Next Education Workforce and Michigan Educators Workforce Initiative

Team-based staffing models, where teams of educators with complementary skills and expertise share a common roster of students, can help leaders meaningfully integrate support for new teachers. Many of the features of teams such as reduced isolation, common planning time, increased autonomy, differentiated responsibility that capitalizes on individuals’ strengths and new teachers’ needs, and increasing opportunities for meaningful collaboration and mentoring are associated with teacher retention and effectiveness (Ingersoll & Audrain, 2025; Ronfeldt & McQueen, 2017; Torres & Laski, 2024). Yet we don't know enough about how these teams are constructed, how they vary, compare, and change within and across schools, and the conditions that make them coherent and effective (or not) for teachers and students alike.  This study is a qualitative comparative case study of three districts that recently started educator teams and includes interviews with leaders and educator teams, observations of teaming, and observations of collaboration and planning time to learn more about how team-based models are being implemented and perceived in Michigan.