover in Wisconsin showed teacher transitions spiked ahead of this past school year, something which came as a bit of a surprise to researchers analyzing the statewide data.

The analysis by Wisconsin Policy Forum has turnover topping 15%.

"We thought we were going to see turnover spike right from the beginning of the pandemic," said Sara Shaw, a senior researcher with the Wisconsin Policy Forum. "Instead, 2021, that first year impacted by COVID, was actually a low— teachers were staying put amidst all the uncertainty of the pandemic."

Higher turnover statewide, with many teachers switching between districts for other opportunities, or leaving education entirely for other professions or retiring, has left many districts shorthanded as they gear up to start a new school year.

"A lot of districts are having that experience right now," Shaw said, "but it does seem to be concentrated in the districts that have historically been hurt the most by teacher turnover a lot, so that's particularly our smallest rural districts."

Watch the full interview above.