Del Mar has the lowest teacher retention rate in CUHSD from 2021 to 2024 of approximately 67%. Over the past three years, 55 teachers have left the school, and six have transferred to other schools within the district.
On the Dispatch Instagram, Del Mar students were asked, “How many of your past teachers have left Del Mar?” Of the 93 students surveyed, 55% stated that four or more of their teachers have left.
Areeva Uranga, a 12th grader and Student Advisory Board Member for the CUHSD Education Foundation, said low teacher retention significantly impacts students in terms of their education. Uranga expressed frustration with losing teachers, especially in her two-year IB courses.
“Three out of my four IB HL teachers they left…that made it hard for us students, especially me, as they use like, different teaching techniques and methods,” said Uranga.
Principal Diana Nguyen stated that the Del Mar community took a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several teachers left the profession completely, moved to higher-paying districts, or had life-changing circumstances.
“We’re looking for longevity, and I’m really trying to help us recover from the hit we took during the pandemic,” said Nguyen.
Amanda Davison, a Campbell High School Teacher Association (CHSTA) representative at Del Mar, mentioned that the school struggles to retain teachers for different reasons each year. She noted that Del Mar’s administrators and department chairs have high standards that are challenging to maintain with new teachers.
“When somebody comes on, we sort of want them to get on the bus and go. And I think that if they want to sort of teach from the textbook and teach the same and not collaborate, then that is not the Del Mar way,” said Davison.
Principal Nguyen agrees that administrators have high expectations for teachers, but cannot definitively say if this is the reason for low retention. Nguyen explained that continuing to retrain people in Del Mar’s core values or instructional expectations becomes very difficult in times of high teacher turnover.
Davison stated that low teacher retention affects students’ sense of stability. To address this, she suggested that CUHSD should offer competitive wages to retain more teachers.
Linda Goytia, a past Del Mar teacher and current Board Trustee, addressed the request for higher pay and stated, “As long as some districts such as Santa Clara Unified receive $10,000 more per student in LCFF [Local Control Funding Formula] revenue than our district, we will be challenged to match their salaries. Education, across the board, is not adequately funded.”
Trustee Goytia also noted that recent stock market volatility could lead to increased contributions from individual districts, which impact funds needed for salaries and programs.
Principal Nguyen employs a high-expectations, high-support framework with new teachers to address these challenges. She offers them a release period for observations, collaboration, or lesson planning. Additionally, she has allocated a significant amount of the budget for professional development outside school hours.
“In order to retain a teacher, you have to provide them with the support that they need in order to do their job,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen emphasized that teacher retention is one of her top priorities, especially retaining those who care about Del Mar.
“I want to not only hire and bring here the best possible candidates that we have who are the most knowledgeable in their fields, but also, what’s important to me is a person who wants to be at Del Mar High School,” said Nguyen.
