Teacher Retention
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) remains committed to supporting teacher and principal retention across the District. In the 2025-26 school year, 86 percent of teachers were retained as teachers in DC, and 78 percent of teachers were retained as teachers in the same school as the previous school year. The same-school retention rate in 2025-26 increased by 2 percentage points from the previous school year’s 76 percent.
Over the last five years, DC has consistently retained teachers at rates of 80 percent or higher. Over the last three years, same-school and citywide retention rates have steadily increased alongside historic investments in teacher preparation, development, and retention.
Five-Year Average
On average*, over the past five school years, 84 percent of teachers have been retained as teachers in DC, and 75 percent of teachers have been retained as teachers in the same school.
*This is an average weighted by the total number of public and public charter teachers in DC each year.
Retention by Sector
The District of Columbia has two public education sectors — (1) a traditional public school district (DC Public Schools, or DCPS), and (2) public charter local education agencies (LEAs) that are collectively known as the District of Columbia public charter schools. In the 2023-24 school year, DC teachers and students were split almost evenly across the two sectors.
In the 2025-26 school year, 82 percent of DCPS teachers and 74 percent of charter school teachers were retained at the same school as the previous year, reflecting stable same-school retention for DCPS and continued growth for charter schools. Ninety percent of DCPS teachers and 86 percent of charter school teachers were retained in the DC school system.
DCPS consistently shows higher same-school retention rates than charter schools in the District, a trend that has held over the past three years. Over this period, DCPS same-school retention has remained steady with a slight bump in 2025-26, while across charter schools, same-school retention has grown consistently, rising from 62 percent in the 2022-23 school year to 69 percent in the 2023-24 school year,72 percent in the 2024-25 school year, and 74 percent in the 2025-26 school year. This is a 12-percentage point increase over four years.
Retention by Ward
During the 2025-26 school year, the rate at which teachers remained in the same school varied by geographic ward. For the third year in a row, Ward 3 reported the highest teacher retention rate, with 87 percent of teachers retained at the same school. Ward 7 reported the lowest, with 74 percent retained. Notably, Ward 2 teacher retention increased by 5 percentage points between school years 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Principal Retention
In the 2025-26 school year, 83 percent of principals were retained as principals in DC, and 81 percent of principals were retained as principals in the same school as the previous school year. The same-school retention increased by two percentage points from the previous school year’s 78 percent, and the rate at which principals were retained in DC remained stable.
Educator Retention Briefs
Every school year, OSSE publishes a snapshot of state-level educator retention data in our Educator Retention Briefs. These short (1-3 page) briefs contain graphics that provide an accessible look at retention rates for teachers and leaders across DC schools.
